R -- Analysis of the Summer Food Service Program and Food Needs of Nonparticipating Children

At this time the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA is seeking comments on the following statement of work (SOW). This may be the only notice prior to the issuance of a solicitation pending the comments received on the SOW. It is requested that if you have any comments (NO QUESTIONS) that they be submitted by 4:00pm (EST) Friday, June 27, 2003. Analysis of the Summer Food Service Program and Food Needs of Nonparticipating Children Statement of Work I. Overview and Background Information The U.S. Department of Agriculture has conducted evaluation research on the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) which makes meals available to qualifying children that participate in the program. Arising from this past research is a recognized need to better understand how and the extent to which the food needs for qualifying children are being met who do not participate in SFSP when the regular school term is out for the summer months. During the regular school year, the federally funded National School Lunch Program makes available nutritious meals to children attending elementary, middle and high schools. Children, who could not otherwise afford to pay full price, are able to receive their lunch for free or at a reduced price, depending on the economic status of their household. Breakfasts are also made available in most school districts during the school year to meet the food needs of economically disadvantaged children. When regular school lets out for the summer, children from low-income families can potentially participate in the SFSP. Meals available through the SFSP are offered through various educational and recreational activities, including camps, sports and art/craft activities. Also, children can obtain meals in the summer through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) offered in summer school. The primary goal of SFSP is to provide nutritious meals to children in low-income areas in the summer. The summer food program for children operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. However, only one-in-five of the 15.3 million children who receive free or reduced-priced school lunches during the regular school year are served by federal nutrition programs during the summer. FNS seeks a qualified contractor to develop the research and sample designs and to conduct a limited number of in-depth personal interviews with the parents and/or guardians of children who participate in free and reduced lunches during the school year but who do not participate in SFSP. Interviews shall also be conducted for comparison purposes with households that have qualifying children who do participate in the SFSP. Interviews shall be held in a limited set of sites, to be specified by the contractor, around the United States. This statement of work consists of five parts. Part I provides overview and background information. Part II identifies the study’s objectives and research questions. Part III lays out the research design and methodological issues. Part IV provides a set of tasks and deliverables for illustrative purposes that potentially could be used to meet the study’s objectives. Part V is special qualification requirements that the in-depth interviewer(s) must meet before they can be employed on this research project. II. Study Objective and Research Questions The objective of the research is to assess how and the extent to which the summer food needs of children are being met when they do not participate in a summer food service program, although they qualify and receive free or reduced-priced lunches during the regular school year. The following are some of the key questions that the research will focus on: 1. Are families of qualifying children aware of the SFSP? If yes and their children do not participate in SFSP, what are the reasons as to the children’s non-participation? 2. Are qualifying children who do not participate in SFSP food insecure or hungry? Is this different from the situation when the regular school year is in session? 3. What are the perceptions and attitudes of parents about the eating patterns of their children, both those that participate and those that don’t participate in SFSP, during the summer when they are not in school? 4. What are parents/guardians of qualifying children who don’t participate in SFSP doing to feed their children during the summer, in general and at lunch? Do they take any special steps when feeding their children during the summer to: avoid hunger, avoid skipping of meals or making sure that specific types of food are consumer? 5. What childcare (including meal preparation and service) arrangements are these households utilizing if their children do not participate in SFSP? Are children left unsupervised because parents/guardians are working to acquire additional money needed for food during the summer months? 6. If qualifying children do participate in SFSP, but the SFSP is only available for a portion of the summer months, what arrangements are made during the period of time that SFSP is not available? III. Study Design A. Research and Sample Designs: 1. The contractor shall develop a qualitative research design of in-depth, personal interviews to gather information and formulate an understanding to the research questions. The in-depth, personal interviews shall be conducted with the individual in the household who is the primary care provider in the household and who has the responsibility for meeting the food needs of the children during the summer. Households who have children that receive free or reduced price lunches during the regular school year but who do not participate in a summer food service program will be sampled and interviewed. For comparison purposes, households will also be interviewed with children who receive free or reduced price lunches during the regular school year and who do participate in a summer food program. 2. The contractor shall select a limited number of SFSP sites, up to four (4), around the United States to conduct the interviews in order to achieve efficiency in the cost and time required for conducting the in-depth, personal interviews. Sites included in the sample shall be selected so as to provide a diversity of geographical location, urbanization, type of SFSP site operator, type of meals provided and activities offered, and racial/ethnic composition of the population served. The contractor shall develop the sample design that specifies the number of interviews and the method of sampling households at each site. The contractor shall conduct interviews at each site with households with qualifying children who don’t participate in a summer food service program and households that have qualifying children who do participate in a summer food program. B. Methodological Issues – The following are, at a minimum, methodological issues that the contractor shall address when developing and proposing a study design: 1. Identification of sites with SFSP available, especially those with low participation of low-income households. 