Modeling of High-Risk Indicators of Certification Error in the National School Lunch Program

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides subsidized lunches to more than 30 million children each school day. The program is means-tested; schools must obtain income data from households to certify students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification (APEC) study found that one in five children certified for free or reduced- price meals in school year (SY) 2005-2006 was erroneously certified or incorrectly denied benefits. This study builds on APEC with three objectives: Develop an econometric model to identify indicators of local education authorities (LEAs) with high risk of certification error. Identify the key relationships between certification error and local characteristics. Provide a Web-based monitoring tool that will apply model parameters to annual Verification Summary Report (VSR) data.