Appendix J.9 Survey reminder call script

J.9 Survey reminder call script

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Public Burden Statement

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in examining how State SNAP agencies shifted operations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a voluntary data collection and FNS will use the information to describe how State agencies shifted operations during and after the public health emergency and identify best practices and lessons learned. 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 and Expiration Date XX-XX-20XX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to take 0.08 hours per response. 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).

SNAP COVID-19 Survey – Reminder call script

Call to SNAP director when introductory section is incomplete: Suggested text to collect missing survey information

Hello, my name is _____________________. I’m calling from Mathematica, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, to follow up on an email sent to [State/Territory SNAP administrator name] about the SNAP COVID-19 Survey. Could I speak to [State/Territory SNAP administrator name]?

• IF SNAP DIRECTOR UNAVAILABLE, HERE ARE SOME PROMPTS:

  • Okay, may I have your name?

  • When is the best time to reach [SNAP administrator name]?

  • Is this the best number to call?

  • May I leave a voice message?

• IFI LEAVING A MESSAGE: This is ­­­­­______________. I’m calling from Mathematica, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, to follow up on an email you received about the SNAP COVID-19 Survey. We want to remind you to please complete the introductory section of the survey as soon as possible. It should take less than 5 minutes. If you prefer to assign the remaining sections to other staff, the survey asks you to identify which [State/Territory] agency staff will complete which sections. Once you assign the survey sections to staff, we can follow up with those staff directly. The link to the survey is in an email from [study email address]. Or you can call me back to complete the survey over the phone or ask me any questions about the survey or study. My name again is _________, and my phone number is [fill study toll free number]. Thank you for your help with this important survey!

• IF CONNECTED TO SNAP DIRECTOR: This is ­­­­­______________. I’m calling from Mathematica, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, to follow up on an email we sent you about the SNAP COVID-19 Survey. We have been trying to reach you about this survey for a few weeks. If you have not received our emails, I can resend to a correct address.

  • COLLECT UPDATED EMAIL ADDRESS/CONFIRM EMAIL ADDRESS. CONTINUE TO MORE DETAIL.

• IF THEY REQUEST MORE DETAIL: FNS contracted with Mathematica to conduct this study. This study will document and describe how State SNAP agencies shifted operations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on changes related to the core operations of SNAP application and recertification processes, case management, and benefit issuance. The study seeks to assess what did and did not work and why and to understand the decision-making process that led to States’ responses to date and plans for after the public health emergency ends. This study also will identify the changes that are here to stay for the near future and consider the lessons learned to inform continued program improvement and increased preparedness for any future disruptions that affect service delivery. The information you provide in the survey will inform best practices and support SNAP programs across the country. FNS strongly encourages all SNAP agencies to participate in this important study. The information you provide will be private and will not be maintained or disclosed in identifiable form to anyone, except as otherwise required by law. To participate, we are asking you to complete a 45-minute online survey. The survey includes multiple sections. When you complete the introductory section, you may assign other staff to complete the other sections, or you may complete all sections yourself, if you prefer. We ask you to please complete at least the introductory section as soon as possible.

• OFFER TO COMPLETE OVER THE PHONE: Would you like me to ask you the questions from the introductory section now, as we’re already on the phone? It will only take a few minutes.

• IF YES: Great! Give me one moment to pull up your survey. For quality assurance purposes, do you mind if I record the interview?

  • IF RECORDING OKAY: Okay, I’m going to place you on hold briefly to set up the recording. PRESS RECORD IN WEBEX AND ASK:

    • Just to confirm, do you give your permission for me to begin the interview at this time?

  • IF RECORDING NOT OKAY: Okay, I understand.

  • OPEN DATA ENTRY SURVEY URL FOR STATE/TERRITORY AND ADMINISTER ASSIGNED SECTION(S) OVER THE PHONE. IF SNAP ADMINISTRATOR ASSIGNS ANY ADDITIONAL SECTIONS TO HIM OR HERSELF, ATTEMPT TO COMPLETE THOSE SECTIONS ON THE CALL AS WELL.

• CLOSING IF SOME SECTIONS ASSIGNED TO OTHER STAFF: Thank you so much for completing your part of the survey! We will email the other staff you named to give them the link to the survey and ask them to complete their section. It would be great if you could let them know to expect an email from us. We would like them to complete their section of the survey within the next two weeks. After we complete our data collection, we will include the findings in a final report. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you and thank you again!

• CLOSING IF ALL SECTIONS (FULL SURVEY) COMPLETED OVER THE PHONE: Thank you so much for completing [State/Territory name]’s survey! We will include the findings from study in a final report. The final thing the study team would like to ask of you now is to provide us with the documents we discussed during the survey, which include: [INTERVIEWER SHOULD LIST ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WERE DISCUSSED IN THE SURVEY AND PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF HOW AND WHEN WE EXPECT THE ADMINSTRATOR TO SEND THEM].

• Do you have any questions about this while we’re on the phone? [ANSWER QUESTIONS AS NEEDED.] It has been a pleasure speaking with you, and thank you again!

• IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO COMPLETE OVER THE PHONE: Okay. The link to the survey is included in the emails we’ve sent you. I’ll resend the link to you now. If you’d like, we can schedule a time for me to call you back to complete the introductory section over the phone.

• CONFIRM EMAIL ADDRESS AND RESEND SURVEY URL. ATTEMPT TO CONFIRM RECEIPT WHILE STILL ON PHONE. SCHEDULE CALLBACK TIME (INCLUDING BEST PHONE NUMBER), IF REQUESTED.

• CLOSING IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO COMPLETE OVER THE PHONE: It’s been nice speaking with you and thank you so much for your help with this survey. FNS is really looking forward to seeing the results so that it can better understand agencies’ adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please try to complete the introductory section of the web survey within the next week. After you do, we will email any staff you designate to complete the other survey sections. It would be helpful if you could let them know that you’re assigning them to complete the survey sections and that they should expect an email from us. If you have any questions or would rather do any part of the survey over the phone, you can call us at [toll-free study number]. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you and thank you again.

Call to respondent when assigned section incomplete: Suggested text

Hello, my name is _____________________. I’m calling from Mathematica, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, to follow up on an email we sent to [respondent name] about the SNAP COVID-19 Survey. Could I speak to [respondent name]?

• IF RESPONDENT UNAVAILABLE, HERE ARE SOME PROMPTS:

  • Okay, may I have your name?

  • When is the best time to reach [respondent name]?

  • Is this the best number to call?

  • May I leave a voice message?

• IF LEAVING A MESSAGE: This is ­­­­­______________. I’m calling from Mathematica, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, to follow up on an email you received about the SNAP COVID-19 Survey. [State/Territory SNAP director name] assigned you to complete the section(s) on [SNAP policy changes related to COVID-19/ Application processing, certification and recertification, and verification/ Benefit issuance/ Client case management and communication/ Technology and data systems]. We want to remind you to please complete your section(s) of the survey as soon as possible. It will only take about 5-10 minutes per section. The link to the survey is in an email from [study email address]. Or you can call me back to complete the survey over the phone, or to ask me any questions. My name again is _________, and my phone number is [fill study toll-free number]. Thank you for your help with this important survey!

• IF CONNECTED TO RESPONDENT: This is ­­­­­______________. I’m calling from Mathematica, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, to follow up about the SNAP COVID-19 Survey. [State/Territory SNAP director name] assigned you to help us with this survey. We have been trying to reach you about this survey for the past few weeks.

  • FNS is sponsoring a new study to develop a deeper understanding of how SNAP agencies have adapted their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The information you provide in the survey will inform best practices and support SNAP programs across the country in preparing for future disruptions to service delivery.

  • To participate, we are asking you to complete an online survey. [SNAP administrator name] has already started the survey and asked that you complete the section(s) about [FILL SURVEY SECTIONS]. Each section takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. We want to ask you to please complete your assigned section(s) as soon as possible.

• OFFER TO COMPLETE OVER THE PHONE: Would you like me to ask you the questions from your section(s) now, as we’re already on the phone? It will only take a few minutes.

• IF YES: Great! Give me one moment to pull up your survey. For quality assurance purposes, do you mind if I record the interview?

  • IF RECORDING OKAY: Okay, I’m going to place you on hold briefly to set up the recording. [Instructions: In Jabber window, click Meet Now icon. Have WebEx meeting call you. Join the meeting by pressing 1. In your Jabber window, click the three dots, then select Merge and the caller name/number. After the calls are merged, click record.]

  • IF RECORDING NOT OKAY: Okay, I understand.

  • OPEN DATA ENTRY SURVEY URL FOR STATE/TERRITORY AND ADMINISTER ASSIGNED SECTION(S) OVER THE PHONE.

• CLOSING IF ASSIGNED SECTION(S) COMPLETED OVER THE PHONE: Thank you so much for completing your part of the survey! After we complete our data collection, we will include the findings in a final report.

  • Do you have any questions about this while we’re on the phone? [ANSWER QUESTIONS AS NEEDED.] It’s been a pleasure speaking with you and thank you again!

• IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO COMPLETE OVER THE PHONE: Okay. The link to the survey is included in the emails we’ve sent you. I’ll resend it to you now. If you’d prefer, we can schedule a time for me to call you back to complete your section(s) over the phone.

• CONFIRM EMAIL ADDRESS AND RESEND SURVEY URL. ATTEMPT TO CONFIRM RECEIPT WHILE STILL ON PHONE. SCHEDULE CALLBACK TIME (INCLUDING BEST PHONE NUMBER) IF REQUESTED.

• CLOSING IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO COMPLETE OVER THE PHONE: It’s been nice speaking with you and thank you so much for your help with this survey. FNS is really looking forward to seeing the results so that it can better understand agencies’ adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please try to complete your section(s) of the web survey within the next week. We’ll plan to call again in a week if you have not had a chance to complete your section(s) of the survey by then. If you have any questions or would rather do any part of the survey over the phone, you can call us at [toll-free study number]. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you and thank you again.