This report responds to a requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to conduct direct certification of children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs.

This is the third in a series of annual reports assessing administrative error associated with the local educational agency’s approval of applications for free and reduced-price school meals. 

The report describes the project goals and strategies, provides a general description of each grantee, and gives a synopsis of project performance. 

This study examines the feasibility of assessing causes of variation in SAE by addressing two fundamental sets of questions: Is it possible to measure SAE consistently across states to credibly assess the degree of variation? Are alternative ways to measure SAE needed? If so, what level of effort is needed? Can SAE variation be explained in the absence of a controlled experiment? If yes, what are the alternative approaches? Which are recommended?

The Child and Adult Care Food Program subsidizes nutritious meals and snacks served to participants in child care nationwide, providing different levels or “tiers” of meal reimbursement based on the income level of participating children, providers, and nearby geographic areas. Policymakers have long been concerned that programs such as CACFP are not as accessible to eligible children in rural areas as in urban areas.

The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 requires all federal agencies to calculate the amount of erroneous payments in federal programs and to periodically conduct detailed assessments of vulnerable program components. This is the second wave of a program assessment of the Family Day Care Home component of USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 authorized a pilot to operate in rural Pennsylvania during the summers of 2005 and 2006. The purpose was to test whether lowering the site eligibility threshold from 50 percent to 40 percent would increase the number of children participating in the program. 

This study focuses primarily on the changes as they related to the FSP. The study documents the changes made to FSP application and case maintenance procedures, and it assesses the potential impact of these changes on access to the FSP. The study is designed to help FNS as well as states that are considering modernization to learn from Florida’s experiences.