District Recruitment Script

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-0621

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xx

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTACTS

{Year} NATIONAL YOUTH TOBACCO SURVEY

PRIOR TO CALLING, VERIFY THE DATE LETTER WAS SENT AND HAVE THE LETTER AND DISTRICTS FILE FOLDER READY TO DOCUMENT THE OUTCOME OF EACH CALL. ALSO HAVE COPY OF STATE SUPPORT LETTER AND FILE FOLDER CONTAINING NAMES OF CONTACT PERSONS.

1. Hello this is {Your Name}. I’m calling to follow up on a letter from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notifying you that {Name(s) Of School(s)} will soon be invited to participate in the {Year} National Youth Tobacco Survey sponsored by CDC. Do you have some time to talk with me right now? [IF NOT:] When would you like me to call you back or would you prefer to make an appointment?

2. A letter about this went to {You; Or, To Name Of Person To Be Contacted} on {Date}. The letter was signed by Dr. Linda Neff at CDC. Along with the letter was a copy of the questionnaire and other materials. Do you recall getting this letter?

3. (ONLY IF THE STATE EDUCATION AGENCY WAS GOING TO CONTACT THE DISTRICT:) You also should have received a {Phone Call; Email; Other} from {Name Of Official} at the State Department of Education. Were you contacted by {State Official}?

4. (ONLY IF THERE WAS A STATE ENDORSEMENT LETTER:) A letter of support from {Name} at the State Department of Education was enclosed in the letter of invitation from Dr. Linda Neff at CDC.

5. Have you had a chance to review the packet of materials about the project?

6. My basic reason for calling now is to make sure that you received the letter, to answer any questions that you may have, and to see what will be involved in getting approval from the school district to send a letter of invitation to the schools.

7. (PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT.) The NYTS will be conducted among students in grades 6 through 12 during the spring of {Year}. It will document tobacco-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, and the student’s exposure to influences that promote or discourage tobacco use. The NYTS is essential for providing a national benchmark against which states can measure the magnitude of the problem of tobacco use and design effective prevention and control programs.

8. Do you have any questions that I can answer for you? Are there any issues you would like to discuss?

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 30333, ATTN:PRA (0920-0621).

9. Are there any special clearance procedures with which our research request must comply? (IF YES:) Please send me any necessary forms so that we can return them as quickly as possible. Do you see any problem in obtaining the district’s endorsement of the survey? (IF SO:) We expect that some districts will not choose to endorse the survey. In such cases, CDC is asking that the district allow each school to make up its own mind whether to participate. Can we obtain a letter indicating the district’s support or approval?

[RESOLVE APPROVAL ISSUES, AND THEN VERIFY SCHOOL DATA.]

10. Your support of the survey is important to obtaining the cooperation of the schools. Since we would like to contact the schools as quickly as possible to inform them about the survey, we’d like to request that your office call each selected principal confirming that we have contacted you concerning their selection, have complied with any clearance requirements, and will be contacting them soon. Can you do this? Or if you prefer, with your approval we will contact the school(s) and inform them that “we spoke to District Superintendent {Name} on {Date}. {He/she} has given {his/her} approval for our contacting you today.” Or would you prefer to call or write each school principal yourself before we contact them? (IF SO:) Could you give me an idea when you expect to make the contacts? I’d like to confirm with you that you’ve made contact before we proceed. (IF CONTACT WILL BE BY LETTER:) Could you send me a copy of the letter?

11. IF DISTRICT DENIES PERMISSION TO CONTACT: RECORD ALL REASONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES CONCERNING DENIAL. Thank you very much for the time you’ve spent talking to me today. END CONVERSATION ON POSITIVE NOTE, ALLOWING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE CONTACT ON THIS ISSUE.

12. (IN RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES ABOUT TIMING :) We do not know the exact dates when we would be in your schools. Data collection nationally will start in {Month} and end in {Month}, {Year}. My guess is that we will try to be in your schools {Probably Timing}.

13. To facilitate our contacts with the schools, we would ask that you help with certain information. Can you tell me when during that period there will be holidays, breaks, or other events that would prevent data collection on a given day?

14. When does school close for Spring/Easter and Summer vacations? Do seniors get out earlier than the other students?

15. Are there any other special circumstances or requirements we should be aware of for {Name(s) Of School(s)}? By this I mean reorganizations, anticipated permanent or temporary school closings, new principals, or something like that? Any changes in the grades offered at these schools in the past year?

16. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation with us on this very important survey. Please feel free to call either {Name} at {Name} if you have any questions. CDC has contracted with {Name} to conduct this survey. The number is <#>. You may also contact Dr. Sean Hu, at CDC. His number is (770) 488-5845.