2. Identification of low-income households with school-age children not participating in SFSP. 3. Securing the cooperation of low-income households to complete the in-depth interviews so as to achieve a cost effective response rate. 4. Development of the survey instruments that are able to elicit appropriate responses from low-income interviewees on the food needs of their children during the summer. 5. Development of guidelines or methods for allaying concerns among low-income households about the nature of the interview and the possible perception of interference in how they meet the food needs of their children. 6. Establishment of procedures for monitoring the interviewing process to assure that only qualifying households are interviewed and in the numbers required to meet quota. 7. Establishment of methods for monitoring and maintaining detailed records so that progress on the interviewing can be communicated to FNS on a weekly basis. IV. Tasks and Deliverables The following tasks are illustrative of the effort required to achieve the study’s goals and objectives. Offerors are encouraged to develop research approaches, including appropriate tasks, that result in an efficient, comprehensive plan for executing the study. A. Task I – Project Orientation Meeting Within the first week after contract award, the contractor’s project director and senior supervisory staff for the interviewers shall meet with FNS staff from the Office of Analysis, Nutrition and Evaluation in Alexandria, VA for an orientation meeting to discuss the project’s objectives, research questions, design, study tasks, schedule and deliverables. The meeting shall cover, but not be limited to, the: · purpose and research questions to be answered by the research, · background information that will aid the contractor’s understanding of the research objectives, · tasks to be accomplished, · schedule and deliverables, and · required monthly reports and reports on the status of the interviewing. The contractor shall submit to FNS a memorandum summarizing the orientation meeting within one week after the meeting. This summary memorandum shall include all issues discussed at the meeting, conclusions reached, and any issues remaining to be resolved. B. Task II – Develop Data Collection Instruments, Screeners and OMB Clearance Package The contractor shall develop a data collection instrument for the in-depth, personal interviews with households that have qualifying children for the summer food program who do not participate and a separate data collection instrument for households who have children who do participate. The survey instruments shall be developed in consultation with FNS and designed to answer the research questions. The contractor shall also develop screeners to be used in identifying qualifying households and recruiting participants for the in-depth interviews. The contractor shall also develop the associated OMB clearance package required for the survey of households using the two questionnaires. The contractor shall conduct a pretest of the survey instruments, screeners and the proposed field procedures. No single instrument shall be tested on more than nine respondents. The results of the pretests will be used to refine the instruments and screeners prior to submission to OMB for approval. Before initiating the pretest, the contractor shall submit the instrument package, screeners and proposed field procedures to FNS for review. This package will be reviewed by staff from FNS and Child Nutrition and members of the Food and Nutrition Subcommittee of the Education Information Advisory Committee (EIAC). Comments from members of these groups shall be incorporated by the contractor into the pretest package. The contractor shall prepare the draft, revised and final versions of the package requesting OMB approval for all data collection activities. The package shall contain copies of all data collection instruments, screeners and a supporting statement as set forth in the revised Standard Form No. 83a, “Instructions for Requesting OMB Approval under the Federal Reports Act, as Amended.” The draft OMB package shall provide an explicit, concise description of the direct links between the study’s objectives, research questions, variables, instrument items, data analysis plans and desired products. It shall include a summary of public comments received in response to the 60-day Federal Register Notice concerning the information collection and any actions taken in response to these comments on the draft. Five (5) copies of the draft OMB package shall be submitted to FNS for review. The revised OMB package shall be submitted to FNS within two weeks of receipt of FNS comments. In addition to the ten (10) hard copies of the revised OMB package, the contractor shall provide a copy of the final OMB package to FNS on a CD in two formats: a microcomputer word processing format agreeable to FNS, such as Microsoft Word and a portable document format file (PDF). The contractor shall allow 90 calendar days for OMB approval. Study instruments shall be modified to reflect comments from OMB, if necessary. C. Task III– Prepare Data Collection Training Package and Data Collection Instructions The contractor shall develop data collection and interviewer training instructions to accompany the data collection instruments for use by the interviewers and data processors. Two (2) copies of the draft data collection and interviewer training instructions shall be submitted to FNS for review. The final data collection and interviewer training instructions shall be revised to accommodate FNS comments and five (5) copies submitted to FNS for final approval. D. Task IV – Select and Train Data Collectors The contractor shall select and train interviewers to conduct the in-depth, personal interviews. Interviewers selected for this study shall demonstrate ability and prior experience in conducting interviews with low-income individuals. All individuals selected to conduct the in-depth interviews shall meet the special requirements identified in Section V of the statement of work. The contractor shall recruit a sufficient number of fluent English speaking interviewers and Spanish speaking interviewers for all sites. Training of interviewers by the contractor shall include, at a minimum, an overview of the study, data collection instruments, procedures for data collection, and simulated data collection exercises. The same set of interviewers shall be required to conduct the interviews at all of the sites sampled by the contractor. Any substitution of an interviewer(s) must be approved by FNS. E. Task V – Identifying the Sample Sites and Conducting the In-Depth Interviews The contractor shall specify the number and location of the SFSP sites to be sampled. The SFSP sites selected for the sample shall reflect a diversity of geographical location, urbanization, type of site operator, type of meals provided and activities