Appendix N4 Template for email from study team to State child support and SNAP agencies

Appendix N4

Template for email from study team to State child support
and SNAP agencies

OMB Control No: 0584-XXXX

Expiration date: XX/XX/20XX

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is conducting an important study on child support cooperation requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). FNS has selected [State] to participate in this voluntary study. Leaders from both FNS and the Office of Child Support Enforcement are committed to supporting this study to ensure its success (see attached letters) (Appendix N1–N3: Templates for emails from FNS and the Office of Child Support to state agencies).

This congressionally mandated study, authorized by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (i.e., the Farm Bill), will assess the implementation, impacts, and costs and benefits of child support cooperation requirements in SNAP. We have contracted with Mathematica and its subcontractor, MEF Associates, to help conduct this study. Both firms have extensive experience working with States on research projects focused on child support and SNAP.

The study will include 12 States: 7 States that are exercising the option to implement a child support requirement in SNAP, 2 States that formerly implemented a child support cooperation requirement but no longer do so, and 3 States that are considering implementing this requirement. More information about the study can be found in the attached description (Appendix N6: Project fact sheet).

[State] has been selected for this study because [it has a child support requirement for SNAP participants] [it previously had a child support requirement for SNAP participants] [a proposal has been submitted in the State legislature to mandate child support cooperation in SNAP.] [State]’s participation in this study will inform our understanding of the implications of child support cooperation requirements for child support programs.

FNS has structured this study to maximize the input from key stakeholders, including those from local program offices. [State-level representative name] identified [locality] for inclusion in this study. Inclusion of local program offices in this study is essential for developing a complete understanding of how these policies [are] [could be] implemented locally.

The data collection activities for this study include:

• A site visit from the research team that will include interviews with State staff from SNAP and child support agencies as well as visits to two local SNAP and two child support agency offices;

• Collection of administrative data from SNAP, child support, [and, in some States, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] from the respective State agencies; and

• [In-depth interviews with 25 to 30 SNAP participants]

We will make every effort to minimize the burden on States when collecting the information needed to address the research objectives.

As a next step, I would like to schedule a call with you and any other relevant members of your staff to discuss the study in more detail. I have listed times when we are available below. However, if none of these times work, please suggest alternatives or direct me to someone on your team who can help with scheduling. In the interim, please don’t hesitate to contact me (at [add email]), the study’s Project Director (Pamela Holcomb at [email protected]), or the FNS Project Officer (Michael Burke at [email protected]) if you have any questions.

[placeholder for the potential dates/times]

We look forward to working with you.

[Name]

[Title]

[Organization]

cc: Pamela Holcomb, Michael Burke

Public Burden Statement

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 one minute 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 to reducing this burden, to the following address: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314, ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: This information is being collected under the authority of Section 9 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, (7 U.S.C. 2018). Disclosure of the information is voluntary.

Purpose: The information is being collected to evaluate Child Support Cooperation Requirements in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Routine Use: The information may be shared with SNAP contract researchers and USDA SNAP research and administrative staff.

Disclosure: Disclosure of the information is voluntary. If all or any part of the information is not provided, interviews may not be admissible in data sets.

The Systems of Records Notices relevant to this collection are FNS-8 FNS Studies and Reports located at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1991-04-25/pdf/FR-1991-04-25.pdf and FNS-10 Persons Doing Business with the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) located at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/03/31/00-8005/privacy-act-proposed-new-system-of-records.