Free & Reduced Price School Meals Application & Eligibility Determinations

1. Free & Reduced Price School Meals Application & Eligibility Determinations 2013-14 Revised June 2013

2. Application Changes • The USDA has made no changes to the 2013-14 Prototype Household Application. • The Income guidelines have changed • Sponsor alterations to the application must be approved in advance by Sue Bartenfield, SCN Program Manager.

3. Civil Rights The application is available in foreign language translations for those with limited English proficiency www.fns.usda.gov/cnd

4. Civil Rights Kurdish Laotian Polish Portuguese Russian Samoan Serbo-Croatian Somali Spanish Sudanese Urdu Vietnamese English Arabic Cambodian Chinese (Mandarin) Farsi French Greek Haitian Creole Hindi Hmong Japanese Korean

5. Civil Rights Non-Discrimination Statement: This explains what to do if you believe you have been treated unfairly.“In accordance with Federal Law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call toll free (866) 632-9992 (Voice).  Individuals who are hearing impaired or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339; or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish).   USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”

6. The Application Packet Contains: • The Letter to Households • Free and Reduced-Price School Meals Application • Instructions

7. You must include the current Reduced Price Income Guidelines with the application.

8. Eligibility Manual for School Meals (Aug. 2012 edition) 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

10. Processing Applications • Send application packets to households on/after July 1st. • Last year’s eligibility can be carried forward for 30 operating daysor until a new eligibility determination is made. • You must determine eligibility, notify the household, & implement the status within 10 operating days of receiving the application. • You must use current IEGs (Income Eligibility Guidelines). http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/notices/iegs/iegs.htm

11. Note: 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.

12. Ways to Determine Eligibility • Income eligibility. • Categorical eligibility with case numbers. • “Other source” categorical eligibility without case numbers. • Direct Certification

13. Determination based on Income Eligibility • All household members must be listed on the application. • Household members who have no income must indicate this on the application by checking the “No Income” box. If not checked, income must be reported.

15. Current Income & Frequency Income must be identified with the individual who received it, the source of the income and the frequency. 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.

17. Other required information • The application must be signed by an adult household member. • The adult must provide the last 4 digits of his/her social security number (Not required if checking the “I do not have a Social Security number” box, if applying on behalf of a foster child or if listing a valid case number).

19. School Use Only • The “school use only” section of the application should be completed by the determining official. • If the application is selected for verification, the confirming official and verifying official must also complete the sections which pertain to them.

21. Income Conversion 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

23. 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

25. 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

26. 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.

27. Categorical Eligibility with Case Numbers If a child, or any household member, has a valid Assistance Program (SNAP, KTAP, FDPIR) case number, as determined through direct certification or an application, categorical eligibility for free meals can be determined. Eligibility for free meals under any of the Assistance Programs is extended to all children in the household.

28. Case Numbers Valid case numbers are: Social Security Numbers Invalid case numbers are: 000, 555, or 16-digits (EBT card 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.

30. Other Source Categorically Eligible 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)

32. Foster Child • Must be formally placed by the court • 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.

34. 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 Suggestion: Document in RED

35. Recordkeeping: Approved Applications On an approved application, the determining official must: • Indicate approval date • Indicate the level of benefit • Sign or initial the application

37. Notifying the Household of Approved Benefits Households approved for free or reduced price benefits may be notified in writing or verbally. Maintain documentation of verbal contact.

39. 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

41. 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

43. Direct Certification… Is the process of certifying children who are members of households receiving assistance under the Assistance Programs (SNAP, KTAP, Medicaid, Foster, FDPIR) as eligible for free meals, without further application, based on information provided by the State/local agency administering these programs.

44. Direct Cert (DC) lists are available for download each month. KY has these DC lists available: SNAP, KTAP, Medicaid & Foster.

45. Direct Certification of Medicaid Eligible Students • You may notapprove students based on a Medicaid case number reported on a household application. Only students on the Medicaid Direct Certification list can be approved for free meals. • If a student is on the Medicaid Direct Certification list, eligibility isextended to other students in the household.   This is a federal pilot program

46. Notifying the Household of DC eligibility • The LEA must notify the household of free lunch eligibility established through direct certification.

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. To request DC access, you must submit a User Registration Form to KDE/SCN

50. Direct Certification Record Keeping • Maintain copies of the Notice of Direct Certification • Print & keep the DC lists from the DC website