Household Applications and Verification School Year Revised July 2014

Guidance Eligibility Manual for School Meals 2 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: 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. 6

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. 7

8 To request DC access, you must submit a User Registration Form to KDE/SCN Request information from

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. 10

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. 11

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. 12

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 14 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 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. 17

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 1 st. 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.

Civil Rights The school meals application is available in foreign language translations for those with limited English proficiency. 20

Let’s look at the Application Part 1 21 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 CrockerHolmes Dave CrockerN/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 24 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 Smith180 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 27 An adult member of the household must sign. Must include last 4 of social (except foster, or when listing a valid case number) or check “do not Have” 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. 28

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 29

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. 30

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 34

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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Thank you! Contact: Katie Embree-Cleveland