This is a Sources Sought Notice for market research purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). A solicitation is not being issued at this time and this notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Office of Research and Analysis (ORA) in the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is planning a new study on the causes and costs of churning in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly known as Food Stamps). SNAP is the primary nutrition program in the United States. States administer the program. The benefit is funded through federal dollars; states share the administrative costs equally with the federal government. In FY2010, SNAP had a budget of $68.3 billion and served an average of 40 million participants per month. The study will examine churning in SNAP. Churning is when SNAP participants leave the program despite remaining eligible and return within a very short period of time, defined here as four months or less. The issue is of concern because of the hypothesized relationship between churning and additional costs to the program and participants. SNAP staff must collect paperwork and complete the application process for families whose eligibility probably has not changed since they left the program. Participants lose benefits, limiting their access to nutritious foods and must spend time reapplying for SNAP. Thus, this study seeks to better understand churning - particularly, how often churning occurs, why, and how much it costs. The objectives of the study are fourfold; to examine: 1.the prevalence of churning, by determining the rate of churning in the program; 2.why families churn, including individual, policy, and program factors; 3.various stakeholder views of churning; and 4.how churning affects program costs, including if churning costs more than continuous enrollment. The study will be a mixed-methods study, using extant administrative data from selected states, policy analysis of state SNAP policies, and new data collected through interviews and site visits to selected SNAP offices. The anticipated data sources are: •Administrative Data. States track enrollments by head-of-household. The case file also includes all members in the SNAP unit, defined as all the people who purchase and prepare meals together. The contractor will be responsible for collecting and preparing the data from the states for analysis, with guidance from ORA. Because collecting data from all 50 states would be cost prohibitive, the contractor and ORA will together determine the appropriate number of states, likely six to eight states. •Policy Analysis. The contractor will gather data on state policies from the State Options Report and the contractor's own research to examine SNAP policies' relationship to churning. All policy options should be under consideration. •Interviews. The contractor will interview people in each of four groups on their perspectives on churning - 10 program administrators, 30 case workers, 30 participants who have experienced churning, and 20 directors or other representatives of community-based organizations. The semi-structured interviews will ask for respondents' perspectives on churning, including whether or not it is an issue, how frequently it occurs, why it occurs, and what could be done to reduce it. •Site visits. The contractor will visit SNAP sites in conjunction with the interviews to gather data on the causes and cost of churning, modeled on a process-evaluation-style of data collection. The contractor will observe the sites and interview program administrators and case managers about the process of churner re-entry, including the steps involved, what churning-specific policies, if any, are in place, and how the process differs between sites. The contractor may examine some case files to determine the reasons a participant that has churned did so. Upon award, ORA and the contractor will determine the best number of sites to visit, likely six offices in different states. CAPABILITY STATEMENT INFORMATION Please address your knowledge and experience within the last three years and how you will provide each of the following points (A) through (K). Reference specific examples of how your firm has addressed the points listed below. Demonstrate your ability and experience with: (A)Understanding SNAP, including regulations, federal policies, and state waivers. (B)Coordinating with states to collect administrative data. (C)Preparing data from multiple sources in multiple formats and assembling it into appropriate analysis files. (D)Conducting quantitative analysis on administrative-type data, including developing sampling protocols appropriate to meet the government objectives listed above, and using appropriate analysis methods to meet objectives like those listed above. (E)Conducting qualitative interviews in multiple sites with over 50 respondents, including recruiting and training staff to conduct the interviews, using appropriate sampling methodologies, developing interview protocols, recruiting participants, and recording, coding, analyzing, and reporting on qualitative data. (F)Conducting process-evaluation-style site visits, including recruiting sites, obtaining buy-in from affected parties, and using appropriate qualitative data collection techniques. (G)Conducting policy analyses, including locating appropriate policy information. (H)Using multiple sources of data, including administrative data, qualitative data, and policy analysis to address research objectives such as those described above. (I)Ensuring Personally-Identifiable Information is secured and protected. (J)Writing technical reports. (K)Writing reports of technical information put into language appropriate to non-technical audiences. (L)Providing briefings of technical data appropriate for non-technical audiences. (M)Writing policy briefs appropriate for the USDA website and public communication. (N)Managing projects of a similar size and scope, including meeting government objectives, ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables, and coordinating with the government funding agency. Interested parties may submit capability statements that demonstrate their ability to perform all elements of the requirements as described in this notice. In addition, your response must include a description of your past experience on at least three (3) similar projects consistent in scope, size and complexity with this requirement which you performed in the past three years; and description of staff experience and skills. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this sources sought synopsis is strictly voluntary. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of offeror submission of responses, or the Government's use of such information. The information obtained from responses to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and future RFP. No questions will be entertained or comment responded to by the Government. Offerors capable of providing these services should submit the information requested above via e-mail to
[email protected] and no later than 2 PM Eastern Standard Time, April 28, 2011. Please limit the length of the packages to 20 pages. Packages over 20 pages will not be evaluated.