Free and Reduced Price Application Process

1. Free and Reduced Price Application Process Department of School and Community Nutrition

2. What Will be Covered • We will cover the application process in a step-by step approach and will include specific information on where you can locate instructions and letters on our website for the following items • Direct Certification • Free and Reduced Price Application Completion • Verification and Direct Verification

3. What Will be Covered • This is our website: www.doe.in.gov/food • All of the links circled in red in today’s presentation can be found by clicking on School Nutrition Programs

4. Eligibility Guidance Manual • This manual contains information on Federal requirements regarding the determination and verification of eligibility for free and reduced price meals • The Eligibility Guidance Manual can be found on our website under Free and Reduced Price Information • Will answer questions that we won’t cover today on topics such as homeless, migrant, adopted, and foster children and how to handle those applications • Have a copy on hand, it is invaluable!!

5. Direct Certification • Alternative to (replaces) the traditional paper application for free meals • Students can be certified eligible for a FREE lunch (not reduced) without the parent having to complete an application or the school having to approve an application • Based on food stamp/TANF benefits

6. Direct Certification • Run direct certification in July • Direct certification how-to manuals can be found on our website • Click on Free and Reduced Price Forms under Free and Reduced Price Information • Click on Direct Certification Manual if you plan to upload your student master list • Click on Direct Certification STN Quick Start if you plan to use your student master list from the previous school year

7. Direct Certification • Two methods for Direct Certification • STN • Uses enrolled student information available at DOE (Spring data from the prior school year) • Traditional • In this method the school district extracts a more current list of data anticipating fall enrollment from their student database and uploads the data first to the STN Application Center. • After the list is uploaded, this information is used to match against the Food Stamp and TANF rolls. Results are more accurate, but it takes an extra step. • First time users, particularly smaller parochial schools will find the STN Method easier and adequate. • Both are hosted within the Department of Education’s STN (Student Test Number) Application Center at https://ac.doe.state.in.us/ • Find out who files the required STN reports for your school, this is the person who will have a User ID and Password for the STN Application Center.

8. https://ac.doe.state.in.us/

9. File Upload for Traditional Method You may not see all these choices, depending on the permissions you have been given.

10. 1. Pressing the “browse” button will open a “file open dialogue box” where you will select your master list file 2. Uploaded data files can be Comma Delimited, Fixed Length (Positional) or XML. This step is OPTIONAL and used only in the “Traditional Method”. 3. Press “Transfer Data”

11. Request the download of matching data Direct Certification Download can now be found under the Administration menu tab

12. If you uploaded a file, request Traditional Match If you did not upload a file, select STN Match

13. Most of you will probably select Comma Delimited The file will probably open up locally on your PC as an Excel Spreadsheet

14. At the Beginning of the year you’ll want to select “Retrieve all Matches” New Feature! You can now rerun Direct Certification at any time of the year and if you don’t want to see all the previously reported names, select “Retrieve only new matches”

15. Once you have selected your Match Type, File Format, and Match Criteria, you must press “Request Match”.

16. Once you have pressed “Request Match”, scroll to the bottom of the page, and you will see a memorandum of agreement. Read through the agreement and select, “I Agree” at the bottom.

17. Direct Certification • Be sure to remember that your results will be contained in two Different file.  • The EXACT MATCH file will contain the majority of your matches • SOUND ALIKE MATCH file will contain a relatively smaller amount of matches, where the first names were not exact matches, but were very similar.

18. Direct Certification • After download is performed and you have the list of directly certified students • Send letter to household with notification that children are directly certified for free benefits and an application does not need to be completed • Letter can be found on our websiteunder free and reduced price forms • Under School Meal Benefits, Click on direct certification

19. Direct Certification • You can now directly certify all siblings within a household where you have at least one child in a household who has Food Stamp/TANF direct certification match. A household is “a group of related or nonrelated individuals, who are not residents of an institution or boarding house, but who are living as one economic unit.” • Parents/Guardians may decline benefits or request reduced benefits • Document by source • Initial and date • Meals are claimed at the status the parents/guardians requested

20. Direct Certification • Lookup Feature • Where you locate a student with “Lookup”, be sure to print out and save the documentation of eligibility. • Can help you identify individual students in a flexible manner…for instance • You need to quickly search when a new child is admitted to your school at some time other than the first of the year.

