EFNEP Policy Guidelines for Adult Participant Contacts

October 2006

These Policy Guidelines are an update to and clarification of previously released guidelines for
the Florida EFNEP Program.

Case Load
Case Load for Program Assistants is pro-rated based on FTE. Full-time (FTE 1.0) Program
Assistants are expected to:
 Enroll a minimum of 250 total participants each year.
 Graduate a minimum of 200 total participants (80%) each year.

Types of Program Participants

 Program Eligible Participant – Program participants must meet two eligibility criteria:
1. The enrolled client should have major responsibility for the planning, purchase, and
preparation of the family’s food. In some cases, a client may be preparing to have these
major responsibilities within a short period of time. For example, if a client is in a drug
rehabilitation center, will be released within three weeks of completing the EFNEP
program, and upon release will retain custody of her children, then she would be eligible
for the program.
2. The enrolled client should meet criteria of a limited-resource family. If any of the
following criteria are true, then the participant meets the minimum eligibility
requirements:
a. must already be enrolled in a public assistance program,
b. must be eligible for a public assistance program, or
c. family income is low in relation to the family size and needs, thereby making it
difficult for the homemaker to provide adequate nutrition for the family members.
If any of these criteria are true, then the participant meets the minimum eligibility
requirements.
 Priority Enrollment Participant – Priority enrollment is given to households with pregnant
women and/or young children. Using the example above, if a client is in a drug rehabilitation
center, and upon release will retain custody of her children, then she would be eligible for the
program and be given priority enrollment status. However, if the participant is a woman who
would not be retaining custody of her children, she would not have priority enrollment status.
Priority enrollment status should be used when there are too many people in a group and
some can not be taught. In these cases, those with priority enrollment status would remain in
the group and those who do not have priority enrollment status would need to take the classes
at a later date.
 Non-Program Eligible Participant – In group settings, there will usually be some
participants that do not meet the minimum requirements, or the Program Assistant does not
know if the participant meets the minimum requirements. These are considered non-program
eligible participants. Non-program eligible participants may be taught as part of a group, but
not one-to-one.
Group Program Eligibility
 At least 50% of the participants in each group must be Program Eligible and/or Priority
Enrollment participants.
 It is recommended to recruit participants at sites where there is a high probability that
individuals meet all the minimum enrollment requirements. For example, recruiting at a
women’s shelter would most likely meet all of the requirements listed above. However,
recruiting at a men’s shelter would most likely not meet the first criteria, that is, most of
the men at this facility would not be likely to have the major responsibility for planning
and preparing meals for their families. Therefore, we should not be recruiting
participants from a men’s shelter. This is a specific example provided by the National
EFNEP Office.
 Program Assistants should enroll and teach everyone in the group, regardless of the
type of program participant. This means that Non-Program Eligible participants
complete an enrollment form, recall, and checklist.
 Non-eligible program participants will count toward Program Assistants’ total caseload in
the same manner as program eligible and priority enrollment participants IF non-eligible
program participants are taught in a group and at least 50% of the group is program
eligible or priority enrollment.

Enrollment
 A participant is considered enrolled only after completing an “Adult Enrollment Form,” a
“24 Hour Food Recall,” and a “Behavior Checklist.”
 Enroll all members of the group, regardless of eligibility status.
 Participants should not be taught lessons other than a general introduction to EFNEP and
Extension before completing the enrollment form, recall, and checklist.

Program Delivery
 Curriculum will be Eat Right for Life from the University of Florida, published in 2006.
 Clients will be taught a minimum of 10 priority topics and no more than 2 optional topics.
 Clients will be taught in groups. Exceptions must be approved in advance by the State
Office.
 Volunteers will be recruited to assist in program delivery and thus stretch the resources
available to teach clients.
 Most program participants should graduate within 6 months.

Graduation
 Clients must complete 10 to 12 lessons.
 Clients must have a 24 hour food recall and behavior checklist for both entry and exit.
 Submit (or enter in the computer) paperwork for all program participants, regardless of
eligibility status.
Sampling
 Sampling ratios will be assigned by the state at the beginning of every program year, once
the data for the previous year is complete.
 Samples should be drawn by someone other than the Program Assistant.
 Samples should be drawn from only those who have completed an enrollment form, 24 hour
food recall, and behavior checklist. No sorting or organizing of the client papers should be
done before the sample is drawn. Allow client records to pile up in a tray or box in the office
until enough have accumulated (ideally, would include several PAs).
 Clients are identified as being in the sample by marking the subgroup code E on the
enrollment form and entering it in the computer.
 The Florida Food Code List will be used for coding sample recalls.