Attachment A-10. Exiter and Possible Exiter IDI recruitment call script

Appendix A-11. Recruitment Call Script for In-Depth Interviews with Exiters and Possible Exiters

[IF REACH PERSON—first make sure that you are reaching the selected respondent]
Hello, my name is [NAME] at Westat and I am contacting you on behalf of the Social Security
Administration. We recently sent you a letter about a study we are conducting called the Beyond
Benefits Study . The study would help the Social Security Administration serve people receiving
benefits better, and you would receive a $40 gift card for your time. You indicated on our study
website that you were interested in participating in the study. Is that still the case?
[IF NO] Thank you for your time.
[IF YES]
Great! I want to review some information about the study. The Social Security Administration (SSA)
has asked Westat to collect information about the service, medical and employment needs of
working-age adults who get disability-related payments from SSA now, but whose disability is less
severe than it was due to medical improvement. The disability payments from SSA may end, or end
soon, because of the improvement. This study will help SSA identify services that can help people
who stop getting SSA disability-related payments and are thinking about going back to work or
finding a better job. The study also gives SSA information that may improve the agency’s disabilityrelated programs and policies. SSA hired Westat, a national research company, to conduct the study.
Participation in this study is voluntary and SSA will protect your information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and other Federal laws. All of your information will remain confidential, and your name
or other identifying information will not be included in any final or published report. Participation in
this study will not affect your eligibility for benefits now or in the future.
We invite you to participate in a 1-hour in-depth interview about your health, your employment
situation, and your experience with using different services in the community. Your participation
may help SSA to improve their programs. We will be conducting interviews by video
conference/online. If you want to participate but are not comfortable using video conference, a
member of our team can walk you through the process of using the video conference software. We
can also conduct the interview by telephone.
If you participate, we will send you a $40 gift card, to offset any costs such as childcare that you may
have incurred by your participation.
Are you interested in scheduling an interview?

YES: SCHEDULE DATE AND TIME; COLLECT PHONE AND EMAIL

Are you comfortable participating by web conference, such as Microsoft Teams?
If yes: We will send you the link to access the web conference at the scheduled date
and time.
If unsure: A member of our team can help walk you through the web conference
software before the interview. Would that help?
If no: That’s fine; we can also conduct the interview by phone.
NO: Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Appendix A-11. Recruitment Call Script for In-Depth Interviews with Exiters and Possible Exiters

Thank you for contacting us today and we look forward to talking with you soon.
[IF LEAVE MESSAGE]
Hello, my name is [NAME] at Westat and I am contacting [PARTICIPANT NAME] on behalf of
the Social Security Administration. We recently sent you a letter about a study we are conducting
called the Beyond Benefits Study . The study would help the Social Security Administration serve
people receiving benefits better, and you would receive a $40 gift card for your time. You indicated
on the study website that you are interested in participating. I am calling to see if [NAME] is still
interested and would like to schedule an interview. For more information, please give me a call at
[STUDY NUMBER]. Thank you for your time.