| Nutrition Services Division Management Bulletin |
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| Purpose: Policy, Beneficial Information | |
| To: National School Lunch Program Sponsors, School Breakfast Program Sponsors, and Special Milk Program Sponsors |
Number: USDA-SNP-05-2012 |
| Attention: Food Service Director and Business Official |
Date: December 2012 |
| Subject: 2012 Eligibility Manual for School Meals: Determining and Verifying Eligibility |
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| Reference: U.S. Department of Agriculture Policy Memo SP 46-2012 http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/policy.htm |
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This Management Bulletin (MB) announces that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a new Eligibility Manual for School Meals dated August 2012, and highlights changes made to the October 2011 version. The new Eligibility Manual for School Meals is available on the USDA School Meals Guidance and Resources Web page at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/guidance/.
The manual contains federal requirements regarding the determination and verification of Applications for Free and Reduced-price Meals (or Milk) in the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk Programs.
The 2012 manual replaces the Eligibility Guidance for School Meals Manual issued in October 2011. The USDA updated the new manual to reflect changes due to final and interim regulations, legislation, and policy implementation memoranda required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The changes are listed in USDA’s Policy Memo SP 46-2012.
Important Notes
- The manual refers to the following federal programs that are named differently in California:
- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), known as California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS)
- Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh
- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), known as California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS)
- California confidentiality laws supersede federal law; therefore, some information in the manual does not apply to California's School Nutrition Programs (SNP). Please disregard Part 7, Confidentiality/Disclosure of Eligibility Information, pages 55 through 61.
- Do not use USDA's Appendix B, Prototype Application; Appendix C, Disclosure of Free and Reduced Price Information Agreement and Disclosure Chart due to the difference between California’s Application for Free and Reduced-price Meals requirements (Education Code Section 49551[a]) and USDA’s application. Instead, sponsors are encouraged to use the California Department of Education (CDE) Application for Free and Reduced-price Meals prototype available as an Excel spreadsheet on the CDE SNP Eligibility Materials Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/eligmaterials.asp.
- Please add Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments (Kin-GAP) to Section A, page 41. In California, categorical eligibility for free meals applies to foster children and recipients of CalFresh, CalWORKs, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), and Kin-GAP benefits.
New Information
The USDA emphasized two areas in the new eligibility manual; specifically, complying with requirements related to families with limited English proficiency (LEP) and prevention of overt identification. School Food Authorities are responsible for assisting LEP families as needed and for ensuring that identification of children eligible for free or reduced-price meals is not overt.
In addition, the USDA eliminated temporary approvals because eligibility, once determined, is in effect from the date of determination and remains in effect up to the first 30 days of the following school year. Part 3, G on page 22 of the manual refers to Duration of Eligibility and provides more information on the removal of temporary approvals.
The manual incorporates the following policies that the USDA issued this year:
- SP 02-2012: Verification and Reporting of Foster Children
- SP 03-2012: Direct Certification and Zero Benefit Households
- SP 06-2012: Applications and Other Household Materials for Limited English Proficient Households
- SP 13-2012: Verification for Cause in the School Meals Programs
- SP 42-2012: Application and Other Household Materials for Limited English Proficient Households - Reminder
- SP 45-2012: Preventing Overt Identification of Children Certified for Free or Reduced Price School Meals
