This final rule incorporates into the Child and Adult Care Food Program regulations modifications, clarifications, and technical changes to the two interim rules published by the Department on June 27, 2002 and Sept. 1, 2004.
These changes result from over 1,000 public comments received in response to the two interim rules; state agencies' and the Department's experience in implementing the changes in these two rules over several years; and the Department's conduct of an extensive data collection and analysis (the Child Care Assessment Project) designed to evaluate implementation of these two interim rules by family day care home sponsors and providers.
This rule clarifies or modifies regulatory provisions relating to: state agency criteria for approving new and renewing institutions' applications; sponsoring organization requirements pertaining to the "block claim" edit check and review averaging; and state- and institution-level requirements pertaining to the serious deficiency process. The changes in this final rule are designed to further improve program management and integrity and, where possible, to streamline and simplify program requirements.