CACFP in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization from the
Food Research and Action Center

CACFP Leaders
The Senate Agriculture committee is set to take up a Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill next week.  The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, Chairperson Lincoln's (D-AR) draft reauthorization bill, identifies the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) as a nutrition program that contributes to the healthy growth and development of young children.

The CACFP provisions in this bill are focused on improving the nutritional value of the foods served through CACFP and better promote the health and wellness of young children, reducing paperwork and streamlining some program requirements, and providing increasing access to afterschool meals.

These improvements will help children to form healthy eating habits, maintain a healthy weight, and achieve optimal growth and development.  However, to be effective in reaching this goal, it is absolutely necessary to include support for the new nutrition requirements with increased reimbursement to cover the cost of healthier foods, a third meal service option (most likely a supper) for preschool programs and to increase access to the program by supporting key eligibility provisions in the final reauthorization bill.   

Please see below for a brief summary of the CACFP provisions in the bill.  Click here for a full bill summary on FRAC's website.  Click here for a complete for a complete summary of the CACFP provisions in the bill (pdf).

Chairperson Lincoln's Child Nutrition Reauthorization Draft Committee Bill
Child and Adult Care Food Program Summary

Promotion of Good Nutrition, Health and Wellness in Child Care:

• Revises the nutrition standards for meals, snacks and beverages served through CACFP to make them consistent with the most recent U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
• Provides education and encouragement to participating child care centers and homes to provide children with healthy meals and snacks, daily opportunities for physical activity, and to limit screen time.
• Increases the USDA training, technical assistance and educational materials available to child care providers, helping them to serve healthier food.
• Authorizes ongoing research on the nutrition, health and wellness practices, as well as the barriers and facilitators to CACFP participation, in child care settings.
• Requires interagency coordination focused on strengthening the role of child care licensing in supporting good nutrition, health and wellness and maximizing the value of CACFP.
• Provides $10 million in funding to USDA for training, technical assistance and materials development.

Paperwork Reduction and Simplified Program Requirements:

• Eliminates the block claim requirement completely.
• Allows providers to facilitate the return of participating children's family income forms.
• Allows permanent operating agreements and renewable applications.
• Allows the use of high school and middle school free and reduced-priced school lunch participation levels to determine Tier 1 area eligibility for family child care homes which could reduce paperwork.
• Continues USDA working group to reduce paperwork and improve program administration and requires USDA to report the results to Congress.
• Establishes a simplified method of determining sponsor monthly administrative funding by requiring only the number of homes multiplied by the administrative reimbursement rates calculation to determine the sponsors' administrative reimbursements.
• Permits sponsoring organizations to carry over a maximum of 10 percent of administrative funds into the following fiscal year, which will allow sponsors more flexibility to use their funds effectively from one fiscal year to the next.
• Allows State WIC agencies to permit local WIC agencies to share WIC nutrition education materials with CACFP institutions at no cost if a written materials sharing agreement exists between the relevant agencies.

Reviews, Fair Hearings and Enhanced Audit Funds:

• Allows USDA to increase the state audit funds made available to any State agency from 1.5 percent to up to a total of 2 percent if the State agency demonstrates that it can effectively use the funds to improve program management.
• Requires State agencies review institutions at least once every 3 years and to conduct more frequent reviews of sponsors that are part of multi-purpose organizations, larger sponsors, and sponsors identified or at-risk of having serious management problems.
• Requires a State agency that fails to meet the timeframes for providing an opportunity for a fair hearing and prompt determination to any institution to pay, from non-federal sources, valid claims for reimbursement to the institution and the facilities of the institution during the delay.
• Sponsors must continue to vary the timing of unannounced reviews in a manner that makes the reviews unpredictable to the sponsored facilities.
• Placement on the national CACFP and Summer Food Service Program disqualified list will result in disqualification from participation in the other child nutrition programs.

Expanded Meal Options for Afterschool Programs

• Expands the option to serve meals in afterschool programs in low-income areas through the CACFP Afterschool Meal Program to all states.  Currently, only 13 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia are included in this important program.  The other states have been limited to only a snack option.

Next  Steps
Next week's markup is only the first step in the reauthorization process.  There are still more opportunities to press your Congressperson to get the much-needed CACFP improvements for young children that are missing from this bill.  An important next step will be to get the Senate finance committee to supply more money for the reauthorization effort.   Now is the time to contact your Congressperson to urge them to support additional funding for the reauthorization bill and the important provisions in the Gillibrand/Tonko CACFP bill (S. 2749/H.R. 4402).  If you have already contacted them it is time to call again to thank them and nudge them once more.    

Special emphasis should be given to contacting Senate leadership and members of the Senate Finance Committee.  Click here for committee lists and staff contacts (pdf).

If you have any questions contact Geri Henchy, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (202) 986-2200 ext. 3025 or Ellen Teller at (202) 986-2200 ext. 3013.