21. Lookup | Direct Certification

22. Search by: Case Number if you know it Student Information Guardian Information

23. Click on the “view” icon to display the results…

24. Print this screen and save a paper copy with your applications.

25. Free/Reduced Price Applications • Send an application and parent letter/instructions to each household either by mail or insert into enrollment packet • Every student should get one, but do not send to households that are directly certified • The application and parent letter/instructions can be foundon our website under Free andReduced Price Information, Free and Reduced Price Forms • Then click on Application for Meals and Parent Letter/Instructions – Meals under School Meal Benefits

26. Free/Reduced Price Applications • As you receive applications, cross check with your direct certification list and disregard any applications for households that have been directly certified • Applications must be processed within 10 days of receipt • Applications from the prior year are only valid for the first 30 operating days of the school year (beginning with the first day of school)

27. Free/Reduced Price Applications • Make sure each application is complete and includes the following: • EACH child’s name and school they attend • Food stamp number written in for EACH child if applicable (food stamp number begins with 10 and is 10 digits long) • List ALL family members and income for each or check box if no income • Select frequency of pay, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, annual (bi-monthly is not a selection so if you are unsure of frequency, contact the household to verify) • Adult signature • Social security number for income eligible applications or check box if no social security number • Date signed

28. Free/Reduced Price Applications • Use the income guidelines to calculate the benefit • The income guidelines can be found on our website under Free and Reduced Price Information • If frequencies of pay differ, calculate annual pay • Weekly gross income X 52 • Every two weeks gross income X 26 • Twice a month (bi-monthly) gross income X 24 • If a household reports zero income temporarily approve the application for no more than 45 days and flag it for follow-up • Complete the eligibility determination on the back of the application and sign • File your applications by building

29. Withdrawals • When a student withdraws, pull the application, document the withdrawal date and file in a “withdrawn” file

30. Verification • At the beginning of October, pull your sample for verification • Do a confirmation review to determine that the original eligibility was correctly determined • This step must be performed by someone other than the original approving official • Exception: requirement waived if the LEA uses a “technology based solution” that makes accurate eligibility determinations • If the initial determination is incorrect, the LEA must: • Correct the household’s eligibility status • Notify the household of the change and explain changes; and • Allow households to reapply and provide documentation • Select another application to verify • Make copies of the application(s) selected for verification and place the originals in a separate file labeled “verification”

31. Verification • Three types of verification • Standard – select 3% of error prone applications • Error prone applications are those that are within $100 of the monthly amount or $1200 of the yearly amount on the income eligibility guidelines • Flag your error-prone applications when processing in August • Alternate/Random – randomly select 3% of applications • This method may only be used if you had less than 20% non-responders last year on verification • Alternate/Focused – Calculate 1% of all approved applications. Select these from ‘error prone’ income applications PLUS .5% of all categorical apps • This method may only be used if you had less than 20% non-responders last year on verification • Categorical apps are those approved with a food stamp number

32. Verification • Verification for cause • In addition to your sample size you are required to verify any suspect applications. • Applications with inconsistencies or questions about required information • Must be denied unless questions are resolved • May be verified for cause anytime during the school year

33. Direct Verification • After selecting your sample applications for verification perform direct verification by using the Lookup feature in the STN database to determine if any of the applications selected are eligible based on food stamp , TANF, or Medicaid benefits • If you find a household listed and the information confirms the status of the application, print the information and attach to the application, that application is now verified and can be filed in your verification folder (you only need to verify one student on a multi-student family application to consider the application verified) • If you do not find the household listed, a verification letter must be sent to the household

34. Unlike direct certification which matches against the most current Food Stamp and TANF data, Direct Verification searches back 180 days from the date of application, therefore, the date the parent/guardian signed the application is important. Select Direct Verification

35. Search by: Case Number if you know it Student Information Guardian Information

36. Click on the “view” icon to display the results…

37. Print this page and attach to the original application • Complete the verification section on the back of the application • Refile the application in your verification file

38. Verification • Verification instructions can be found on our website under Free and Reduced Price Information • Click on verification information • Under Verification Questions, AnswersInformation andPolicies, click on Verification – How To

39. Verification • Verification notification letters can be found on our website under Free and Reduced Price Information • Click on Verification Information, then click on We Must Check Your Application under Verification--Meals

40. Verification • When you receive verification of income, calculate benefit based on the income • If the household benefits change from F-R or are terminated you must notify the household and change the benefit after 10 days of notification • If the household benefits change from R-F, you must notify the household in 3 days and change the benefit immediately • In the event that a household does not respond, follow up with a phone call • If the household still doesn’t respond or is uncooperative, they must be removed from the program

41. Verification • After verification is complete, households must be notified if benefits stay the same, change, or are terminated • The letter notifying a household of their benefit after verification can be found onour website under Free and Reduced Information • Click on We Have Checked Your Application underVerification -- Meals

42. Verification • Verification must be complete by November 15 • The verification summary must be submitted to our office by December 15 • The verification summary will not be available to you until after you file your October claim. • It will be found on the CNPweb under Claims/AFR.

43. 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, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 800-795-3272 or 202-720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. • It is the policy of the Indiana Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability, in its programs, activities, or employment policies as required by the Indiana Civil Rights Laws (I.C. 22-9-1), Title VI and VII (Civil Rights Act of 1964), the Equal Pay Act of 1973, Title IX (Educational Amendments), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 USCS § 12101,et.seq.). • Inquiries regarding compliance by the Indiana Department of Education with Title IX and other civil rights laws may be directed to the Human Resources Director, Indiana Department of Education, 151 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204, or by telephone to 317-232-6610, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 111 North Canal Street, Suite 1053, Chicago, IL 60606-7204 -Dr. Tony Bennett, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.