Question: I am very suspicious about a letter that I received supposedly about a survey done for a U.S. agency. I went to the official U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website and couldn’t find anything about this survey. The hot button is the promise of $30 if you qualify in round two. Others on my block also got the letter and I warned them. Please find out.
Answer: It appears that you have been invited to participate in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is conducted every year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Respondents do receive $30 after completing the full survey, which is voluntary.
This survey, which asks about the use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs (including nonmedical use of prescription drugs) and about mental health, is conducted by RTI International, a nonprofit research organization based in North Carolina, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within US-HHS.
You should be able to confirm whether or not the letter you received is genuine by reviewing the survey’s website, nsduhweb.rti.org, which can be viewed in English or Spanish. We mention this because the letter you received is in Spanish, although you submitted your question in English.
On the homepage, click on the red bar that says “Have you been selected to participate?” If you wish to participate, you may choose to access the survey from the website, rather than by scanning the QR code in your letter with your smartphone. You would input a code included in your letter on the website.
After answering a few general questions, you or a member of your household may be asked to complete an interview, but it’s also possible that no one from your household would be selected to complete the full survey, the website says.
“At the end of the completed interview, you will receive $30 in appreciation for your help,” it says.
About 70,000 people age 12 and older throughout the U.S. will be randomly selected and asked to participate this year, the website says. A scientific random sample is needed to ensure that NSDUH results “represent the many different types of people in the United States,” its says.
The results of this survey are used for many purposes, such as to estimate the need for treatment facilities, support prevention programs and to gauge drug-control strategies.
Both SAMHSA and RTI International ensure complete confidentiality of all responses, noting, for example, that “participants’ full names are never recorded or associated with their answers.”
Q: How long do we have to apply for SUN Bucks? The website did not work for me at all Friday. Auwe!
A: Households with eligible schoolchildren have until Aug. 4 to apply for SUN Bucks, also known as Summer EBT, a new program that will provide a lump-sum payment of $177 per eligible child to supplement grocery budgets for lower-income families whose kids may eat breakfast and lunch at school when classes are in session.
You are one of several readers who said sunbucks.dhs.hawaii.gov faltered Friday, the day the state Department of Human Services said families could begin applying online or downloading and printing a paper application. After being down much of the day, the website was back up by about 7:30 p.m. Friday and applications were flowing in, said Amanda Stevens, a DHS spokesperson.
Many eligible households will receive SUN Bucks automatically and do not need to apply. Full eligibility criteria, including details on who does or does not need to apply, are posted on the DHS website, humanservices. hawaii.gov, which is separate from the SUN Bucks website, where this information also is posted.
SUN Bucks also has a customer service call center, which can be reached at 1-888-975-7328. It was busy Friday, with some callers told to leave a message because all agents were occupied.
DHS estimates that more than 100,000 Hawaii children are eligible for SUN Bucks, which will be issued later this summer on electronic debit cards that can be spent on groceries, but not hot food.
To answer another reader’s question, no, children do not have to be U.S. citizens to be eligible.
Mahalo
I would like to thank my friendly neighbor for trimming back the trees of another neighbor that were encroaching on my property in a dangerous way. I know this is legal but I still don’t want to give any names because I don’t want trouble with the neighbor with the trees, who is not that friendly. — Grateful kupuna
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
