DIRECT CERTIFICATION AND THE COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROVISION (CEP) HOW DO THEY WORK? PRESENTED BY : STEPHANIE N. ROBINSON DIRECTOR, SCHOOL SUPPORT DIVISION 1 Monday, June 22, 2015
2 THERE ARE FOUR NEW DIRECT CERTIFICATION REPORTS Go to the MSIS main screen select REPORTS, then Free Lunch Eligibility 4 Reports 1. Full match SNAP 2. No match SNAP 3. Zero match SNAP 4. Over 18 match SNAP Select one of the four options, that will Best Suit your needs.
FULL MATCH SNAP REPORT (CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES 5 TO 17) CAN BE RUN FOR ONE OR ALL SCHOOLS Click on the traffic light to run the report: 3
The output option box appears with pdf showing, click on the output form box and select spreadsheet. 4
5 RUN YOUR REPORT Click Run Report Spreadsheet opens, Click OK Click OK
6 FINAL STEPS Spreadsheet Information that you will need will populate in columns A to M. No Match SNAP: If you identify any students on this report, you will need to have your MSIS Primary correct the student s Date of Birth or Social Security Number in MSIS so that the child will be added to your match file on the next report DHS sends for student matching. Zero to 4 Match SNAP: Students under the age of 5 that have a MSIS ID and have been matched to your district. Over 18 Match SNAP: Students over the age of 17 that have a MSIS ID and have been matched to your district (note if your numbers double it could be due to the local community college they accept SNAP benefits also.)
7 CEP HISTORY Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Provides an alternative to household applications for free and reduced price meals Offers all students free meals in high poverty Local Educational Agencies (LEA s) and schools Monday, June 22, 2015
8 Standard Procedures vs. CEP School meals programs determine eligibility through: (Standard) Household income applications Participation in assistance program (categorical eligibility) Through a case number on an application, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Directly certified though matching participant lists with enrollment lists CEP determines eligibility by: Eliminating household applications based on the percentage of directly certified students
9 BENEFITS OF CEP Increases access to school meals for children in high poverty areas Eliminates household applications and administrative burden Reduces chance of overt identification In most School Districts all children eat Free
10 REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION Minimum percentage ( 40%) of identified students in the school year prior to implementing CEP. Serve free lunches and breakfasts to all students for 4 years. May not collect household applications for free and reduced price meals.
11 ELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA LEAs may elect the CEP Provision for: all schools in the district; a group of schools or an individual school LEAs are required to submit application by June 30 to begin CEP in the SY beginning July 1 Participation is an LEA level decision but requires concurrence from the State Agency (MDE Office of Child Nutrition) An Eligible school or group of schools must have an identified student percentage of at least 40% by April 1 st of the school year prior to implementing CEP
12 STATE APPROVAL PROCESS: LEA must obtain Office of Child Nutrition (OCN) approval to participate OCN must review documentation submitted by the LEA to ensure the LEA/school meets the following criteria: 1. Must have the minimum identified student Percentage 2. School must participate in both the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). 3. Must be administratively capable. 4. LEAs and schools may opt in or opt out each year by June 30 th. 5. A new identified student percentage may be established each year of the four year cycle for use in the following year.
13 DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY IDENTIFIED STUDENTS, SNAP School eligibility is based on the number of students who meet the identified definition Identified students are those students approved as eligible for free meals who are not subject to verification. Directly certified for free meals on the basis of their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the extension of benefits to students within the same household. DIRECT CERTIFICATION DATA: Districts are provided a current monthly (SNAP) file from MDE that has been matched to all current Student MISIS numbers in each District. OCN strongly advised to update direct certification numbers monthly to capture more current information. Non-CEP schools are required to conduct direct certification with SNAP files at least three times a year.
OTHER IDENTIFIED STUDENT CATEGORIES: 14
HOW TO DETERMINE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT? APPLY SIMPLE MATH EXAMPLE Number of identified students as of April 1 st Divided by the total NSLP enrollment as of April 1 st. ISP must be 40% or greater The percentage of identified students is then multiplied by the USDA determined factor of 1.6 for SY 2015-2016 School A has 300 Identified Students as of April 1 st School A has 600 students with access to the NSLP/SBP programs as of April 1 st Identified Student percentage of 50% 50% x 1.6 = 80% reimbursement at the free rate, the remaining 20% are reimbursed at the paid rate 15
16 MEAL CLAIMING PERCENTAGES HOW WE WILL OBTAIN THE NUMBERS FOR OUR DISTRICT Identify the student percentage and multiply by a factor of 1.6. Equals the % of total meals served reimbursed at the Federal free rate The remaining % of total meals is reimbursed at the Federal paid rate Any meal costs in excess of the total Federal reimbursement must be covered through Non-Federal sources! EXAMPLES: 40% X 1.6 =64%Free, 36%Paid 60% X 1.6= 96% Free, 4% Paid 62.5% X 1.6= 100% Free** Best case to work with! Free Rate $3.06 vs Paid Rate $ 0.36
17 XYZ School District When participating by individual site, each site selected to participate in CEP will have its own claiming percentages. There is also the option of having some schools claimed as individual sites as well as having some schools claimed as a group in order to increase their claiming percentages. If you have both individual sites and groups, both the Individual School Sites form and the Group Sites form will need to be completed and submitted to Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). Note: The site name, ISP and enrollment must be provided for each site. IDENTIFIED STUDENTS ENROLLMENT Identified Student Percentage EST. FREE % NAME OF INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL SITE # of Students Total number of students eligible to participate in school lunch program ISP Estimated Percent of Total Meals Served Reimbursed at the Federal Free Rate Elementary 1 214 379 56.46% 90.34% Elementary 2 247 407 60.69% 97.10% Elementary 3 173 445 38.88% 62.20% High School 407 1003 40.58% 64.93% Middle School 292 470 62.13% 99.40% Non-Public Sped 25 25 100.00% 160.00%
18 CONTINUING CEP During the 2 nd, 3 rd and 4 th years, the LEA/school may select the higher of: Identified student % from the year directly prior; or The year prior to the first year of receiving benefits
19 CONTINUING CEP LEAs/schools in year 4 with an identified student percentage <40% but 30% are permitted to elect for an additional year (a grace year) LEAs/schools that do not meet the threshold must return to normal procedures the following SY
20 NOTIFICATION/TIME LINE: By April 15 th of each School Year: LEAs must submit to the State agency School Level Identified Student Percentages (ISP) State Agency must notify LEAs about their CEP district wide eligibility status and provide participation guidance. October Verification Data By May 1 st, the school and district level data will be posted on our OCN CEP webpage
21 QUESTIONS/CONTACT INFO Office of Child Nutrition 601.576.5000 Stephanie Robinson snrobinson@mde.k12.ms.us
22 FNS NON DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal and, where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities and wish to file either an EEO or program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.