Slide 1 Welcome to Meal Counting and Claiming training presented by - PDF document

Slide 1 Welcome to Meal Counting and Claiming training presented by Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Program. School Nutrition Programs (SNP) Slide 2 This training will give guidance to assure that an Accurate Counting and • Importance of Meal Counting and Claiming Claiming System is in place. • Elements of a Meal Counting and Claiming System We will discuss: • Site Monitoring • The Importance of Meal Counting • Acceptable Systems • Timely and Accurate Claims and Claiming • Elements of a meal counting and 2 claiming system • Site Monitoring • Acceptable systems • And Timely and Accurate Claims In this presentation we will discuss the framework that will help systems to operate effectively.

Slide 3 (click) Federal reimbursement is provided for each meal (free, reduced- • Federal reimbursement is provided for each price and paid) that meets program meal requirements and is served to an - meets program requirements eligible student. - served to eligible students • Must accurately count, record, and claim (click) To obtain this reimbursement, • Must have adequate documentation on file to school personnel must accurately support claim count, record and claim the number of 3 meals actually served to students by category. Reimbursement rates are different for each category of meal benefit (free, reduced-price and paid, and for each type of meal served (lunch and breakfast). Therefore, accurately counting, recording and consolidating the number of meals served by category is the only way a claim for reimbursement can be properly submitted and the sponsors correctly paid for the meals served. (click) Additionally, the number of meals served to students and claimed for reimbursement must have adequate documentation on file to support the claim. Slide 4 Each of these elements is essential to operating an accurate meal counting and claiming system. • Eligibility Documentation • Collection Procedures • Eligibility Documentation • Point of Service Meal Counts • Reports & Edit Checks • Collection Procedures • Claim for Reimbursement • Point of Service Meal Counts • Internal Controls • Reports & Edit Checks 4 • Claim for Reimbursement • Internal Controls

Slide 5 Accurately counting and claiming meals starts with the eligibility process. Counting and claiming meals starts with Eligibility is the backbone of the eligibility process system. • Eligibility is backbone of system If a student’s eligibility is not • Eligibility master list must match list at point of service determined correctly when a • Benefit Issuance Document household application is processed, then the error will follow through to 5 the meal service line where the meal will be counted incorrectly for reimbursement. The sponsor’s current and correct eligibility master list, or Benefit Issuance Document, must match the list at the point of service for meal counts to be accurate. Slide 6 Procedures for meal counting, claiming and collection procedures should be • Medium of Exchange available in writing for all staff that • System updated on a timely basis work at the point of service. - Transfers - Withdrawals Sponsors should have an established - Changes in Status collection procedure that institutes an • Prevents overt identification of free and reduced-price meal recipients acceptable medium of exchange that 6 does not overly identify the status of students. The medium of exchange can be any type of ticket, token, I.D., name or number that is issued to the students for obtaining a meal. It might even be a finger scan. This can be a manual or computerized system. The system in place that connects the application for free and reduced-price meals to the medium of exchange must be updated on a timely basis (noting transfers, withdrawals and changes in status due to verification, etc.). The meal count/collection system selected must ensure that it prevents

overt identification of free and reduced-price meal recipients. Slide 7 CEP and Provision 2 meal counting is similar to traditional counting in many • One reimbursable meal per aspects and different in others. student per program. • Count is taken at the point of service. CEP and Provision 2 offer meals to all • A clicker, tally sheet or electronic system may be used to record meals as they are students at no charge, essentially counted. making all students the same status • POS counts are of total meals served, not separated by category. and alleviating the burden of privacy 7 surrounding status. Students are allowed one reimbursable meal per program and the count is taken at the end of the line at the point of service. Counts can be taken through the use of a clicker, a tally sheet or by electronic means. These counts are of total meals served and are not separated by category. Slide 8 Several different categories of meals served may be considered alternate • Student Labor Meals meals or meals other than traditional • Counted by category for reimbursement reimbursable student meals. Some of • Second Meals these meals may be included in the • Counted but not claimed for reimbursement reimbursable meal count, and some • Adult Meals may not. • Counted but not claimed for reimbursement 8 (Click) – Student Labor Meals or Earned Meals should be counted by category for reimbursement. (Click) – Second Meals and Adult Meals – should be counted for forecasting and planning purposes, but cannot be claimed for reimbursement.

Slide 9 These following methods cannot be Attendance Records used as an acceptable meal counting Classroom Counts system because they do not provide an Tray Counts accurate daily count of reimbursable Cannot be used as an acceptable meal meals served. counting system (Click) Attendance records- using the 9 total number of students in attendance, (Click) classroom counts – using the number of students in a class who indicate that they intend to eat a meal, and/or (Click) tray counts – counting the number of trays or entrées used during the meal service Again, these are unacceptable meal counting systems because they are not a count of reimbursable meals, taken at the point of service Slide 10 A reliable Point of Service (POS) for meal counts must be established. This means that meals are counted where  The point in the food service operation where a determination can accurately be students receive the food and a made that a reimbursable snack or meal reimbursable meal can be determined. has been served to an eligible student. Point of service is defined as that point in the food service operation where a 10 determination can accurately be made that a reimbursable free, reduced- price, or full-price snack or meal has been served to an eligible student. The meal-counting and meal-claiming procedures used by sponsors are a local decision. When establishing and evaluating a system for acceptability, always keep in mind the following requirements.

Slide 11 The meal-counting system chosen must provide a point of service count: • Reimbursable meals served • Of reimbursable meals served. • By type - free Regulations require that meals must be - reduced-price determined to be reimbursable and - paid • Each Day must be counted at the point-of- • Without overtly identifying students’ eligibility service. categories • By type (free, reduced -price, or paid). 11 Or in the case of CEP and Provision 2 schools, by total number • Meals must be counted each day. • And should be counted without overtly identifying students’ eligibility categories. Codes used on rosters or other forms of exchange, such as tickets or debit cards, must not overtly identify the eligibility category of the student. Slide 12 The Point of Service at the End of the Line is the best place to accurately  End of the Line determine that a complete reimbursable meal is served. By the Entrée Milk time the student reaches the Point of Fruit/Veg Bar Service they have had the opportunity to select all of food components for a POS complete meal. The person at the POS 12 is able to accurately count complete reimbursable meals. Any alternate counting/collection procedure used must be approved by the state agency on a yearly basis and must provide for someone stationed at the end of the serving line to monitor the meals selected to ensure that each meal claimed for reimbursement meets meal requirements. In addition, the procedure must provide a method for removing any meal that is not reimbursable from the