The 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Act authorized and provided funding for USDA to implement and rigorously evaluate the Summer Food for Children Demonstration, one component of which is the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children.
Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Demonstration:
2012 Congressional Status Report and Appendices Contract #: AG-3198-C-11-0002
The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children conducted its initial proof-of-concept during the summer of 2011. The SEBTC demonstration aims to mitigate summer child food insecurity by leveraging existing EBT technologies used by the WIC and SNAP programs.
Final Congressional Status Report on the 2012 Summer Food Service Program Enhancement Demonstrations
Student eligibility for free meals is determined by application or by direct certification. Although direct certification systems vary by State and LEA, all such systems are designed to eliminate the need for paper applications. Effective in SY 2011-12, LEAs must conduct direct certification three times per year: once at or around the start of the school year, and again three and six months after that initial effort. All direct certification systems now match student enrollment lists against SNAP agency records and the records of other assistance agencies whose participants are categorically eligible for free meals. The matching process, whether automated or manual, requires no action by the children’s parents or guardians.
This report responds to a Congressional mandate for FNS to establish a long-range plan for the development and implementation of state agency Management Information Systems in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
This “briefing report” summarizes research recently undertaken for FNS to develop a methodological basis for obtaining detailed information on the competitive foods sold in schools.