CEO E4 FNS Letter of Support

CEO E_4 FNS Letter of Support

OMB Clearance # 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX

FNS Letter of Support

Date

Regional Office

[Address here]

Dear :

The FNS Office of Research and Analysis (ORA) has recently contracted with Abt Associates Inc. to conduct an Evaluation of the Community Eligibility (CE) Option. This evaluation was mandated by Congress in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. As specified in the authorizing legislation, the evaluation has the following objectives:

1. To examine the characteristics of eligible schools that participate in the CE Option and those that choose not to participate

2. To examine the incentives and barriers to participation and implementation of the CE Option

3. To estimate CE Option impacts on LEAs, schools and children, including impacts on program administration, nutritional quality and foodservice costs and revenues

To accomplish the first two objectives, Abt Associates will conduct a variety of research activities at the State, LEA and school level including telephone interviews with State CN directors in the 7 States Participating in the CE Option in SY 2012/13, conducting Web surveys with sampled LEAs focusing on experiences and opinions of the CE Option.

Abt Associates will be calling the Child Nutrition Director in each of the 7 States participating in the Community Eligibility Option to gather information that will be necessary to select a sample of LEAs and schools for the evaluation.

After sampling is complete, our contractor will be recruiting LEAs to participate in the various components of the study at the [end of the 2011-12 /start of the 2012-13 school year]. The data collection for LEAs and schools will begin in [October 2011/January 2013], and will be completed by the end of April 2013. The Final Report is expected to be complete by September 2013, at which time it will be submitted to Congress.

A senior member of the Abt Associates project team will be contacting you in the coming weeks to provide you with more information about the evaluation and answer your questions. We encourage your support in helping to make this a successful study. If you have any questions regarding the project you may also contact me at (703) 305-2127 or via email at john.endahl@fns.usda.gov.

Sincerely,

John Endahl

Senior Program Analyst

Office of Research and Analysis

Food and Nutrition Service/USDA

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB 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 3 minutes 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 the Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.