State Child Nutrition Agency (State Director and Key Staff)

APPENDIX B-3. CONTACT GUIDE: SCHEDULING PREVISIT TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

OMB Number: 0584-NEW

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Contact Guide: Scheduling Pre-visit Telephone Interviews

This call guide is to be used by the Child Nutrition SAE research team when scheduling pre-visit phone interviews with State Child Nutrition Directors and Key Staff.

Notes for Research Team (Caller):

1. Any text that should be read to the contact is presented in sentence case.

2. All instructions or notes to the caller are in ALL CAPS. These are not read to the contact.

3. The result of a call and updated contact information must be documented on the Call Record sheet immediately following the call.

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 for the State Child Nutrition Director to provide this information collection is estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the collection of information.

SECTION A. CALL SCRIPT

Hello, my name is <INSERT NAME>and I am calling from Westat regarding the Child Nutrition State Administrative Expense (SAE) study we are conducting on behalf of the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. Is <CONTACT NAME> available?

Your office should have received notice of the study from USDA in the last couple of weeks. This call is to follow-up on that communication. Do you recall receiving notice of the Child Nutrition SAE study from USDA?

(IF HAS NOT RECEIVED NOTICE): I will make a note to resend those materials to you.

(IF NEEDED, ADD:) The purpose of the Child Nutrition SAE study is to assess the effectiveness of the current formula used for SAE allocations, identify and examine factors that influence State spending, and develop and test a range of possible alternatives to improve the SAE allocation formula. The final product will be a description of the factors influencing State spending, and recommendations to improve the SAE allocation formula.

Do you have any questions about the study?

(RESPOND TO QUESTIONS)

Now that your State has been selected to participate in the study we will begin planning for a site visit to your State. We plan to schedule in-person interviews with a number of key staff, including yourself, who are involved in administering and accounting for SAE funds. Before we begin planning our visit, we would like to schedule a brief 45 minute phone interview with you to ask basic questions about the State agency structure, administrative processes, and staff involved with SAE budgeting or spending. Gathering this kind of high-level information will help us think through who we need to talk with during site visits, and will help us tailor our questions to your State. There is nothing you will need to prepare in advance.

We are hoping to complete all calls by <DATE>, and I’m happy to coordinate our schedules. Are there any dates that work best for you for this call? (IF THE RESPONDENT CAN’T PROVIDE DATES ON THE PHONE: That’s fine. When you have your calendar in front of you, please email me dates and times that work for you. I can be reached at: <PROVIDE EMAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER>.

Thank you.

We look forward to talking with you soon.

Section B. ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGE:

• ON FIRST ATTEMPT, LEAVE VOICE MAIL

• DO NOT LEAVE VOICE MAIL ON CALLS 2 THROUGH 4

• ON FIFTH ATTEMPT, LEAVE A SECOND VOICEMAIL MESSAGE

VOICE MAIL MESSAGE: My name is < INSERT NAME>. I work for Westat, a research company based in Rockville, Maryland. I am calling on behalf of the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service about the Child Nutrition State Administrative Expense (SAE) Study. Your office recently received notice of the study from USDA. I am calling to follow up to try to find a time to schedule a short phone call with you regarding your agency’s SAE budgeting process.

I will try to reach you later, or you can reach me by calling <CONTACT PHONE>. Again, my name is <INSERT NAME> and that number is <CONTACT PHONE>. Thank you very much.

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