04_D. Email Study Notification From FNS to SNAP State Agencies

D. Email Study Notification From FNS to SNAP State Agencies

OMB Number: 0584-#### Expiration Date: MM/DD/20YY

Email Study Notification From FNS to SNAP State Agencies

Dear [SNAP State Director name],

I am writing to inform you of a new study, Understanding Risk Assessment in SNAP Payment Accuracy (SNAP RA study), and to request your support and participation. We appreciate the time it takes you to respond to these requests, and we value your willingness to share your expertise and encourage others in your State to participate.

The SNAP RA study will provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) with information about tools State agencies use to identify cases at high risk of payment error. These tools go by different names, including case-profiling tools, error-prone profiling tools, and risk assessment tools. The study will examine the development and implementation of these tools, their perceived effectiveness, and any equity considerations. FNS contracted with Westat to conduct the study. The attached document provides more information about the study.

The study involves three primary data collection efforts: (1) an online survey of all SNAP State Directors, (2) interviews with staff in six State agencies, and (3) a request for administrative data from some State agencies with case-profiling tools. We expect data collection to take place June–October 2024.

Next Steps

A member of the Westat study team will email you within a few weeks to request your completion of the online survey. If you would like to designate a different staff person to serve as the primary point of contact for the survey, please send their name, title, email, and telephone number to [study email].

The study team will host [number] webinar sessions to share information about the study and allow State agencies to ask questions. These webinar sessions will be held on the following dates and times:

• [dates and times for webinars]

The study team will soon email you a link to register for these webinars. If you have any questions about the study, please contact me [email protected] or the Westat study team at [study email] or [study phone number].

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

[signature]

Eric Williams

FNS Project Officer

Food and Nutrition Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

[email protected]

Attachment: Study Overview

This information is being collected to provide the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) with key information on case-profiling tools used by SNAP State agencies. This is a voluntary collection, and FNS will use the information to examine risk assessment tools in SNAP. This collection requests 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-####. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 0.042 hours (2.5 minutes) 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-####). Do not return the completed form to this address. If you have any questions, please contact the FNS Project Officer for this project, Eric Williams, at [email protected].

D-2