Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T) Program Marketing/Outreach Support: Participant & Prospective Participant Discussions

OMB Control No. 0584-0611

Expiration Date: 11/30/2025

Attachment D: Discussion Guide

SNAP E&T Marketing Support Participant Focus Groups 

Discussion Guide

Please note that this is a semi-structured discussion guide to ensure some consistency across conversations; however, additional probing questions will be asked to follow the flow of each Individual conversation. Also, questions will be customized to the participants in the group, recognizing programs in each state can vary in terms of the names of the programs and their experiences.

Introduction

Thank you for participating in this call.

Team LRG will be supporting the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T) program's efforts in sharing information about Its benefits and value to people who are participating in the program.

We will ask you to share your thoughts about the program. If you don't know about it, that's OK, we'll share some information first, and then get your opinions about It.

The purpose of our chat is to get your thoughts to help with future outreach and communications related to SNAP E&T program.

Our chat will be recorded for our agency to use for notes. We will not share these recordings outside our agency. We’ll write a summary report based on all the conversations, but people’s names will not be connected to any responses.

Ground Rules

• There are no right or wrong answers.

• Share all opinions. Please respect the opinions of others even if you don’t agree.

• Feel free to share examples/stories to help me understand.

• Feel free to build off each other's ideas and discuss with each other. I'm here to facilitate what you talk about and listen.

• Try to stay on topic; I may need to interrupt so that we can cover all the questions, but I will keep track of your opinions on a "Parking Lot" which is a list of other areas that are important to you.

Participant Introduction

[The intent of these questions is to gather background info about the interviewees and develop rapport]

A few questions about you to get started…

• Name

• Work/hobbies

  • Describe an event/activity that you’re looking forward to in 2023.

Discussion Questions

Now let’s hear your thoughts.

1. What do you know, if anything, about workforce development and training programs in your state? [Call out different state programs depending on where participants are from. Probe on positives perceptions, potential areas of Improvement, etc.]

[For those not involved or aware of workforce development programs such as SNAP E&T, describe the programs generally]

Workforce development and training programs such as the SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) are for people already participating in a state food stamp/food benefit program. It can offer free job training or help find a job.

2. [For those not involved in state workforce development programs] Are there other benefits programs such as Foodshare/Food Stamps/Food Assistance/Nutrition Assistance that you are currently involved with or have participated in the past? [Probe TANF]

   1. Walk me through how you became aware of those programs? Who did you talk to? Did you feel well-informed about the services offered? Why or why not?

3. Walk me through the journey/path you took (or would take) to become a part of a workforce development program?

   1. How did you (or would you) become aware of the program?

   2. Who did you (or would you) first talk to?

   3. Where did you (or would you) look for information about this program?

   4. [For those involved in the program] If you can remember, tell me about how that first discussion went? Did you receive all the information you were looking for?]

   5. [For those involved in the program] At what parts of this journey/path could you use more information about the program?

   6. [For those not involved] What additional information would you like to receive to consider joining the program? What, if anything would motivate you to call/connect with a program representative to get more information?

   7. How was your overall experience with the program?

4. What’s the value (or could be the value) of a workforce development program to you? [Probe how does it make you feel being involved in the program? If you are not involved, how do you think it would feel?]

   1. What parts of workforce development programs do you think provide more value than others? Why or why not?

   2. What are some of the important benefits of these programs?

   3. What concerns or areas of improvement do you have or can think of?

5. How do you typically prefer to receive information about government benefits or programs? [Probe phone call, text, email, social media, etc.]

   1. Who do you trust the most to send you information about government benefits and programs? [Probe friend/family, government official, pastor/faith leader, social media, news media, etc.]

   2. [If workforce development program participant] How have you received information from the program before? Have you received all the information you were looking for?

   3. [If workforce development program participant] What suggestions do you have for improving the communication between the SNAP E&T program and participants?

   4. What are some ways workforce development programs like SNAP E&T can better communicate with you about its programs/services?

[Now let’s talk about the SNAP E&T program so if we want to share information with others, we can describe it in a way that is relevant.]

6. Thinking of the value of workforce development and training programs, like SNAP E&T [share the actual names of the programs based on the states the participants represent], to you.…What three words would you use to describe these programs? [If you are not a part of the program, what words do you think you would use]

7. For those currently involved in the program, how do you feel when you interact with workforce development programs such SNAP E&T? [Probe are you empowered, satisfied/dissatisfied, happy, content, encouraged/discouraged, neutral, etc.]

   1. How do you want to feel when interacting with these workforce development programs?

8. What do you feel are positive aspects of how people learn about workforce development programs? [Probe on how it reaches participants/potential participants]

   1. What are areas of improvement for sharing Information about workforce development programs such as SNAP E&T?

9. Is there any other feedback you have regarding the workforce development programs that you’d like to share?

Closing

Thank you so much for participating in this conversation with us today. This will help guide the work we do when sharing information to people about the workforce development programs, like the SNAP E&T program. As a reminder we’ll be sending you a $75 electronic gift card as a token of our appreciation for your participation today. I just want to confirm if the email I’ve been communicating with you is a good one to send the gift card? Thanks!

##

  

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in enhancing the effectiveness of current communications efforts. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to improve communication and marketing efforts to. This collection does 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 0584-0611. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 1.33 hours 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 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 (0584-0611). Do not return the completed form to this address.