NCT02877147

The Evaluation of the Summer EBT for Children Demonstration

The Evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Demonstration

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 85,000 (actual)
• Sponsor: Abt Associates · Industry
• Sex: All
• Age: 4 Years – 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The Summer Electronic Benefit for Children (SEBTC) demonstration provided food assistance to households with school-aged children during the summer through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) procedures used by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) programs. The evaluation design included two components: an impact study and an implementation study. The evaluation assessed the impact of SEBTC on children's food security and nutritional status, household food expenditures and purchasing behaviors, parental perceptions, and participation in nutrition assistance programs. The implementation study analyzed SEBTC use patterns using administrative data, and described demonstration implementation and costs.

Detailed description

The SEBTC evaluation took place in the summers of 2011 through 2014. Ten grantees implemented the demonstration in a total of 16 sites; the number of participating sites and/or the evaluation components differed by year. In 2011, 5 grantees with five sites participated and the evaluation included implementation and cost analysis, EBT analysis, and an impact study. In 2012, 10 grantees implemented SEBTC in 14 sites and the evaluation included the same study components. In 2013, four grantees with six sites participated and the study components included EBT analysis and an impact study (no implementation or cost data collection). Finally, in 2014, three grantees participated in three sites and only implementation data were collected. Information on human subjects was collected for the evaluation's impact evaluation.

Conditions

• Food Insecurity Among Children
• Dietary Modification

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	SEBTC	SEBTC benefits were issued on EBT cards using either the existing EBT delivery systems for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC). Sites selected only one of the two EBT systems to be used to implement SEBTC prior to random assignment; households were not randomized to a specific delivery system.

Timeline

• Start date: 2011-01-01
• Primary completion: 2013-09-01
• Completion: 2014-09-01
• First posted: 2016-08-24
• Last updated: 2016-08-24