Claim Calculations and Recalculations in the CACFP

1. Claim Calculations and Recalculations in the CACFP 810 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20002 – 3rd Floor Grand Hall, Side A

2. Claims for Reimbursement

3. Claims for Reimbursement How do CACFP payments work? • You’re paid a set amount in advance for the coming month. • You’re reimbursed a set amount for last month. • You’re reimbursed for the meals that you served last month. • You’re reimbursed for your actual costs last month.

4. Claims for Reimbursement How do CACFP payments work? • You’re paid a set amount in advance for the coming month. • You’re reimbursed a set amount for last month. • You’re reimbursed for the meals that you served last month. • You’re reimbursed for your actual costs last month.

5. Claims for Reimbursement What factors affect the amount of your claim payments? The federal meal reimbursement rates The reimbursement rate eligibility classifications (free / reduced-price / paid) for all participants The number of meals served, by type (breakfast, snack, or lunch/supper)

6. Claims for Reimbursement When do the reimbursement rates change? • January 1 • July 1 • October 1 • Whenever Congress raises them

7. Claims for Reimbursement When do the reimbursement rates change? • January 1 • July 1 • October 1 • Whenever Congress raises them

8. Claims for Reimbursement Why do the free / reduced-price / paid numbers matter? The Blended Rate

9. Claims for Reimbursement BREAKFAST Free $1.58 Reduced $1.28 Paid $0.28 LUNCH / SUPPER Free $2.93 Reduced $2.53 Paid $0.28 A.M. / P.M. SNACK Free $0.80 Reduced $0.40 Paid $0.07 The Blended Rate

10. Claim Payment Calculations

11. See “Reimbursement Calculator” Excel Spreadsheet

12. Claim Reimbursement Calculator • Programmed with the basic federal reimbursement rates • Mirrors the fields of the Claim for Reimbursement • Shows your institution’s unique blended reimbursement rate for each meal type for the month • Gives you an estimate of your monthly claim based on the reported free / reduced-price / paid numbers and number of meals served

13. Claim Reimbursement Calculator • Play around with the calculator to see how the blended rate works • The percentage of participants in each eligibility category, not the raw number, affects the blended rate • A higher percentage of participants in the “free” category makes the blended rate closer to the “free” reimbursement rate for each meal type • The number of each meal type served does directly affect the value of your claim payment

14. Claim Reimbursement Calculator • The free / reduced-price / paid numbers do not affect the cash-in-lieu of commodity reimbursement rate • The cash-in-lieu of commodity reimbursement rate is added to your blended rate for lunches and suppers • All at-risk meals are reimbursed at the free reimbursement rate

15. See “Claim Calculation-Recalculation Example” Excel Spreadsheet

16. Claim Recalculation Spreadsheet • Sent with review letters any time findings lead to fiscal action / claim recalculations • Shows the data originally reported on the claim for each month and the value of that claim • Shows the revised data, as determined by the State Agency, and the revised value of the claim

17. Claim Recalculation Spreadsheet • State Agency focuses on the records and data for a “test month” during a review • Meals are typically only disallowed for the test month • Any IES classification errors are corrected for the entire fiscal year (going back to the month the child enrolled or was first claimed, or October -- whichever is later) • IES errors quickly add up over time

18. Reasons for Recalculations • IES was misclassified • IES was correct but claimed incorrectly* • Incorrect number of participants reported in the free/reduced-price/paid section* • Incorrect meal count totaling • Discrepancies between attendance and meal counts (more meals claimed than people present) • Meals/menus did not meet meal pattern *Usually due to errors on the MEL