Appendix G. Pretest revisions_revision1_clean

Appendix G. Pretest revisions

OMB No. 0584-[NEW]

Survey of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) Case Management

June 25, 2021

Project Officer: Kristen Corey

Office of Policy Support

Food and Nutrition Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1320 Braddock Place

Alexandria, VA 22314

survey of snap E&T case Management

Survey and site visit discussion guide pretest revisions

Instrument	Section or question	Revision
Survey	All sections and multiple questions	Revised the introductory language in each section of the survey to emphasize that the study team is mainly interested in capturing what the State policy and guidance indicate and the study team does not expect that the survey will fully capture variation within States at the local level. Reframed questions that ask about how policies are generally implemented in practice to clarify that State agencies should respond to the best of their understanding.
Survey	Multiple questions	Simplified the question text and response options related to policy and guidance by collapsing “written guidance only” and “oral guidance only” into a single response option. Dropped the descriptors of “written” and “oral” from the question text and response options to reduce the cognitive burden on respondents. The consolidated response option for guidance would change to “yes, guidance only.” Revised questions that ask about policy and guidance to read, for example, “Does your agency provide policy or guidance on how frequently case managers must communicate with SNAP E&T participants?” Revised the consolidated response option for guidance to “yes, guidance only.”
Survey	Multiple questions	Revised response options for questions that ask respondents to identify the proportion of local SNAP offices or E&T providers that perform a specific activity or service (like use specific assessment tools) to be “1-24%”, “25-49%,” “50-74%,” and “75-100%” instead of “Offered by just a small number of local SNAP offices or providers,” “Offered by some but not most local SNAP offices or providers,” “Offered by most or all local SNAP offices or providers.”
Survey	Multiple questions	Revised questions that ask how the respondent’s program is implemented in practice to begin with “To the best of your understanding, in practice, roughly what share of…”
Survey	Multiple questions	Revised references to the E&T component “job search” to “supervised job search.”
Survey	Question i1	Revised the response options from “SNAP E&T program targets this population State or territory-wide” to “targeted State- or territory-wide;” from “SNAP E&T program targets this population in some counties or providers” to “targeted in some counties or providers;” from “SNAP E&T program serves this population, but it is not a specific target” to “served but not targeted;” and from “SNAP E&T program does not serve this population” to “not served.”
Survey	Questions i4a and i4c	Revised the text describing the topics covered in Sections 1 and 3 to clarify that respondents will be asked to report data on caseload size and the total amount paid in participant reimbursements.
Survey	Question A7	Changed response options from “currently offered in some areas of the State or territory” and “currently offered State- or territory-wide” to “currently offered by some providers” and “currently offered by all providers.”
Survey	Question A9a	Revised the question from “What SNAP E&T case management services and activities are specifically allowed by policy or guidance?” to “What SNAP E&T case management services and activities does your policy or guidance include?”
Survey	Question A11a	Revised question from “What SNAP E&T case management approaches or techniques are specified by policy or guidance?” to “What SNAP E&T case management approaches or techniques does your policy or guidance include?”
Survey	Question A15	Revised question from “What, if any, additional resources has your State or territory already invested—or plans to invest—in case management for SNAP E&T participants in response to the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) case management requirement” to “In response to the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) case management requirement, what, if any, additional resources has your State or territory already invested—or does it plan to invest—in case management for SNAP E&T participants?” Revised response option “no investment made or planned in response to the requirement” to “no additional or new investment made or planned.”
Survey	Question B2a	Revised first two response options from “Participant background assessment tool developed by or for the State or territory” and “Needs and barrier assessment tool developed by or for the State or territory” to “Participant background assessment tool developed by or for the State, territory, or provider” and “Needs and barrier assessment tool developed by or for the State, territory, or provider.” Added questions to ask respondents who select response options 1 or 2 to specify the name of the assessments.
Survey	Question B8c	Added a question to ask respondents who select response options 1 or 2 to specify the name of the assessments.
Survey	Question B15a	Dropped the question “Please write the name of the specific assessment or assessments that policy or guidance specifies SNAP E&T participants complete or pass before beginning the following E&T components.”
Survey	Instructions for submitting assessment tool	Revised instructions to emphasize that only one tool is needed.
Survey	Section C	Added a question before question C7 to ask whether agencies set any one-time caps on the value of participant reimbursements, followed by a question asking respondents to indicate the amount of one-time caps.
Survey	Question C1	Revised response option from “available to NO participants” to “not available.”
Survey	Question C3	Added the definition of policy and guidance to the text of the question.
Survey	Questions C3a, C4, C16	Split combined questions into two separate questions to first ask respondents which staff inform SNAP E&T participants about available participant reimbursements and then to ask at what point staff inform participants of available reimbursements. Revised to include response options in a matrix instead of a list of combined responses.
Survey	Question C7	Revised question to include the following definition “A cap is the maximum value of a reimbursement a participant can receive within a certain time frame or by type of service.”
Survey	Questions C7 and C8	Revised question format from “Does your agency set any monthly/annual caps on the values of participant reimbursements each SNAP E&T participant can receive” to “Does your agency set a monthly/annual cap on the value of any participant reimbursement each SNAP E&T participant can receive.”
Master discussion guide	Section C	Added the following probes: “How do you define case management in your SNAP E&T program? What does case management include or encompass at your organization?” “What is the goal or goals of your case management approach? Does the goal or goals depend on the individual participant? If so, how? Probe for the following: Helping the participant get a job? Making sure the participant fulfills SNAP requirements? Teaching the participant new skills? Other goals?”
Master discussion guide	Section C	Added the following definition of initial assessment “By initial assessment, we mean an assessment of SNAP E&T participants who have already been determined to be eligible or required to participate in the E&T program. Initial assessments may include assessments of participants’ needs, barriers, and work readiness.”
Master discussion guide	Section D	Added the following question “Does [State agency] have policy or guidance about how case management should be aligned or coordinated across programs, such as those funded by WIOA? If yes, describe.”
Master discussion guide	Section D	Added the following question “What current federal SNAP policies, if any, are influencing how you are implementing the case management requirement? How have your policies for case management, assessments, and participant reimbursements changed because of these policies, if at all?”
Master discussion guide	Section D	Added the following questions and probes “Has FNS provided you any specific guidance or technical assistance about implementing the E&T case management requirement? What about for providing assessments or participant reimbursements? If so, describe the guidance or technical assistance you received. How helpful has this support been? How has it influenced your policy or guidance? What additional guidance or technical assistance would be useful?”
Master discussion guide	Section G	Revised question from “On average, how many cases do you maintain currently?” to “About how many cases do you maintain currently.” Deleted probe “Does this number vary depending on the case manager or the time of year. Describe.”
Master discussion guide	Section J	Added the following questions and probes: “[If not previously discussed:] What successes have you experienced implementing E&T case management in the past two years? To what do you attribute these successes? Have you experienced successes specific to implementing assessments? Have you experienced successes specific to implementing participant reimbursements or support services? [If not previously discussed:] What challenges have you experienced implementing E&T case management in the past two years? What have you done/been doing to overcome these challenges? Have you experienced challenges specific to implementing assessments? Have you experienced challenges specific to implementing participant reimbursements or support services?”