Individual and Household Responsive

Appendix N.2.

WIC participant case study focus group recruitment email from State/local agency

Public Burden Statement

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service to better understand the implementation and impact of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) modernization efforts on WIC State and local agencies, WIC vendors and WIC participants. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to monitor and strengthen WIC program modernization efforts. 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]. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average .0167 hours/1 minute 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, Evidence, Analysis, and Regulatory Affairs Office, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22306, ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

To: [WIC Participant]

From: [WIC State OR Local agency director]

Subject: We want to hear from you! Seeking Your Participation in the WIC Modernization Evaluation

Dear [Name of WIC participant],

WIC has been working hard over the past several years to improve the WIC program and make it easier for people to participate. We want to hear what you think about the recent updates to WIC!

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is sponsoring a new study to learn about the experiences of WIC participants, vendors, and agencies with the WIC program. This study is called the WIC Modernization Evaluation. As part of the study, FNS has contracted with Mathematica and their partners, MEF Associates and the Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI), to conduct focus groups with WIC participants from different parts of the country. Each focus group will have 8-10 WIC participants, and we will ask about your experience with recent changes to the WIC program.

As the WIC [State/local] agency Director, I believe you would be the perfect candidate to participate in a WIC participant focus group, as you have participated in WIC for [AMOUNT OF TIME]. FNS will use the experiences and opinions you shared to better understand participant experiences with the recent WIC program updates and further improve the WIC program for participants like you! You will receive a $50 [TYPE] gift card for participating in the focus group.

Over the next [TIMELINE], you will receive an email from the study team with more information about the study and to schedule the focus group.

Thank you so much for your participation in this important study! If you have any questions, please contact the study team at [EMAIL]@mathematica-mpr.com or XXX-XXX-XXXX. You can reach the FNS project officer, Carol Dreibelbis, at [email protected].

Thank you,

[WIC STATE or LOCAL DIRECTOR NAME, TITLE]