Key Steps to Improve Access to Free and Reduced-Price School Meals
End Notes
[1] Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, Table 3, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf.
[2] Any adult in the household may complete an application on behalf of a child in the household. There is no requirement that the adult be a parent or legal guardian of the child. For the sake of brevity, this paper refers to the adult completing the application as the parent.
[3] See 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(b)(1).
[4] This paper uses the term “school district” to refer to a Local Educational Agency or a School Food Authority.
[5] Households must be given an opportunity to decline to be certified. See 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(c)(6)(ii).
[6] Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, Figure 4, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf
[7] USDA is planning to issue a new Request for Applications for “Direct Certification Grants” in the fall of 2012. Additional information will be available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/grants.htm.
[8] See P.L. 111-296 § 102 (b) amending 42 U.S.C. § 1758(b) and Food and Nutrition Service memorandum, Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010: Direct Certification Benchmarks and Continuous Improvement Plans, USDA, April 28, 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2011/SP32-2011.pdf.
[9] Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2009, p.24, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf.
[10] Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, p. 26, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf.
[11] See 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(b)(7) and Food and Nutrition Service Memorandum, Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household, USDA, August 27, 2009, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Policy-Memos/2009/SP_38-2009_os.pdf.
[12] Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, p. 33, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf.
[13] USDA’s prototype materials are available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/frp/frp.process.htm.
[14] Some student databases have a specific household, or head of household indicator. For student databases that do not have such an indicator, the child’s address could be used to identify additional children in the household if the address is unique to a single household (for example, an apartment building would need to include unit numbers). See Food and Nutrition Service Memorandum, Questions and Answers on Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional Children in a Household, USDA, May 3, 2010, question 13, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2010/SP_25_CACFP_11_SFSP_10-2010_os.pdf.
[15] See Food and Nutrition Service Memorandum, Questions and Answers on Extending Categorical Eligibility to Additional
Children in a Household, USDA, May 3, 2010, question 10, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2010/SP_25_CACFP_11_SFSP_10-2010_os.pdf.
[16] For more information about state and local efforts to implement extended categorical eligibility see Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, pp. 33-34, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf.
[17] See 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(b)(3).
[18] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate based on Food Stamp Program administrative data and tabulations of the Food Stamp Quality Control Data for fiscal year 2010. Families were considered newly enrolled if they did not receive food stamp benefits during the previous 12 months.
[19] See Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, Section V, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf.
[20] See 42 U.S.C. § 1758(b)(15).
[21] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of March 2011 Current Population Survey data.
[22] USDA, “USDA Announces Steps to Streamline Administration and Enhance Program Integrity in the National School Lunch Program,” March 7, 2012, http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2012/03/0086.xml&contentidonly=true.
[23] USDA’s request for proposals for the 2012-2013 school year is available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2011/SP47rfa.pdf, but new requests for proposals will be issued for future years.
[24] For USDA’s most recent data on SNAP state participation rates see Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates in 2009, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, December 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/SNAP/FILES/Participation/Reaching2009.pdf.
[25] This figure includes children in households receiving SNAP benefits. See Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, Table 3, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf
[26] United States Department of Health and Human Services, TANF Caseload Data, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/caseload/2011/2011_children_tanssp.htm. Food and Nutrition Service, United States Department of Agriculture, “About FDPIR,” revised March 14, 2012, http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/fdpir/about_fdpir.htm.
[27] Categorical eligibility of children in foster care, Head Start or Even Start, and children with homeless, runaway, or migrant status does not extend to other household members. Only SNAP, TANF, and FDPIR benefits extend categorical eligibility for free school meals to all children in a household.
[28] The policies discussed in this section apply to foster children whose care and placement are the responsibility of the state, whether they are placed by a foster care agency or by a court. This group includes all children in foster care, regardless of whether the child is “IV-E eligible”; it does not include children placed informally in kinship care.
[29] See P.L. 111-296 § 102 amending 42 U.S.C. § 1758(b) and (d) and Food and Nutrition Service memorandum, Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010: Categorical Eligibility of Foster Children, USDA, Revised March 16, 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Policy-Memos/2011/SP17_CACFP08_SFSP05-2011_osr.pdf.
[30] Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, and Washington conduct electronic data matching to directly certify children in foster care. See “Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress School Year 2010-2011,” Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, October 2011, p. 35, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/DirectCert2011.pdf; Nate Frentz and Zoë Neuberger, “Six Ways that States and School Districts Can Make It Easier for Children in Foster Care to Get Free Meals at School,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 2011, https://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3559.
[31] The USDA, which administers the school meals programs, has not specified what documentation is required. Oral notice would likely suffice if the school meals administrator notes the name of the person making the notification and the date.
[32] The determination is not made by school food administrators but instead typically is made by the director of a homeless shelter, the local educational liaison for homeless children and youth, a state, regional, or local Migrant Education Program director or coordinator, or another qualified individual approved by USDA or the state.
[33] Although insufficient grounds for certifying a child for free school meals, a checked box on an application can be used to identify homeless or migrant students, connect them to other educational services, and eventually directly certify them if they have not already been approved for free school meals.
