FNS Instruction (113.96 KB)
Sections 226.6 (d) and (e) of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) regulations require that state agencies establish procedures to annually review information submitted by institutions to ensure that all participating facilities meet Program licensing/approval requirements. Further, Section 226.6(b) (7) requires that institutions provide state agencies with "documentation that all child care centers, adult day care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, and day care homes for which application is made are in compliance with program licensing/approval provisions." Finally, implicit in Section 226.15(e) is a requirement that institutions keep on file copies of all licensing/approval documentation submitted to the state agency.
In implementing these regulatory provisions, state agencies may require participating institutions to maintain on file and submit such documentation as they deem adequate to demonstrate that program licensing and/or approval requirements are being met. This documentation may include copies of individual facility licenses, as well as any other documentation issued by licensing authorities such as computer printouts which list licensed facilities. When computer printouts are used as documentation, the state agency may obtain the printouts from the institution or directly from the licensing agency. (If the state agency accepts the printouts directly from the participating institution, the printout must have been originally obtained from the licensing agency.) Use of computer printouts in no way eliminates the responsibility of the institution for maintaining adequate licensing documentation on file.
The criteria to be used by state agencies when determining whether documentation is adequate to meet this requirement are (1) it must be authoritative (i.e., issued by the licensing authority); (2) it must clearly identify the facility in question; (3) it must identify the time period for which it is valid; (4) it must specify the license capacity; and (5) if a family day home sponsor, if must identify the name and address of the provider.