State, Local or Tribal Government

OMB Control No: 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX

Appendix U. Case Study Recruitment Email from Project Team

OMB No. 0584-[NEW]

Assessing SNAP Participants’ Fitness for Work

Project Officer: Eric Sean Williams

Office of Policy Support

SNAP Research and Analysis Division

Food and Nutrition Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1320 Braddock Place

Alexandria, VA 22314

703.305.2640

eric.williams@fns.usda.gov

Email from Site Visit Team to State SNAP Agencies Regarding Case Study Participation

Dear [State SNAP Director],  

 

I am following up on a recent email from [Name] of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) about the Assessing SNAP Participants’ Fitness for Work study. My organization, [MEF Associates/Mathematica], and our partner [MEF Associates/Mathematica] are working on this project under contract with FNS to better understand how States determine whether individuals are exempted from work requirements or have good cause for not meeting work requirements due to a physical or mental limitation. Although FNS provides guidelines to States on how to make these determinations, we are interested in understanding how States implement those guidelines. You can find more information about this study in the attached.

As [Name from FNS] mentioned, [State Name] is one of four States FNS selected for a case study as part of our project.

 

The goal of the case study is to gain an in-depth understanding of how caseworkers interpret and implement your State’s policies and guidance for making fitness for work determinations. We hope that these case studies will help FNS better understand how States make these decisions, and identify lessons learned to share across all State SNAP agencies.

The case study will consist of both administrative data collection and [in-person/virtual] site visits. Site visits will be conducted over a three-day period, and our team hopes to conduct interviews with State leadership, local SNAP office administrators, eligibility and case management staff from your State, and case managers at partner organizations providing employment and training services. Additionally, we would plan to observe a few eligibility interviews if possible. Together, the interviews, observations, and administrative data analysis will provide valuable information on the fitness for work determination process.

 

To begin, we would like to schedule a one-hour call to discuss next steps and answer any questions you may have. We have suggested some times during which we are available. If none of these work for you, please let us know and we will look for additional times.

[TIME SLOTS]

 

We look forward to discussing this research effort with you further and hope you will reach out with any questions.  

 

Best,

[Site Visit Lead]

 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in understanding how States assess physical or mental limitations when screening for exemptions from work requirements or determining good cause. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to determine needs for technical assistance. 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 1.00 hours per response, including the time for 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.