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Letter Head: Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education

July 7, 2008

Dear School Food Service Director/CNIPS Administrator:

Update: Child Nutrition Information and Payment System Update

The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) is committed to keeping you informed of the most current progress in implementing the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS). This correspondence informs you of the following:

  • Revised time line for rolling out the new Web-based system
  • Option to submit aggregated or site level reporting data
  • Plans for sponsor training
  • How to prepare for using this automated system to submit reimbursement claims and other School Nutrition Program and Seamless Summer information

Status — CNIPS Rollout is Delayed

The CDE is continuing to perform testing on the CNIPS in order to ensure that the system operates as designed. These activities are taking us longer than anticipated. This additional testing will delay the implementation of the CNIPS until August 25, 2008. Our goal continues to be that all July 2008 and subsequent school meal claims for reimbursement be processed through the CNIPS. Your July 2008 claims for reimbursement are due to our Fiscal and Administrative Services Division by September 20, 2008. Therefore, your agency will have more than three weeks after the rollout of the new Web-based system to submit your first School Nutrition and Seamless Summer Program claim(s) via the CNIPS.

Choice to Submit Either Aggregated or Site Level Reporting Data

Currently, the CNIPS allows sponsors to choose to submit either aggregated (sponsor level) or site level reporting data. Site level reporting permits agencies to report reimbursable meals served at each site, with meals automatically totaled by the CNIPS  to generate the reimbursement at the sponsor level. You will still receive your reimbursement at the sponsor level, regardless of whether you submit aggregated or site level information. The CDE strongly encourages sponsors to consider the benefits of site level reporting, which include:

  • Automatic notification of Especially Needy/Severe Need Breakfast eligibility
  • Determination of eligibility for Provision 2 or 3
  • Electronic submission of claim data collected by Point of Sale (POS) software vendors so that site-specific meal counts are directly uploaded into the CNIPS. Additional information on this process is located at the CNIPS Web page: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/cn/
  • Simplification of the CDE’s School Fiscal Services Division’s tracking of meal reimbursements for charter schools
  • Enhancement of the data that the CDE can provide to State and Federal legislators who often request school site level information on the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program participation, which can impact future reimbursement levels

Choosing to submit site level reporting data upon implementation of CNIPS is not mandatory at this time. By default, the CDE will assume that sponsors will submit aggregated reporting data in the CNIPS, which is the same data you currently submit through the paper-based sponsor claim. However, please note the following:

  • If you choose to report site level data, starting with the July 2008 claims, please notify the CDE by sending an e-mail to CNIPS@cde.ca.gov no later than August 15, 2008. Please include “site level reporting” in the subject of your e-mail and ensure you identify your agency, your name and title, your phone number, and your intent to submit site level reporting data.
  • If you choose to report site level data at a later date (after implementation of the CNIPS), you can contact the CNIPS Help Desk at 800-952-5609 (option #6) and ask to have your sponsor profile changed to site level reporting.

CNIPS Sponsor Training

The CNIPS is an easy-to-use system that does not require extensive training prior to implementation. Therefore, participation in any CNIPS sponsor training is optional for your district/agency. For example, School Nutrition Program agencies participating in the Special Milk Program might be able to use the CNIPS without training, unless the staff have limited computer skills. Your staff can acquire information about using CNIPS by:

  • Accessing the Help feature that is in the new system
  • Calling the CNIPS Help Desk, when the new system goes live
  • Referring to the CNIPS User Manual that will be posted on the CNIPS Web page

We will inform you by August 2008 regarding your training options that may include   Web-based training and classroom-style training at a computer lab in various regions. Based on your feedback from the recent CNIPS Training Survey, we may offer additional training venues. We anticipate CNIPS sponsor training will begin mid-August and continue into Fall 2008. Those sponsors that have traditionally submitted July 2008 claims will be among the first sponsors to receive training.

CNIPS User Identification, Password, and Help Desk Assistance

As we shared with you in the past, we will send you a CNIPS User Identification (ID) and password in two separate e-mails when the CNIPS is operational in late August 2008. The first e-mail message will provide a CNIPS User ID, and the second e-mail message will provide a password that allows you to access the system. If you have designated a CNIPS administrator, we will send the two e-mail messages to this individual. If you did not designate a CNIPS administrator in the contact information provided to us in April 2008, we will send all communication regarding the CNIPS to the food service director.

When you receive your User ID and password, you will be informed about how to log onto the new Web-based system. You can also call the CNIPS Help Desk for additional assistance related to logging into CNIPS and/or to verify your existing records on file.  You can contact the CNIPS Help Desk by dialing 1-800-952-5609 and selecting option #6 from the menu. Please continue to direct program operation questions (e.g., meal count and collection procedures, vending agreements) to your local Field Services Unit Child Nutrition Consultant or the School Nutrition Program Unit at 1-800-952-5609.

In summary, prior to using the CNIPS, you will need to:
  1. Let the CDE know if you prefer to supply site-specific reporting data by e-mailing CNIPS@cde.ca.gov no later than August 15, 2008. Please include the   requested information in your e-mail message. (There is no need to contact us if you plan to continue to submit aggregated reporting data.)
  2. Determine your need for sponsor training and select your preferred method of training.
  3. Receive your CNIPS User ID and password from the CDE in August 2008.
  4. Create User IDs and passwords for each of your staff that will use the CNIPS.
  5. Verify your sponsor and site application data when you go online in the CNIPS.
  6. Submit your July 2008 claim(s) for reimbursement between the date that the CNIPS is operational and before September 20, 2008.

Thank you for your patience and your continued support as we implement the CNIPS.  We are very excited about the improvements in customer service and access to data that this Web-based system will provide.

If you have questions regarding the content of this letter, please contact the CNIPS Help Desk by phone at 800-952-5609, option 6, or by e-mail at cnips@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Phyllis Bramson-Paul, Director
Nutrition Services Division

PBP: jkl

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