This report responds to PL 105-379, which mandated the USDA  examine options for the design, development, implementation and operation of a national database to track participation in federal means-tested public assistance programs.

Prior to 1982, school districts were not required to verify the income or household size declared by households that applied for meal benefits. It was assumed that households were correctly reporting their income, and children from households that applied and declared a sufficiently Low income were given free or reduced-price meals. From 1982 to the present, the verification of household income for at least some of the approved application s for meal benefits has been part of each school district's responsibilities.