Appendix B-1-2. Recruitment Letter to State Agency

Feasibility of Estimating Meal Claim Errors

for Family Day Care Homes in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Appendix B-1-2. Recruitment Letter to State Agency

[On MSG Letterhead or via MSG email]

OMB Number: 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

[Date]

Dear [State contact name]:

As you know, strengthening the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a key goal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Under the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010 (Public Law 111-204),
USDA/FNS is required to identify and reduce erroneous payments in CACFP.

FNS has contracted with Manhattan Strategy Group (MSG), an experienced program evaluation and research firm, in developing a feasibility study to determine a valid and reliable method of assessing errors in CACFP meal claims at Family Day Care Homes (FDCHs). The MSG project team has designed two digital data collection platforms and web-based alternatives for use in the feasibility study: a smartphone application for providers and a text message system for parents. These technological advancements provide simple means for FDCH providers to report meal serving times, and for parents to report child attendance.

The feasibility study is being conducted in two States. The study calls for a sample of 15 sponsors from each State, 20 providers per sponsor, and approximately five parents per provider. It uses a two-group experimental design to collect data during a three-month period. MSG will randomly assign sampled providers to the control or treatment group. MSG will collect preliminary administrative data in November 2016 and implement the data collection platforms with participating sponsors, FDCHs, and parents in March 2017. Participation in the feasibility study is voluntary but strongly encouraged for sponsors and FDCH providers per Section 305 of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. Parent participation is voluntary.

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 15 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.

[STATE] has been identified as one of the States for the feasibility study. At this time, we are contacting you to gain your cooperation in conducting the study. Specifically, we are requesting the following information:

• A list of CACFP sponsors of FDCHs (including a point of contact, email, telephone number, and mailing address) in your State as of [DATE], and the total number of FDCHs supported by each of these sponsors, by tiering level if possible.

• A count of the total number of active FDCHs that participate in the CACFP in [STATE] as of [DATE].

MSG will use this information to select and invite sponsors to participate in the feasibility study. The information that MSG collects will not impact your State’s participation in CACFP or any benefits that your agency, sponsor organizations, or their subsidiary FDCHs are entitled to under CACFP. MSG will securely handle the information we collect from all entities, and will not release it outside this data collection, except as otherwise required by law.

A MSG staff member will contact you within a few days to confirm the receipt of this letter and indicate how we can facilitate the transmission of the requested information. We need your information by [DATE].

I sincerely appreciate your assisting USDA/FNS in complying with IPERA 2010 through this important feasibility study. If you have general questions, please contact the FNS Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this study, Dr. Chanchalat Chanhatasilpa, at Chanchalat.Chanhatasilpa@fns.usda.gov or 703-305-2115. If you have specific questions regarding the study procedures, you may contact me at yzhang@manhattanstrategy.com or 301-828-1346.

Sincerely,

B-1-2.2