The Evaluation of the Summer EBT for Children Demonstration (SEBTC)

The Evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Demonstration

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dietary Modification; Food Insecurity Among Children
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: SEBTC

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.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 85000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 4 years to 18 years (ADULT, CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Households with children who were certified to receive the National School Lunch program or the School Breakfast Program in the prior school year in participating sites, Summers 2011-2013

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: $60 SEBTC Benefit Group; Households received $60 per summer month when school was not in session for each eligible child (Summers 2011-2013).	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.; Other Names: food assistance; electronic benefit transfer payments
EXPERIMENTAL: $30 SEBTC Benefit Group; Households received $30 per summer month when school was not in session for each eligible child (Summer 2013 only).	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.; Other Names: food assistance; electronic benefit transfer payments
NO_INTERVENTION: No Intervention Group; Households with eligible children were not issued SEBTC benefits (Summers 2011 and 2012)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Very low food security among children according to the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module, 30-day reference period	The food intake of any child in the household is reduced and their normal eating patterns are disrupted because the household lacks money and other resources for food	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food insecurity among children according to the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module, 30-day reference period	Any child in the household experienced very low food security or experienced reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet.	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's fruit and vegetable consumption	Average daily cup equivalents of fruit and vegetables	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's fruit and vegetable consumption without fried potatoes	Average daily cup equivalents of fruit and vegetables, excluding fried potatoes	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
children's whole grain consumption	Average daily consumption of whole grains (in ounces)	between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's dairy consumption	Average daily dairy consumption cup equivalents	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's consumption of low- and non-fat milk	Any milk consumed was low- or non-fat	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's consumption of added sugars	Average daily consumption of added sugars (in teaspoons)	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's consumption of added sugars excluding cereals	Average daily consumption of added sugars excluding cereals (in teaspoons)	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Children's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages	Average daily consumption of sugars (in teaspoons) from sugar-sweetened beverages	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participation in SNAP	Household participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Participation in WIC	Household participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued
Food expenditures	Total food expenditures from all sources (e.g., cash, SNAP, SEBTC)	Between 30 and 120 days after SEBTC benefits were issued

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Abt Associates
• Collaborators: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.; USDA Food and Nutrition Service; Maxiumus
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Stephen Bell, Ph.D., Abt Associates; Principal Investigator: Ronette Briefel, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Briefel R, Collins A, Bellotti J, Klerman J, Logan CW, Cabili C, Rowe G, Greece J, Owens C, Weiss A. 2011. Congressional Status Report: Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Demonstrations. Alexandria, V: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
• Briefel R, Collins A, Rowe G, Wolf A, Klerman JA, Logan CW, Wulsin CS, Enver A, Owens C, Jacobson J, Bell S. 2012. Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstration: 2012 Congressional Status Report. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
• Collins A, Briefel R, Klerman JA, Rowe G, Wolf A, Logan CW, Gordon A, Wolfson C, Enver A, l Owens C, Cabili C, Bell S. 2013. Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstration: Evaluation Findings for the Full Implementation Year. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
• Collins AM, Briefel R, Klerman JA, Wolf A, Rowe G, Enver A, Logan CW, Fatima S, Komarovksy M, Lyskawa J, Bell S. 2014. Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstration: Findings for the Third Implementation Year. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
• Collins A, Briefel R, Klerman JA, Bell S, Belotti J, Logan C, Gordon A, Wolfe A, McLaughlin S, Enver A, Fernandes M, Wolfson C, Komorovsky M, Cabili C, Owens, C. 2012. Summer EBT for Children Demonstration: Evaluation Findings for the Proof of Concept Year. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
• Collins AM, Briefel, R, Klerman JA, Rowe G, Wolf A, Logan C, Enver A, Fatima S, Gordon A, Lyskawa A. (2016). Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Demonstration: Summary Report. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
• Collins AM, Klerman JA, Briefel R, Rowe G, Gordon AR, Logan CW, Wolf A, Bell SH. A Summer Nutrition Benefit Pilot Program and Low-income Children's Food Security. Pediatrics. 2018 Apr;141(4):e20171657. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-1657.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2013
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 16, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 23, 2016
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): August 24, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): August 24, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 23, 2016
• Last Verified: August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 17322

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Contract deliverables include restricted and public use data sets