State and Local Government Respondents

C3. State Agency Recruitment Email

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State Agency Recruitment Email:

Sent to: [State Agency Contact]

Subject: USDA’s Study of Nutrition and Activity in Child Care Settings II (SNACS-II)

Dear [State Contact Name]:

[STATE] is one of 25 States that were randomly sampled to participate in the second Study of Nutrition and Activity in Child Care Settings (SNACS-II). This important study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will help providers, sponsors, and USDA learn more about how the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) helps children learn and grow. We are requesting your support for and cooperation with the study.

SNACS-II will look at the nutrition and wellness environment and activities of more than 1,300 child care centers, family child care homes, and before- and after-school programs across the country, provide a snapshot of current CACFP operations, and examine how key outcomes have changed since updated meal pattern requirements have gone into effect to encourage healthier eating. While participation in this study is voluntary, sampled providers and their sponsors are strongly encouraged to participate per Section 28 of the National School Lunch Act. USDA selected Mathematica and its research partner, Westat, to conduct this study.

CACFP providers in your State will be selected to participate in SNACS-II. We need your help to select the sample of providers. We ask that you give us the following: (1) a complete list of all child care providers and their sponsors participating in CACFP in your State as reported to FNS on FORM 44 in March 20XX, and (2) a complete list of all sponsor organizations with the number of meals claimed in March 20XX. Details for this data request, including file requirements and required data elements, can be found in the [LINK TO W.C2: Reference Guide for Sample Frame Data File] on our study website. You can use the attached data file template as a guide for creating the requested lists, if you’d like. The data files should be uploaded to our secure file transfer site, as outlined on the State page of our study website [LINK TO C1]. We need these lists back by [DATE] to keep the study on schedule.

We will select a sample of providers from your list. All selected providers will be asked to complete a survey about CACFP operations and a menu survey, which asks about the meals and snacks served to children for a one-week period. Subsets of providers will also be asked to complete additional activities including: 1) give information about the cost of producing CACFP meals and snacks; 2) facilitate meal and environment observations, parent/guardian interviews, and child height and weight measurements by professional data collectors; 3) give information about infant dietary intakes; and/or 4) facilitate the administration of a survey completed by youth.

A member of the study team will contact you in the next week to tell you more about the study, answer any questions you have, and work with you to obtain the needed information. We will be available to provide technical assistance throughout the process.

You can see more about the study on the study website at [URL] using passcode [passcode]. If you have any questions about the study, contact the study team toll free at [study phone] or email [study email].

Thank you in advance for your support and participation in this important study.

Sincerely,

Mary Kay Fox

SNACS-II project director

Mathematica

Attachments: Data File Template