Household Applications and Verification School Year 2014-15 Revised July 2014.
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Household Applications and Verification School Year 2014-15 Revised July 2014
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Transcript of Household Applications and Verification School Year 2014-15 Revised July 2014.
Household Applications and Verification
School Year
2014-15
Revised July 2014
GuidanceEligibility Manual for School Meals
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This manual contains information on Federal requirements regarding the determination & verification of eligibility for free & reduced price meals in the National School Lunch & Breakfast programs.
The Eligibility Manual can be found on the USDA website: http://
www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/guidance/EliMan.pdf
The manual should be updated soon. Be watching!
Ways to Determine Eligibility
1. Direct Certification– The process by which LEAs certify children who are
members of households receiving assistance under certain assistance programs.
2. Household Application- This document determines if a child is eligible for school meals at a reduced or no charge.
Direct Certification
Direct Certification… Is the process of certifying children who
are members of households receiving assistance under the Assistance Programs (SNAP, KTAP, Medicaid, Foster) as eligible for free meals, without further application, based on information provided by the State/local agency administering these programs.
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Why Directly Certify?
• At the beginning of each month, KDE/SCN provides these DC lists via download : – SNAP– KTAP – Medicaid – Foster
• Fewer applications to process: You don’t have to send applications to households in which the students are directly certified.
• If 40% or more of the enrolled students at a site are directly certified, the site is eligible to participate in the CEP. program.
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To request DC access, you must submit a User Registration Form to KDE/SCNRequest information from [email protected]
Access to DC files is limited to 2 people per district:
1. The food service director 2. A secondary user, designated by the food service director.
User IDs & Passwords should not be shared with other users.
Notifying the Household of DC Eligibility
- The LEA must notify the household of free lunch eligibility established through Direct Certification.- CEP sites do not have to notify.
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Notice of Direct Certification must state:
- The child is eligible for free benefits
- No further application is necessary
- An explanation of extended eligibility & how to notify the LEA of any additional children in the household
- How to notify the LEA if they
do not want the benefits.
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Medicaid Eligible Students
• Only students on the Medicaid Direct Certification list can be approved for free meals.
• Not every child who receives Medicaid will be on the DC list.
• If a student is on the Medicaid Direct Certification list, eligibility for free meals extends to other students in the household.
• You may not approve students based on a Medicaid case number reported on a household application.
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Homeless, Migrant, Runaway
• Check with district coordinators/ liaisons to identify these students.
• Appropriate documentation includes a signed, dated certified list.
• Students can be directly certified for meals if they are documented appropriately.
Record Keeping
• Maintain copies of the Notice of Direct Certification
• Print & keep the DC lists from the DC website
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Helpful Hints:
1. Print each month’s DC download and place in a binder by month.
2. Save each download by month to a file on your desktop.
Application for School Meals
The Application Packet Contains:
• The Letter to Households• Free and Reduced-Price
School Meals Application• Instructions
Application Changes
• USDA revised the application for 2014-15• The Income guidelines have changed• Sponsor alterations to the application must be
approved in advance by Sue Bartenfield, SCN Program Manager.
• Electronic applications must also be approved by Sue.
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Ways to Determine Eligibility Based on an Application:
• Income eligibility.• Categorical eligibility with case
numbers.• “Other source” categorical eligibility
without case number.
Processing Applications• Send application packets to households on/after July 1st.• Include the current IEGs (Income Eligibility Guidelines).• You must determine eligibility, notify the household, &
implement the status within 10 operating days of receiving the returned application.
• Last year’s eligibility can be carried forward for 30 operating days or until a new eligibility
determination is made.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/notices/iegs/iegs.htm
Civil Rights
The school meals application is available in foreign language translations for those with limited English proficiency.
www.fns.usda.gov/cnd
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Let’s look at the Application Part 1
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Student/Adult Name
Name of School or N/A
Helpful Hint: if box is marked, check DC list to see if the
student can be directly certified.
Must check if person receives
no income.
Betty Crocker HolmesDave Crocker N/A
Determination based on Other Source Categorical Eligibility without Case Numbers
• Homeless• Runaway• Migrant• Foster Child • Federal Head Start Program• Even Start Program(Eligibility for free meals under these programs does not extend to other children in the household)
Foster Child• Must be formally placed by the court and
the state will retain legal custody of the child
• May be identified by Direct Certification or on a household application
• Is counted as a member of the household if determining eligibility for other children in the household
• The foster child’s income is only considered if the foster family applies for meal benefits for the non-foster children in the household.
Let’s Look at the Application Parts 2 & 3
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Case Numbers:- Valid numbers are Social Security numbers- NO EBT card numbers (16 digit numbers)- NO 555 or 000- NO Medical Card #s
Helpful Hint: Check DC list to directly certify student if possible.
Family member must be listed unless no income checked.
List Gross income. Only convert to annual if multiple frequencies are reported. Households must report income for the current month, the prior month or the month after.
In special situations, i.e. self-employed or seasonal workers, households may, with the assistance of the determining official, report annual income.
Jane Smith 180 x
Determination Based on Categorical Eligibility with Case Numbers
If a child, or any household member, lists a valid Assistance Program (SNAP, KTAP) case number on the application, they are eligible for free meals.
Eligibility for free meals based on SNAP or KTAP extends to all children in the household.
Case Numbers
If a valid case number is used on an application, the corresponding household member’s name must also be listed.
On applications which provide valid case numbers,ignore reported income.
Let’s Look at the Application Parts 4 & 5
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An adult memberof the householdmust sign.
Must include last4 of social (except foster, or when listing a valid case number)or check “do notHave” box. Part 5 is optional.
The approval of an application cannot be delayed if the household fails to provide any information that is not required.For example, failure to include street address or phone number.
School Use Only
The “school use only” section of the application should be completed by the determining official.
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Income Conversion: Yes or No?
If there is only one source of income, or if all incomes are received at the same frequency, no income conversion is required.
For example:
John Smith $100/ week Sally Smith $200/ week
Combine & report total income as $300/ week
If there are multiple incomes with more than one frequency, conversion is required. All of the incomes must be converted to annual income.
For example:
John Smith $100/ week
Sally Smith $200/ month
$100 x 52 weeks = $5,200/year
$200 x 12 months = $2,400/year
Total income: $7,600/year
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The Conversion Factors:
• Weekly x 52• Bi-weekly(received every two
weeks) x 26• Semi-monthly (received twice
per month) x 24• Monthly x 12
Do not use conversion factors such as 4.33 to convert weekly income or 2.15 to convert bi-weekly income to monthly amounts.
Check your application software program to ensure that correct conversion factors are being used. You must be sure an “automatic conversion” to monthly income does not occur.
Record Keeping
Recordkeeping: Unapproved (Incomplete) Applications
Prior to denial you may contact the household for more information. Document:• Name of person contacted• Information received• Initials of person making the contact• Date of contact
Document in RED
Recordkeeping: Approved Applications
On an approved application, the determining official must:• Indicate approval date• Indicate the level of benefit• Sign or initial the application
Notifying the Household of Approved Benefits
- Households approved for free or reduced price benefits may be notified in writing or verbally.- Be sure to document verbal contact.
Maintain
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Notifying the Household of Denied Benefits
In writing, provide:• Reason for Denial• Right to Appeal• Instructions on how to appeal• A statement that family may re-apply
at any time during the school year
Recordkeeping: Denied Applications
On a denied application, the determining official must:• Indicate denial date• Indicate reason for
denial• Indicate date the
denial notice was sent• Sign or initial the
application
Individual Determination Form
for School Meals
(Residential students)
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