Appendix P.6. Case study call script

P.6. Case study call script

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

OMB Control No: XXXX-XXXX

Expiration date: XX/XX/20XX

Script for telephone call with State SNAP Agencies regarding case study participation

I. Introductions

Hello. This is [NAME] at Mathematica. I’m the [TITLE] for the SNAP Language Access Study. My colleague [NAME] is also on the line. S/he is the Study’s [TITLE]. Who do we have on the phone call from [STATE]?

STATE MAKES INTRODUCTIONS.

Thank you for your time today. The purpose of this call is to discuss your State’s participation in a case study site visit for the SNAP Language Access Study. We will provide you with an overview of the study, describe the activities involved in site visit participation, and answer any questions you have.

II. Brief description of SNAP Language Access Study

Mathematica is conducting the SNAP Language Access Study on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). It is the first nationwide review of language access policies in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) agencies.

This study seeks to understand how States, Territories, and local areas implement language access requirements through policies, guidance, and operations. This study will also gather information on States’ and Territories’ perceptions of resources available to properly implement these requirements. The information gathered in this study will enable FNS to better help State agencies serve individuals in need of language access services.

Public Burden Statement

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service to better understand the language landscapes in which Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) agencies operate and their associated limited English proficiency (LEP) policies and operations. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to improve access of SNAP to LEP individuals. 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 1 hour 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.

You already completed a survey that was sent out to all State SNAP agencies. As you may recall, the “SNAP Language Access Survey” collected information related to language access requirements, guidance, policy, and operations, as well as the application of these services to specific SNAP programs. Through this survey of States, we also collected documentation of language access policies and operations.

To gather information on how language access policies, plans, procedures, and operations function at the local level, we are conducting SNAP case studies in four States. The case studies will provide a detailed understanding of how State and local SNAP agencies serve LEP individuals. After this study overview I’ll describe the case studies in more detail.

Do you have any questions at this point?

DISCUSS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Now I’d like to describe the activities involved in participating in a case study site visit.

III. Case study overview

Broadly, the goal of the case studies is to understand how language access policies, plans, procedures, and operations function at the State and local level, including the challenges including the challenges staff in local SNAP offices face when serving LEP individuals; outside resources available to LEP individuals when applying for or participating in SNAP; and local staff’s perceptions about Federal LEP policies, regulations, and statutes.

To gather information on these topics, in each case study State a team of Mathematica staff will complete a site visit to the State capitol and three local areas. These site visits will provide us with valuable insights that will help further FNS’ understanding of these topics. The site visits are not an audit or assessment of the State or local office’s operations.

We plan to spend about a half day in the State capitol interviewing State-level SNAP staff. Then we will travel to the local areas to interview local-level SNAP staff, including administrators and frontline staff. We expect the site visits to last a total of about three days.

We would like to make sure the local offices we include in the site visit are within driving distance of the State capitol and include at least one that serves a rural area and one that serves an urban area. We would also be interested in hearing your recommendations for local offices that might be a good fit based on any practices used to serve LEP individuals. The Mathematica study team will then work with FNS to make the final determinations as to which local areas to include in the site visit.

The findings from the case studies will be used to generate a report that describes the language landscape in the case study States and includes recommendations for FNS to help agencies ensure that LEP individuals have meaningful access to SNAP. The information provided in the reports could also be used by States to inform their SNAP program implementation for LEP individuals.

Do you have any questions about the activities that will be included in the site visit?

DISCUSS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Do you have any ideas about local offices that might be a good fit for a site visit?

NOTE SUGGESTIONS AND MOVE ON TO NEXT SECTION.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IV. Site visit scheduling

let’s discuss possible dates for the site visit. Would the week of [FIRST CHOICE DATES] work for you and your staff?

DISCUSS DATES FOR SITE VISIT. IF NEEDED, PROPOSE ALTERNATE DATES THAT WORK FOR THE STUDY TEAM:

[SECOND CHOICE DATES]

[THIRD CHOICE DATES]

IF NONE OF THE PROPOSED DATES WORK FOR THE STATE, ASK:

Is there a week that would work well for you and your staff for a visit?

COMPLETE DISCUSSION OF SITE VISIT TIMING AND NOTE PROPOSED DATES:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

V. Open discussion and next steps

After this telephone call I will create a draft schedule and send it to you. We can then work together to confirm the timing of the visit, which local offices will be included, and any other details needed to finalize the schedule.

Do you have any additional questions or comments we should discuss today?

DISCUSS QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AND RESPONSES.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I will send a follow up email with the draft schedule soon.