Appendix B Example letter of support from American Public Human Services Association/ National Council of Child Support Director

Appendix B.

Example letter of support from American Public Human Services Association/ National Council of Child Support Directors

OMB Control No: 0970-0531

Expiration date: 9/30/2025

Letter of support for the Moving Forward study from the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)/National Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD)

Dear [Director of State TANF/Child Support Program],

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruption and challenges for human services programs and the families they serve. The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is funding an important study on programmatic and policy changes made by [TANF/child support] programs in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This study will document changes that [TANF/ child support] programs made during the pandemic and describe the changes that are likely to continue as time goes on.

You may have participated in other efforts to understand the impact of the pandemic on your agency and how your agency has adapted to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. Although other studies have illuminated some of the changes that [TANF/child support] programs made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have not systematically documented these changes across a large number of [TANF/child support] programs, nor have they examined the extent to which these changes have been incorporated into ongoing practice.

To conduct this study, OPRE has contracted with Mathematica and its subcontractor, MEF Associates. This study will fill the gaps in knowledge from previous research activities. ACF will use the information collected through this study to inform future program operations in [TANF/child support] programs as well as inform related future directions for research.

APHSA/NCSEA is committed to the study’s success. Your programs’ participation is voluntary and a critical component of this important study. We hope you and your staff will work with the study team to help them complete their required data collection activities. They will make every effort to minimize staff burden when collecting the information required to address the study’s objectives.

A member of the study team will contact you soon. In the interim, please don’t hesitate to contact the study’s Project Director (Rebekah Selekman at rselekman@mathematica-mpr.com), or the OPRE Project Officer (Lisa Zingman at lisa.zingman@acf.gov) if you have any questions.

Thank you for your assistance,