Edit Checks/Claiming Process

1. Edit Checks/Claiming Process Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction School Nutrition Team

2. What is the Edit Check? • School’s method of control to make sure that an accurate claim for reimbursement is being made • Compares meal counts to average daily attendance to identify possible errors in the meal counts and problems with meal counting procedure • Required by USDA for each school participating in the program • Can use form provided by DPI or software programs to perform edit checks

4. Completing the Edit Check (Lunch & Breakfast)

5. STEP 1: - Write the month of the claim at the top - Write the school name at the top

7. STEP 2: Add up meal counts for each day of the month you are preparing the claim for (from POS records) - Write in for each day: - # of free meals - # of reduced meals - # of paid meals - # of non-reimbursable meals

9. STEP 3: Add up each day of the month and enter the total amount for each category under “TOTALS” at the bottom of the grid

11. STEP 4: Count up and record the highest number of Free, Reduced, and Paid students you had enrolled in school during the month you are claiming for - What does “highest number” mean? The “highest number” means the most students in each category (Free, Reduced, Paid) during the month you are claiming for, including: - Students who enroll at any time during the month - Students who withdraw at any time during the month - Do not include students that do not have access to the lunch or breakfast program (example: ½ day kindergarten students) **Get this information from your updated benefit issuance list (list that shows names of students, whether they are free/reduced/paid, and date of any changes in eligibility/withdrawal)

13. STEP 5: Calculate average daily attendance (ADA) 1. Add up your school’s attendance numbers for every day you serve meals during the month **attendance refers to the number of students present at school each day, not the number of students who ate everyday 2. Count how many days you served meals during the month **get this number from the number of days you have filled in on the top of the edit check form 3. Divide the total of your attendance (#1) by the number of days you served meals (#2)

14. September Attendance Records: 9/3/08 – 169 9/16/08 – 168 9/4/08 – 176 9/17/08 – 172 9/5/08 – 161 9/18/08 – 176 9/8/08 – 159 9/19/08 – 168 9/9/08 – 168 9/22/08 – 173 9/10/08 – 185 9/23/08 – 166 9/11/08 – 167 9/24/08 – 163 9/12/08 – 175 9/25/08 – 158 9/15/08 – 172 9/30/08 - 184 Attendance Total = 3060 18 days when meals were served in September 3060 / 18 = 170 Little Red SchoolhouseAverage Daily Attendance (ADA)

15. STEP 6: Calculate school’s highest enrollment for the month being claimed Highest enrollment = Highest # Free Students + Highest # Reduced Students+ Highest # Paid Students ** get highest number of F/R/P from bottom of edit check form (Step 4)

16. Little Red SchoolhouseEnrollment Highest # Free: 100 Highest # Reduced: 75 Highest # Paid: 25 _____ Highest Enrollment: 200

17. STEP 7: Calculate attendance factor Attendance factor is the percentage of students in attendance at school every day (based on attendance records, not meal counts) Attendance Factor = Average Daily Attendance / Enrollment

19. STEP 8: Calculate the highest number of meals expected for any day for free, reduced, and paid categories Highest # of Meals Expected Each Day = Highest # Approved X Attendance Factor (first column)(second column)

21. After Completing the Edit Check Form, What Comes Next? • Compare the Highest Number of Lunches Expected For Any Day (Free, Reduced, Paid) to Daily Meal Counts (Free, Reduced, Paid) • Look for questionable Daily Meal Counts

23. What are Examples of Questionable Meal Counts? • Meal counts greater than the number of eligible students in attendance • Meal counts that are the same every day • Meal counts that are extremely high every day • Counts that seem to repeat in patterns • Counts that are the same as the number of meals delivered by your vendor

24. What Do I Do If Edit Check Shows Some Questionable Counts? • Look into the cause of the questionable/unreasonable counts • Document cause of questionable count on edit check form and initial • Examples: • Field trip – many students out for the day • School event – higher than normal attendance on that day • If no justifiable cause found upon investigation –look into POS counting system further to make sure accurate counts are being taken each day and/or adjust claim numbers accordingly • Take corrective action as needed

25. Using the Edit Check Form to Prepare Your Monthly Claim

26. Lunch Claim

27. Little Red Schoolhouse’s September Lunch Claim

28. Claims for Reimbursement • Consolidation - if more than 1 school site – combine meal counts from all sites to generate monthly claim • Claim for a given month cannot be submitted until the after the last day of that month (except June) • 60 calendar days to submit a claim

29. Claiming Online • After claim is processed (paid) it can’t be modified – paper copy of amended claim must be submitted • Once dollar amount shows online – claim has been processed

30. Questions? Sara Saye, sara.saye@dpi.wi.gov, 608-267-3724 Erin Lorang, erin.lorang@dpi.wi.gov, 608-267-9217