[34] See National Center for Education Statistics, 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Key Findings, U.S. Department of Education, http://nces.ed.gov/naal/kf_demographics.asp#3 and Pandya, C, Batalova, J and McHugh, M., Limited English Proficient Individuals in the United States: Number, Share, Growth, and Linguistic Diversity, Migration Policy Institute, December 2011, http://www.migrationinformation.org/integration/LEPdatabrief.pdf .
[35] USDA’s prototype materials are available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/frp/frp.process.htm.
[36] See 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(a)(2) using language almost identical to the statutory provision at 42 U.S.C. § 9(b)(8).
[37] Food and Nutrition Service, Applications and Other Household Materials for Limited English Proficient Households, USDA, December 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2012/SP06-2012os.pdf.
[38] Food and Nutrition Service, Applications and Other Household Materials for Limited English Proficient Households, USDA, December 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2012/SP06-2012os.pdf.
[39] USDA’s translated materials are available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/frp/frp.process.htm.
[40] Food and Nutrition Service, Applications and Other Household Materials for Limited English Proficient Households, USDA, December 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/Policy-Memos/2012/SP06-2012os.pdf.
[41] Language Line (http://www.languageline.com/page/industry_government/) is an example of this type of service.
[42] 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(a)(1).
[43] For children without categorical eligibility, the application must state that a Social Security number is not required to apply and that an indication that the signing adult does not have one will suffice.
[44] For an explanation of the appropriate methodology for making conversion calculations, see Food and Nutrition Service, Eligibility Manual for School Meals, USDA, August, pp.19-20, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/guidance/EliMan.pdf and Food and Nutrition Service memorandum, Statutory Changes in the Free and Reduced Price Eligibility Determination Process and Revised Prototype Application Implementation Memo, USDA March 7, 2005, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Application/2005-03-07.pdf.
[45] If a child in foster care is listed on an application with non-foster children, the school district can determine whether including or not including the foster child in the eligibility determination would result in a higher benefit level for the non-foster children, and then provide the higher benefit level. It is important to note, however, that the presence of a child in foster care in the household does not confer categorical eligibility for free meals on non-foster children.
[46] It is important that families know that they will be treated fairly if they apply for free or reduced-price meals. The letter mailed to parents is required to include a nondiscrimination statement with an explanation of how to file a discrimination complaint. See Food and Nutrition Service, Eligibility Manual for School Meals, USDA, August 2012, p. 11, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/guidance/EliMan.pdf.
[47] The parent letter is required to include the eligibility criteria for reduced-price school meals with an explanation that households with incomes less than or equal to the reduced-price limit would be eligible for either free or reduced-price meals. See 42 U.S.C. § 1758(b)(2)(B)(i) and 7 C.F.R. § 245.5(a)(1).
[48] See 7 C.F.R. § 245.6(c)(1).
[49] See Applying for Free or Reduced Price Meals in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, or the Benefits in the Special Milk Program, and Technical Amendments, Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 209, October 28, 2011, p. 66851, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/final/2011-10-28.pdf. If a school district is concerned about the accuracy of information on an application, it may conduct verification for cause.
[50] See 7. C.F.R. § 245.3(c).
[51] See 7. C.F.R. § 245.6(a)(4).
[52] Moreover, a new application will not always result in the child continuing to receive the free meals for which he or she is eligible. A child leaving foster care remains eligible for free school meals for the remainder of the school year and for up to 30 operating days into the next school year. Because such children can no longer automatically qualify based on their current foster status, it is all the more important that the new school obtain the eligibility status from the prior school directly.
[53] Food and Nutrition Service, Analysis of Verification Summary Data School Year 2008-2009, USDA, March 2011, Figure 5, http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/VerificationSummaryReport.pdf.
[54] Zoë Neuberger and Robert Greenstein, What Have We Learned From FNS’ New Research Findings About Overcertification in the School Meals Programs?, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 13, 2003, https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/11-11-03fa.pdf.
[55] In states where eligibility for these programs does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level, all children enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP may be directly verified. In the states with higher eligibility limits, Medicaid or SCHIP data may be used to directly verify children whose household income (as measured by Medicaid or SCHIP) is below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.
[56] See 42 U.S.C. § 1759a(a)(1)(F).
[57] Specifically, the percentage of students certified without an application (based on receipt of SNAP, TANF, FDPIR, or Medicaid benefits or based on status as homeless, migrant, runaway, or in foster care) is multiplied by 1.6 and the resulting percentage of meals is reimbursed at the free rate, with the remainder of meals reimbursed at the paid rate. For example, a school in which 50 percent of all students are certified without an application, would be reimbursed at the free rate for 80 percent (0.5 * 1.6 = 0.8) of the breakfasts and lunches served.
[58] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of U.S. Department of Education data for the 2009-2010 school year. (and the 2008-2009 school year for New York).
[59] USDA’s press release announcing the new states is available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/PressReleases/2012/FNS-2.htm.
[60] The data in this paragraph and the next are derived from a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of administrative data collected from the Illinois State Board of Education, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Michigan Department of Education.