B17a CACFP organizations endorsement letter_English

OMB #: 0584-####

Expiration Date: XX-XX-XXXX

B17a. CACFP organizations endorsement letter--English

[ENDORSER LOGO] [ENDORSER LOGO] [ENDORSER LOGO]

[Date]

RE: Family Child Care Home Provider Experience Survey

Dear Child Care Professional:

For millions of American children, child care is an essential part of their daily lives—it is where they receive much of the nutrition, care, and socialization necessary for their health and wellbeing. Family child care homes are an integral part of this environment, offering flexible hours and serving children in smaller numbers. The Food program, or the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), also plays a significant role in supporting the health and wellness of children by reimbursing providers for nutritious meals served to eligible children in their care.

Unfortunately, family child care home participation in the Food Program has been declining for over a decade. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has commissioned a survey to examine the reasons why family child care providers leave the Food Program and how the program can be improved for family child care providers. The Family Child Care Home (FCCH) Provider Experience Survey gives providers the opportunity to be heard and share their challenges as well as recommendations to improve the Food Program for family child care providers.

The National CACFP Sponsors Association, the Child and Adult Care Food Program Roundtable, the National Association for Family Child Care, and the National Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Forum, are supporting the FCCH Provider Experience Survey and encouraging your participation.

Westat is conducting the survey for the USDA. The survey will be sent to about 5,300 family child care home providers across the country who have participated in the Food Program at any point since 2019. Data will be collected primarily between February and June of 2023.

The data collected through the FCCH Provider Experience Survey will provide critical information to shape program policies that can truly support family child care providers participating in the Food Program.

Thank you for your help with this important survey.

Sincerely,

---insert signature image here--- ---insert signature image here--- ---insert signature image here---

[Name] [Name] [Name]

[Title] [Title] [Title]

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in understanding the decrease in CACFP participation among family child care home providers. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to provide technical assistance and inform program improvements to support family child care home participation in CACFP. This collection does not request any 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 0.0501 hours (3 minutes) 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, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22306 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.