Fast Track Clearance_WIC CX Landscape Analysis_2023 09 14 CLEAN

Request for Approval under the “FNS Fast Track Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0584-0611)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: WIC CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT

PURPOSE: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is committed to continuous improvement to the services delivered to the American public. As part of FNS agency priorities, the Supplemental Nutrition and Safety Research and Analysis Division is conducting an evaluation of current WIC State agency practices collecting and reporting on the WIC customer experience (CX).  

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental food, nutrition education, and referrals to health and social services to pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 years who are living in low-income households and who are at nutritional risk. WIC is administered by 89 WIC State agencies and serves more than 6 million individuals.

In December 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14058 on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government. The Executive Order requires “High Impact Service Providers” (HISPs) or those agencies that provide or fund customer-facing services that have a high impact on the public to comply by measuring and managing customer experience. USDA FNS is considered a HISP and this information collection will contribute to FNS’ goal to collect feedback on the WIC services of highest-impact and report the findings back to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-11 (2020), Section 280. As such, FNS seeks to understand State agencies’ current practices regarding the collection, analysis, reporting, and use of information related to the WIC participant customer experience and to help State agencies continue to improve these efforts. 

This information collection request (ICR) is one component of the WIC Customer Experience Landscape Assessment project, which will collect information on key characteristics of WIC State agency efforts to obtain and report on the WIC customer experience; synthesize findings across key indicators for information collection such as when, how, and from whom information is collected; the content of information collected from WIC participants; the estimated burden associated with completing CX information requests; how data are assessed; and how data are used to improve customer experiences. This ICR applies only to the project’s engagement with WIC State agencies to collect this information through a brief online survey. FNS intends to conduct a census of WIC State agencies for this information collection using the survey included in Appendix A. Appendix B includes a list of the 89 WIC State agencies that will be contacted and invited to complete this questionnaire. Appendix C includes an introductory email that will accompany the questionnaire.

Information gathered in the survey will help provide insights into current practices, technical assistance needs, and best practices for collecting, assessing, and using information related to the WIC participant experience. FNS will use the information gathered in this information collection to identify gaps in State agency needs related to the WIC customer experience and will identify ways that FNS can best support WIC State agencies in collecting, analyzing, and acting upon this information in the future.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Respondents will include up to 89 WIC State agency staff members responding on behalf of their representing WIC State agencies.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

[X ] Quick census or surveys

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Caroline Dunn, Senior Social Science Analyst, SNAS-RAD

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ X] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ X] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Sensitive Information:

1. Will sensitive information, such as demographic characteristics, be collected from respondents?

[ ] Yes [ X] No

2. If yes, explain the necessity of such information to the programmatic objective(s)?

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
WIC State agency staff (WIC State agency representative) (Appendix A)	89	0.25 hours (15 minutes)	22.25 hours
SNAS-RAD email to State agencies (Appendix C)	89	0.08 hours (5 minutes)	7.12 hours
Totals	89	0.33 hours	29.37 hours

• WIC State agency staff time: $1,120.75

  • 89 Social and Community Service Managers each working .33 hours (20 minutes) on average at a mean hourly wage of $38.16 based on May 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Code 11-9151; estimated cost plus 33% fully loaded wage rate is $849.06

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $190,423.51

• All costs are considered non-recurring or capital costs (one-time investment to fulfill this information collection request)

• FNS staff time: $3,167.53

  • GS-14, Step 3 SSA working 40 hours at a rate of $59.54/hour based on the 2023 General Schedule for the Washington/Baltimore/Arlington locality; estimated cost plus 33% fully loaded wage rate is $3,167.53

• Contractor cost: $186,406.92

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?

[ X] Yes [ ] No

2. If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The list of potential respondents will be staff members at WIC State agencies which are currently administering the WIC program. The full list of fiscal year (FY)2023 WIC State agencies and contacts are included in Attachment B. It is FNS’s goal to conduct a census of WIC State agencies, therefore, no additional sampling is required.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X ] No

Attachments:

Appendix A: WIC State agency staff (WIC State agency representative)

Appendix B: WIC State agency list

Appendix C: SNAS-RAD email to State agencies

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