Appendix L1 Announcement of Study Extension to WIC State Agencies

OMB Approval No.: 0584-0580

Approval Expires: XX/XX/20XX

APPENDIX L1

Announcement of Study Extension to WIC State Agencies

Dear [insert name]:

Thank you for your ongoing participation in the Feeding My Baby Study. With assistance from State and local agencies and the 80 WIC study sites, 4,367 infants were enrolled in the study during 2013, and many of them are still participating in it. We are pleased to announce that the study is being extended again. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has continued to contract with Westat and its partners to follow the infants enrolled in the study through their sixth birthday, with one additional phone interview conducted at 72 months (six years) and weight and height measurements collected around the time of the child’s sixth birthday. This extension is an opportunity to study the impact of WIC participation beyond the period of eligibility and to explore the impact on food insecurity and other factors during the gap some children experience between participation in WIC and eligibility for school-based Federal food assistance programs.

For the additional year, State and local agencies and WIC sites will be asked to provide a minimal amount of assistance. Westat will communicate about the extension of the study with the parents/caregivers of the children, obtain their consent to continue on the study, and stay in contact with them to encourage their ongoing participation. Westat’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) has reviewed and approved the study extension. For States or local agencies that require IRB approval, Westat will submit an amendment for the study extension to the IRB that has previously approved the study.

During the additional year, the WIC State Agencies and sites in the study will be asked to:

• Facilitate and/or conduct weight and height measurements for children in the study around the time of their sixth birthday, and record the measurements on a Feeding My Baby Study Measurement Card. Westat will ask parents/caregivers to go to a WIC site or healthcare provider to obtain the measurements and will provide them with the measurement card to take to WIC or the healthcare provider to complete and then mail back to Westat.

• Occasionally assist with contacting parents/caregivers of children in the study when they cannot be located through other means. Many of the families with children enrolled in the study may still be participating in WIC for other family members.

As we explained when the study was extended previously, the collection of height and weight measurements for study participants who are no longer on WIC is an authorized use of Nutrition Services and Administration funds under Federal regulations at 7 CFR 246.26(k), which require State and local agencies to cooperate in studies and evaluations conducted by or on behalf of FNS. The attached letter from Sarah Widor, Director, Supplemental Food Programs Division at FNS, confirms that study activities are an allowable WIC cost. However, with State agency agreement, Westat will offer small grants to the 80 study sites for their assistance in weighing and measuring the children who are no longer on WIC.

Altarum and Westat will host a Feeding My Baby Study webinar to provide study updates, including findings from a recent study report, and describe future data collection activities planned for the study extension period. We are pleased to invite you to join the webinar on:

TIME AND DATE

To participate:

• Ten minutes prior to the webinar, go to http://altarum.adobeconnect.com/Altarum.

• Join as a guest by entering your first and last name, and select “enter.” The webinar session will open shortly before the start time.

• When the webinar session opens, a pop-up window will appear offering options for audio. Select the option to call the toll-free number 877.820.7831, passcode 855785#.

If you have any technical questions, please contact webmeeting@altarum.org and provide the name of the webinar—Feeding My Baby Webinar—and date of TIME AND DATE.

The Study Contact(s) at each of the WIC sites will also receive an announcement regarding the extension of the study with an invitation to the webinar.

Following the webinar, we will schedule a short phone call with you to discuss details about the activities associated with the study extension and answer your questions regarding the study. We will also request your assistance in scheduling a conference call to discuss the study extension with the WIC sites in your State. A member of the study team from Altarum will contact you to schedule a convenient time for a call. In the meantime, please feel free to contact Linnea Sallack at linnea.sallack@altarum.org or by phone at 734-302-4925 if you have questions or concerns about the study or if there has been a change in your State Agency point-of-contact for the study.

We appreciate your ongoing support for the Feeding My Baby Study and look forward to talking to you about the extension of the study.

Sincerely,

Linnea Sallack, MPH, RD

Altarum Study Coordinator

Crystal MacAllum, PhD

Operations Director, Westat

Food and Nutrition Service

Park Office Center

3101 Park Center Drive

Alexandria VA 22302

Dear WIC State Agency Director:

Thank you for your participation in the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2, called “Feeding My Baby - A National WIC Study.” We greatly appreciate the cooperation and assistance for this study from you, your staff and the local WIC sites. As explained in a recent communication from the study contractor, Westat, and its partner, Altarum, the Food and Nutrition Service is extending the study for an additional year. This extension until the children in the study reach age six years is an opportunity to examine the impact of WIC participation beyond the period of eligibility and to explore food insecurity and other factors during the gap some children experience between participation in WIC and eligibility for school-based Federal food assistance programs.

A primary purpose of the study is to evaluate how WIC affects feeding practices and childhood obesity. To accomplish study objectives, height and weight measurements of the children have been collected throughout the study period. During the additional year, Westat will ask parents/caregivers to go to a WIC site or healthcare provider to obtain the measurements near the time of the child’s sixth birthday. Westat will provide them with a study measurement card to take to WIC or a healthcare provider and mail back to Westat. Occasionally, Westat may ask for assistance from WIC sites or State agencies to contact parents/caregivers of children in the study when they cannot be located by other means.

The collection of height and weight measurements for study participants who are no longer participating in WIC and assistance with contacting parents/caregivers of children enrolled in the study are authorized uses of Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) funds under Federal regulations. This is consistent with Federal WIC regulations at 7 CFR 246.26(k), which require State and local agencies to cooperate in studies and evaluations conducted by or on behalf of FNS.

WIC State Agency Director

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While NSA funds may be used for these study activities, Westat will offer small grants to sites for collecting the measurements if State Agencies agree to make grants available.

Thank you for your continued support of this important study.

Sincerely,

SARAH WIDOR

Director

Supplemental Food Programs Division

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 number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0580. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 5 minutes (.0833 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 Services, Office of Policy Support, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302, ATTN: PRA (0584-0580).  Do not return the completed form to this address.