Appendix O.2. Template for email from Mathematica to Territory NAP agency

O.2. Template for email from Mathematica to Territory NAP agency

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

OMB Control No: XXXX-XXXX

Expiration date: XX/XX/20XX

Subject: Welcome to the SNAP and NAP Language Access Study

Dear [NAP Territory administrator],

You should have received an email last week from [FNS contact] about the SNAP and NAP Language Access Study. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) contracted with Mathematica to interview the three Territories operating NAP for FNS to develop a deeper understanding of language access for NAP participants and applicants with limited English proficiency (LEP) or needing language assistance services. Please see the study overview linked here for more details. Your responses can help shape future NAP policies and contribute to larger discussions about better serving individuals needing language assistance.

About the interview

The interview will take about 2 hours to complete, plus an additional 30 minutes for gathering and sending documents. The interview is divided into four sections, which include (1) Language access policy, (2) Language access operations, (3) Civil rights policy, and (4) Language access training. In this email, you will find a pre-interview questionnaire containing a series of 9 questions to help us understand how the NAP agency in [Territory name] operates language access policies, regulations, and guidance so that we can tailor our future conversations appropriately. This questionnaire also asks you to identify the best contact at your NAP agency to answer questions for each section of the interview.

You will have a chance to review this pre-interview questionnaire and any questions you have in an initial phone call with us. Below are a few times we’d like to propose for this phone call. Please also complete and send back the pre-interview questionnaire by the date noted below.

Please let us know if you are available at one of the following times for an initial phone call:

• Date, time 1

• Date, time 2

• Date, time 3

Public Burden Statement

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service to better understand the language landscapes in which Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) agencies operate and their associated limited English proficiency (LEP) policies and operations. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to improve access of SNAP to LEP individuals. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. 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 0.0668 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 Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22306 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

After this initial phone call, Mathematica will reach out to the staff you have identified for each section of the interview and send them an email invitation to schedule an interview.

Please complete the pre-interview questionnaire as a fillable PDF by [one week from start date] and return the completed questionnaire to [emailinbox]@mathematica-mpr.com.

Within the interview there are requests for your NAP agency to submit relevant documents. After staff complete the interview, we will send you an email summarizing the documents they identified with instructions for submitting the materials directly to Mathematica. The documents will provide us important context about language access policies and operations in your Territory, but if it is very challenging for your NAP agency to provide us with all requested documents, you may send us what you can.

FNS strongly encourages all NAP agencies to participate in this important study. The information you provide will be private and will not be maintained or disclosed in identifiable form to anyone, except as otherwise required by law. Once we analyze the data, we will provide you with a customized summary of study findings as a thank-you for completing the interview.

Questions about the interview?

If you have any questions or concerns about the interview, please contact the Mathematica study team at [emailinbox]@mathematica-mpr.com or call us at 1-800-XXX-XXXX. You can reach the FNS project officer, Eric Williams, at Eric.Williams@usda.gov.

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this important study.

Sincerely,

Maria Boyle

Project Director, SNAP and NAP Language Access Study