Appendix D1 Site Visit Email to WIC Clinic and Schedule Call

Appendix D1. Site Visit Email to WIC Clinic and Schedule Call

OMB Control No: 0584-0663 Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

Dear WIC Clinic Director,

We are writing to request your participation in an important USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) study, the WIC Nutrition Assessment and Tailoring Study (WIC NATS). FNS has contracted with Westat to conduct this study. The study will provide a comprehensive understanding of the WIC nutrition risk assessment process and the ways in which participant benefits are tailored to address the assessment results.

The study provides an excellent opportunity for WIC clinics to partner with researchers and inform FNS about the different approaches to implementing Value Enhanced Nutrition Assessment (VENA) guidance. The success of this study depends on you, who in addition to FNS, will ultimately benefit from the information collected in this study. Findings from this study 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.

Your site and the other local sites selected have a critical role in ensuring the success of this study. The attached study brochure provides information that will be helpful to you and your clinic staff. Please review it and share it with the appropriate individuals at the site. [NAME] (phone, email) will be working with you to answer questions and guide the planning steps for implementing the study in your site.

Westat staff will observe the nutrition risk assessment process at your WIC clinic and at other clinics selected for the study. Study staff will also conduct in-depth interviews with the Site director and with the nutrition services staff to obtain the staff experiences, perceptions, satisfaction, and suggestions for improvements. Interviews with WIC participants will provide insights into the association between nutrition risk assessment practices for tailoring and participant satisfaction.

At your earliest convenience, please respond to this email with your preferred time for a phone call to provide you with more information on the study, give you more detail on what your participation would entail, and schedule the dates for our observations and staff interviews. We expect this phone call to last approximately 60 minutes. Please let us know the times you are available for a call.

As a thank you for your participation in the study, we will provide a small gift of children’s books and games for your clinic’s waiting room. We will also offer the WIC participants who participate in the study $20 (in the form of either a Visa gift card or by electronic payment) for their time.

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

Thank you,

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 0584-0663. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 5 minutes (0.08 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) were recruited into the study and provided policy documents and MIS data.

• All Local Agencies (LAs) within the 10 selected SAs were invited to complete a web-based survey in Spring 2021.

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

• 30 WIC sites (1 per LA) were selected to participate in a week long remote site visit in Summer 2021 and are now invited to participate in an in-person site visit, beginning in [Early-2022].

• 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-2022].

• Final study reports will be published in 2022 and 2023.

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.