offered, and racial/ethnic composition of the population served. The contractor shall be ultimately responsible for identifying households within the site areas who have children who qualify for and participate in the free or reduced school lunch program during the regular school year and who: · Have qualifying children who do not participate in the SFSP · Have qualifying children who do participate in the SFSP. The contractor shall identify, screen and recruit households and the individuals within the households who are responsible for meeting the food needs of the children during the summer. The contractor shall submit a plan for recruiting participants for the in-depth, personal interviews. The recruitment plan shall take into account the degree of difficulty of recruiting qualified households and household members for discussions on how and how well the food needs of their children are being met during the summer. The contractor shall conduct interviews at each of the sampled sites with households that have a child who participates in the free or reduced-price lunch program during the regular school year but who does not participate in a SFSP. The contractor shall also conduct interviews at each of the sampled sites with households who have a child participating in the free or reduced-price lunch program during the regular school year and who participates in a SFSP. The contractor shall be responsible for securing an appropriate facility within each site area where the interviews can be conducted. The contractor shall audio-tape each in-depth interview for which the individual being interviewed gives his/her permission. The contractor shall keep FNS advised of the progress of data collection on a weekly basis through email updates. F. Task VI – Prepare Analytic Plan, Create Study Data Base and Analyze Data The contractor shall develop and submit an analytic plan to FNS for approval. The analytic plan shall provide tabulations and analysis of households with qualifying children who participate in the SFSP and households with qualifying children who do not participate in the SFSP. A breakout by site location and other key identifiers is required. The contractor shall create analytic files and conduct the appropriate analyses after the analytic plan has been approved by FNS. If needed during the period of the contract, the contractor shall prepare and submit a Memorandum of Intent which describes the revised analysis plan that updates the original study proposal. The Memorandum of Intent shall be submitted to FNS for approval. A revised analytic plan is not viewed as a major revision of the proposed plan and shall not change the Scope of Work nor have a substantial impact on overall anticipated costs. No revisions or changes to the contract shall occur without the approval of the contracting officer. This statement of work shall serve as the framework upon which subsequent contract activity shall be based. G. Task VII – Presentation of Preliminary Findings The contractor shall present FNS with two (2) copies of the preliminary tabulations, findings, analyses, and tables prior to writing the final report. FNS will review and provide any necessary comments prior to the contractor preparing the final report. H. Task VIII – Prepare Report The contractor shall prepare a draft, revised and final report that details the results of the analyses. A detailed outline and subsequent drafts of the report shall be submitted to FNS for review and comment. At a minimum, this report shall contain the following: · An executive summary of the major findings; · An introduction and background to the project, including study issues, objectives and research questions; · A discussion of the methodology employed (all data collection instruments and screeners shall be included as attachments); · A presentation of the major tabulations, findings and conclusions. In addition, the study’s results and findings shall be provided to FNS in a journal article format at the same time that the final report is submitted. The contractor shall submit five (5) copies of the draft final report and ten (10) copies of the final report. The contractor shall also submit one unbound camera-ready copy of the final report, executive summary and presentation of research findings in journal article format to be used for printing of additional copies. A copy of the final report, executive summary, including all tables, graphs, and appendices, and the presentation of findings in journal article format shall also be submitted to FNS on a CD in two forms: a microcomputer word processing format (Microsoft Word for Windows) and a PDF file. I. Task IX – Prepare and Submit Data Files and Final Tabulations and Tables The contractor shall prepare and submit to FNS a CD that includes the raw data files used to produce all results that appear in the final report. In addition, the contractor shall provide full documentation in hard copy and on CD for the data files including: · File structure (data set name, record format, number of records); · Code book (record layout including variable name, variable format, variable labels, value labels, and missing values); · Variable definitions; · Editing procedures used; · Structure of composite variables. The contractor shall submit the raw data file in a CD format and all required supporting documentation to access the data file to FNS at the time that the draft report is submitted to FNS for review. Also, the contractor shall submit two (2) copies in hard copy format of the final tabulations and tables to FNS, along with a copy in a CD format. J. Task X – Administrative Reporting Requirements By the fifteenth of every month, the contractor shall submit to the COTR, by email, a report on the current status of the study. The first part of this report shall include: · Project activities ongoing or completed during the preceding month; · Planned activities for the coming month; · Significant problems encountered and proposed solutions; · Schedule changes (actual and potential); · Personnel changes including identification of personnel not appearing on previous invoices; The second part of this report shall, for each major task, provide: · The dollar amount budgeted; · The dollar amount expended during the preceding month; · The cumulative dollar amount expended; · Any indications of possible cost overruns. V. Special Requirements A. In-Depth Interviewer Requirements The interviewer(s) recruited to conduct the in-depth, personal interviews shall demonstrate successful, prior experience conducting in-depth interviews with low-income individuals. In addition, a sufficient number of the designated in-depth interviewers must demonstrate fluency in Spanish. Reviews of the background and past interviewing experience of all in-depth interviewer(s) must be submitted to FNS for review and approved by FNS prior to the interviewers commencing work on the project. The same set of interviewers shall be required to conduct the interviews at all of the sites sampled by the contractor.