Appendix E1 Introductory Email from SA to all LAs with Info Packet

Appendix E1:

Introductory Email from SA to all LAs with Info Packet

OMB Control No: 0584-XXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Expiration Date: 03/31/2019

Appendix E1: Introductory Email from SA to all LAs with Info Packet

Dear [LA DIRECTOR NAME],

We are writing to request your participation in an important national study, the WIC Nutrition Assessment and Tailoring Study (WIC NATS). Findings from this study will provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) with a comprehensive understanding of the WIC nutrition risk assessment process and the ways in which Program benefits are tailored to address the individual needs of WIC participants. FNS has contracted with Westat to conduct the study.

The study team will email you a link to the NATS web-based Local Agency survey. The survey will include questions about nutrition risk assessment protocols and policies used for tailoring of benefits. Please be on the lookout for the email from Westat and complete the survey at your earliest convenience. Following the survey, 30 LAs will be selected to provide information about their WIC clinics as well as policy and procedure documents for the nutrition risk assessment and benefit tailoring. You will be contacted if you are selected for these follow-up activities.

If you have any questions about the study or the interview, please email the Westat study team at [email protected] or call toll-free at 1-855-598-2492. The FNS contact for this study is Alexander Bush ([email protected]).

Your partnership matters to us! We look forward to including you in this important study.

Sincerely,

[STATE AGENCY DIRECTOR]

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in obtaining a comprehensive and detailed description of the WIC nutrition risk assessment process and the ways in which participant benefits are tailored to address the assessment results. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to improve the delivery and tailoring of WIC services and increase satisfaction of both staff and participants. This collection does request personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-[xxxx]. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 4 minutes (0.07 hours) per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5^th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN:  PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Study Information Sheet

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is sponsoring a study to obtain information about the WIC nutrition risk assessment process and the ways in which Program benefits are tailored to address the individual needs of WIC participants. Information will be gathered from existing datasets and documents, a web-based survey, observations of the clinic flow as well as nutrition risk assessment sessions, and interviews with the Site Director and WIC risk assessment staff, and WIC participants. Findings will be used to improve nutrition service delivery and identify best practices in the nutrition assessment process associated with participant and staff satisfaction, improved efficiency, and reduced staff burden.

What are the research objectives?

• Provide in-depth descriptive information on how a large, diverse sample of local WIC agencies perform the WIC nutrition risk assessment.

• Systematically describe how local WIC agencies use the nutrition assessment information to tailor program benefits.

• Investigate relationships between WIC nutrition services processes and the clinic experience, participant and staff perceptions, and overall clinic flow and efficiency.

• Identify practices that facilitate the use of nutrition assessment information to tailor benefits and are associated with participant and staff satisfaction.

What is the data collection plan?

• 10 selected State Agencies (SAs) will be contacted in [Mid-2020] to join the study. They will be asked to provide policy documents and MIS data.

• All Local Agencies (LAs) within the 10 selected SAs will be invited to complete a web-based survey in [Late-2020/Early-2021].

• 30 LAs will also be asked to provide information about their clinics as well as policy and procedure documents.

• 30 local WIC sites (1 per LA) will be selected to participate in a week long site visit, beginning in [Early-2021].

• About 500 WIC participants at the 30 selected local WIC sites who consent will be observed during their nutrition risk assessment session and invited to participate in an interview in beginning in [Early-2021].

• The final study report will be published in Fall, 2022.

Who is conducting the study?

Under contract with USDA/FNS, Westat, an employee-owned research corporation located in Rockville, MD, is leading the study. Additional team members include:

• Insight Policy Research, Arlington, VA

• PHFE WIC, City of Industry, CA

• Gabor & Associates, Bethesda, MD

Where do I get more information?

Email questions to:

[email protected]

The United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, is conducting this study through a contract with Westat, located in Rockville, MD.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.