1. Reauthorization 2015 Listening Session
Today’s listening session is a key step in developing a comprehensive set of recommendations for the 2015 reauthorization.
The Association will be a strong voice representing the State agency perspective throughout the reauthorization process.
Reauthorization 2015 Listening Session
National CACFP Professionals Conference

2. Child Nutrition Reauthorization
The last reauthorization: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
The next reauthorization
First we will briefly cover the last reauthorization and then move onto the next reauthorization.
As you know, Congress must reauthorize the Child Nutrition Programs every five years. This provides an opportunity for Congress to improve the programs. As State CACFP agencies directors and staff, we are uniquely well qualified to make recommendations to improve CACFP. We are also uniquely constrained – in fact prohibited as state agency employees from taking any political action. We can answer questions, if a Congress person asks us, and some state CACFP agencies have played an important role by answering questions. For example, NY state in the last CNR.
But to really take action politically we must rely on the National CACFP Professionals Association. NPA has ably represented state agency views in the past child nutrition reauthorization and will do so again in the coming 2015 CNR.

3. Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
CACFP Improvements:
Improves promotion of good nutrition & wellness
Protects State agency staff & increases audit funds
Reduces paperwork for parents, providers & sponsors
Increases access in low-income neighborhoods
Requires a child care & CACFP study
Encourages improvements in child care licensing
Lets take a quick look at the last reauthorization – what was it called? Yes everyone knows by now – The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
As State agencies, you have been working hard to implement these important changes. We all deserve a big Congratulations! for making the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act actually happen by moving through so many new memos and guidance and regulations. When we look at what is in the HHFKA we can get a sense of what can be accomplished in a reauthorization. (To save time you can skip reading the list of the slide.)

4. Promoting Good Nutrition & Wellness
Improves CACFP nutrition standards
Requires nutrition, health & wellness education

5. Resources
USDA funded to provide nutrition education resources & training ($10 million)
Local WIC agencies can share WIC nutrition education materials with CACFP institutions at no cost

6. Protects State Agency Staff6
Federally-funded jobs in state CACFP agencies must be excluded from state layoffs & furloughs 6

7. Increases Audit Funds
Allows USDA to increase the state audit funds made available to any State agency from 1.5 percent to up to a total of 2 percent if the State agency demonstrates that it can effectively use the funds to improve program management

8. Less Paperwork for Parents, Providers & Sponsors
Parents can return forms directly to providers
Parents will only need to give the last four digits of social security number
Parents, providers & sponsors will no longer have to operate under difficult & ineffective audit procedures (“block claiming”)

9. Less Paperwork for Parents, Providers & Sponsors9
Applications & operating agreements will be permanent, with updates as necessary (no annual resubmission)
Guardians can easily enroll foster children 9

10. Less Paperwork for Sponsors
Flexibility to maximize reimbursements:
Sponsoring organizations can use a simplified method of monthly reimbursements (“homes times rates”)
Sponsoring organizations can carry over up to 10 percent annually

11. Increasing Access for Family Child Care
Expands eligibility by allowing the use of high school & middle school data to qualify family child care providers to receive the maximum reimbursement (“Tier 1”)

12. Afterschool Meal Program12
Now available in all states
Funding to serve meals in addition to snacks in afterschool programs (school-aged programs) 12

13. Child Care & CACFP Study
Launches a study of the nutrition & wellness practices in child care settings to be conducted every five years by USDA in consultation with the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS):
Includes an assessment of the barriers & facilitators to reaching nutrition & wellness goals & to participating in CACFP
USDA has issued an RFP for this study.

14. Child Care Licensing
Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act: USDA & HHS must encourage state child care licensing agencies to:
Include wellness standards
Require foods served to be consistent with the healthy meal patterns & nutrition standards of CACFP
HHS & USDA has not issued these recommendations yet. 14

15. Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2015
Let’s turn now to the next Child Nutrition Reauthorization which is scheduled to happen in This is the important part of today’s session when you will have an opportunity to make recommendations for the next reauthorization. We are going to be working today as a group at each table. The National CACFP Professional Association board members will be available to help facilitate the process. We have provided each table with a large piece of paper and a marker. Your job today is to list the top five change you would like to see in the 2015 Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2015
National CACFP Professionals Conference

16. National CACFP Professionals Association
List the top five Changes You would like to see in the 2015 Child nutrition reauthorization
You will have 20 minutes to discuss your recommendations and list them on the paper. (If you have more than five you can list them below the top five.) At the end of the 20 minutes, we will ask for volunteers to report back the recommendations from your table. We will also be collecting the lists from each table. [If it turns out you can post them somewhere, then explain it to them now.]
National CACFP Professionals Association

17. Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2015
Time to Report Your
Top Five Recommendations
Thank you for these excellent recommendations. We will summarize the lists from all the tables & report the results at the closing session.

18. Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2015
Today’s listening session is a key step in developing a comprehensive set of recommendations for the reauthorization.
The National CACFP Professionals Association will continue to be a strong voice representing the State agency perspective throughout the reauthorization process.