State, Local, or Tribal Government Responsive

Appendix I.

USDA endorsement letter for WIC State agencies

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 1 minute/.0167 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, 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.

[Date]

Dear [WIC State Agency Director]:

As you know, WIC provides critical food assistance and nutrition education to more than 6 million low-income pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children every day. Congress provided FNS with $390 million and waiver authority to support WIC modernization. With your partnership, we are using those funds to transform WIC to better meet the needs of today's families so they can thrive.

A key component of the WIC modernization efforts is to conduct a rigorous evaluation to help both FNS and its WIC State agency partners understand the impacts of the modernization efforts, including what is working and what we might need to adjust. WIC modernization seeks to improve participation, the participant experience, and service delivery. WIC modernization efforts cover the following five areas: 1) prioritizing outreach; 2) modernizing technology and service delivery; 3) improving the shopping experience; 4) expanding access to farmers’ markets; and 5) supporting the WIC workforce.

FNS has contracted with Mathematica and its partners, MEF Associates and Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI), to conduct the WIC & FMNP Outreach, Innovation and Modernization Evaluation (WIC Modernization Evaluation). We look forward to collaborating with you to learn critical information through this evaluation – especially in three areas:

• How are States progressing in the implementation of WIC modernization projects and waivers? How many WIC participants and eligible non-participants are they reaching? What is going well that can be replicated elsewhere?

• How are the modernization efforts improving the experiences and satisfaction of WIC participants, vendor staff, and staff at State agencies, local agencies, and clinics?

• How are the modernization efforts moving the needle on key participant outcomes? Is WIC reaching more eligible families? Are families staying on WIC until they are no longer eligible? Are families redeeming more of their food benefits? And ultimately, are all different types of people able to take advantage of WIC’s life-improving benefits and services?

Participation in this study is required for WIC State and local agencies, and the study will include data collection from staff, vendors, and participants from all WIC State agencies. Participation in data collection activities by individuals is voluntary. We will also be leveraging the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC) data collection for the WIC Modernization Evaluation. Thank you for all you are doing to provide these data.

Your involvement is critical to the project’s success. The Mathematica team will be reaching out to you shortly to set up a time to discuss the study and your agency’s role in it.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the study, please contact the study at [EMAIL]@mathematica-mpr.com or XXX-XXX-XXXX. You can reach the FNS project officer, Carol Dreibelbis, at [email protected].

Sincerely,

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[Name]

[Title]