Region One ESC Food & Nutrition Program Differences Between - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Differences Between Provision Schools and Traditional Meal Application Carmen Ocanas Lerma, Director

Region One ESC Food & Nutrition Program

September 2017

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▪Provide an overview of the various Provisions in law

regarding eligibility to participate in meal programs under USDA’s eligibility requirements

▪Provide information on Determining Eligibility

through a household meal application

▪Provision 2 ▪Community Eligibility Provision ▪Direct Certification

Objectives

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▪

Household School Meal Application

▪

Eligibility Categories

▪

Categorical Eligibility

▪

Direct Certification

▪

Other Source Categorical Eligible Programs ▪

Very few School Districts in Region One Process meal applications today

What is Traditional Method/Determining Eligibility

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▪ Is an option designed to decrease the burden of

paperwork on parents and CEs by reducing the requirements of taking household applications, verifying household applications, notifying the public, and submitting reimbursement claims by meal eligibility category.

What is Provision 2?

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▪ There is not a required percentage or ratio of free,

reduced-price, or paid meal participants for P2.

▪ CE-Wide/School. P2 may be applied at the CE/district

level even if not all schools in the district operate P2.

▪ Under P2, CEs offer universal meal service or meals at no

charge to all participants receiving a reimbursable meal beginning in the base year and continuing as long as the school participates in P2.

▪ A school site may choose to apply P2 for lunch, breakfast,

• r both.

Provision 2 Requirements

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▪ Base Year. During the base year, eligibility is determined

by the normal processes as described in the Administrator’s Reference Manual (ARM), Section 4, which consists of the following: ▪ CE collects meal applications ▪ Determines F/R/P Percentage ▪ Annualizes these percentages District Wide ▪ Conducts Verification Process ▪ Files reimbursement claims using these established percentages

Provision Base Year

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▪ Remaining Years of the Four-Year Cycle. During the second,

third, and fourth years, the CE uses the base year eligibility determinations for counting and claiming and does not use the normal free and reduced-price meal application process

Provision 2 Remaining Years

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▪ Requirement from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

▪ Provides an alternative to household applications in the NSLP and

SBP

▪ Allows schools with a high percentage of directly certified free

students to serve free meals to all enrolled students

▪ Eliminates burden of collecting household applications ▪ District makes the decision to participate based on eligibility ▪ CEP is designed to be easy for a school or district to adopt

What is the CEP?

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Participating schools must meet a threshold of students directly certified (initially 40%) and agree to serve all meals free No household applications are submitted for any students State agencies are required to annually notify eligible SFAs Claims are based on percentage of enrolled students directly certified multiplied by a factor of 1.6 An SFA may participate in CEP for some or all schools Eligible LEAs/schools agree to serve all students free lunches and breakfasts for 4 successive school years

CEP Requirements

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▪ Enrolled students

▪ Those students who are enrolled in and attending schools

participating in the CEP and who have access to at least one meal service daily

▪ Identified students

▪ Those students who are certified for free meals NOT through

individual household applications ▪ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) ▪ Homeless/Runaway ▪ Migrant ▪ Foster ▪ Head Start ▪ Non-applicant students approved by LEA officials

Definitions

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▪ Identified student percentage (ISP) ▪ Eligible SFAs/Schools

▪ SFAs/Schools with an ISP of at least 40%

▪ Potentially eligible SFAs/School

▪ Schools with an ISP of at least 30% but

less than 40%

How is the Identified Student Percentage Calculated?

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# of Identified Students Total Number of Enrolled Students X 100

▪ ISP = # of identified students/# of enrolled students x 100 ▪Multiply by a factor of 1.6 ▪Result  Percentage of total meals served at the federal free

rate

▪Remaining percentage of total meals is reimbursed at the

federal paid rate Example: Identified Students = 250 Enrolled Students = 500 250/500 x 100 = 50% 50% x 1.6 = 80% = free 20% = paid

How are meals claimed?

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Identified Student Percentage (ISP) Percentage Free Percentage Paid 40% 64% 36% 45% 72% 28% 50% 80% 20% 55% 88% 12% 60% 96% 4% 62.5% 100% 0%

Meal Reimbursements with CEP

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The reimbursement rate for both lunch and breakfast is determined by multiplying the percentage of Identified Students by a 1.6 multiplier. The resulting number is the percentage of meals reimbursed at the “free” reimbursement rate, with the rest being reimbursed at the “paid” rate.

▪ Each year of the 4-year cycle, SFAs or schools may use the ISP

from the first year, or the updated ISP, whichever is higher

▪ New SFAs are required to submit CEP Intent via TXUNPS no

later than June 30th to begin CEP

▪ SFAs choosing CEP must consider costs

▪ SFA must pay the difference between serving meals at no charge

and the federal reimbursement

▪ Example: Revenue from a la carte sales or other revenue

CEP Factors

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▪ Impacts of the absence of student level poverty data used to

distribute other assistance funding ▪ Title I

▪ Potential redistribution of school-level Title I funds ▪ CEP does not impact the total amount of Title I, only the distribution

▪ Need for alternative data for state and local funding formulas

▪ Family Economic Data Survey

▪ E-rate discount level determination

▪ CEP schools may use the free claiming percentage

Potential Implementation Issues

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▪ If a school is operating under a special provision option, the CE

(or the school) must not collect or distribute free or reduced- price meal household applications or other types of household applications designed to collect student demographic or socioeconomic data unless the action is a requirement of the special option provision.

▪ For the two special provision options described, the distribution

and collection of free and reduced-price meal household applications is permissible only in the base year of P2 Distribution and Collection of Household Applications for Purposes Other Than Benefit Issuance for NSLP or SBP

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▪ If the CE needs current information that would normally be

collected on the free and reduced-price household meal application, all of costs for distribution, collection, and review for such efforts must be paid by non-school nutrition program (SNP) funds. This includes data used for

▪ PEIMS or other federal, state, or local programs

Other than NSLP needs

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▪ The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides a template form to

assist CEs in collecting socioeconomic data at

▪ www.tea.texas.gov/Workarea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2576981

6295 Sample Income Survey Template

Texas Education Agency

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Sample Form

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▪ Direct Certification is the process that allows school-age

children residing in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) without submitting an application and at no charge.

▪ The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004

mandated that all Local Education Agencies (LEA), including private schools, would have direct certification systems in place by School Year 2008.

Direct Certification

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▪ Process that provides certification for free meal benefits for

eligible children without an application

What is Direct Certification

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▪ The Direct Certification process has several steps – confirming

the current enrollment of students on the State Match list and searching for more eligible students through the CE Upload process or CE Search process. Then the CE must enter the information into the point-of-sale (POS) system.

▪ The state only matches students. It is the CE that certifies them.

How do you do Direct Certification?

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▪ It’s required by law. ▪ The state must meet a benchmark that 95% of eligible student

are certified by LEAs participating in NSLP/SBP.

▪ All LEAs must report the number of students enrolled on the

last day of October that have been directly certified.

Why is there so much focus on Direct Certification?

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Resources

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Texas Department of Agriculture

▪

http://www.squaremeals.org/Programs/NationalSch

• olLunchProgram.aspx

Texas Education Agency

▪

http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Laws_and_Rules/NC LB_and_ESEA/Title_I,_Part_A_- _Improving_Basic_Programs/Community_Eligibility_ Provision/

Questions and Answers

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In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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