Verification Method
Sponsors were notified last week if they are required to utilize the Standard (Error-Prone) verification method for traditional verification efforts in SY 2023-2024. Sponsors required to or wishing to conduct Standard (Error-Prone) verification should plan to flag error-prone applications as they are processed. Flagging these applications will speed the verification preparation process. If you did not receive the email, review the verification method list here.
Please note that sponsors that have all sites implementing Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) are not required to conduct verification, including sponsors that are implementing CEP district-wide for the first time in the 2023-2024 school year.
CEP Deadline is Friday, June 30
This is the last week to apply for CEP, as applications are due Friday, June 30. Please reach out to your field specialist if you have questions or want to talk through options. Applying for CEP does not obligate the school food authority (SFA) to use CEP claiming until your numbers have been validated to determine the final claiming percentages. For more information, visit IDOE’s Community Eligibility Provision webpage.
Civil Rights and Ethics Training Courses: Please Print Certificates from Moodle
Sponsors are required to take the civil rights and ethics training courses annually. Because of this annual training requirement, IDOE will conduct a reset of these courses for program year 2024 in Moodle. The reset will delete the past year’s learner history in these two courses. Please ensure certificates for the training have been saved for your corporation. Print or save the civil rights and ethics course certificates this week. Certificates can be accessed through the Moodle account of the person who took the course.
USDA Foods Beginning of Year Reminders Webinar
IDOE will host a virtual webinar on Tuesday, July 25, at 10 a.m. ET. We welcome all SFA Food Service Directors (FSDs). If your SFA contracts with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC), they are required to attend with the SFA FSD. The webinar will walk through the recertification process, CNPweb, state assigned warehouse deliveries, and the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh program. Registration is required. Register here.
Direct Delivered USDA Foods and DoD Funds Will Be Lost After Friday, June 30
Now is the time to remove USDA Foods from the state-assigned warehouses and processors, as well as spend USDA DoD Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program funds before Friday, June 30. USDA Foods are intended to be utilized during the school year allocated. IDOE will sweep all Direct Delivered (Brown Box) USDA Foods from school inventories as of Friday, June 30.
Free and Reduced Webinar Series
Calling all Free and Reduced processors! Join IDOE for an application and direct certification webinar series. Each training session will credit toward professional development training hours and fulfill the training requirement for application processors.
-
Direct Certification (DC) Basics - Learn about upgrades to the system for program year (PY) 2024 and how to pull and read reports.
-
Application Processing - Walk through how to identify a completed application and the steps of the approval process.
-
Verification for Cause - Learn how to select applications to verify for cause and the basic steps of the process.
-
DC: Processing Possible Matches - Review the process to examine possible matches and approve or deny them correctly.
-
Eligibility Disclosure - Learn when free and reduced eligibility may be disclosed to groups outside of food services for purposes other than meal benefits, along with tips and tricks to ensure the information is used as intended.
Free and Reduced Applications and Instructions Now Available
The 2023-2024 Application for Meal Benefits, parent letter/instructions, and notification letters have been updated on IDOE’s Free & Reduced Forms webpage. The updated 2023-2024 income guidelines can be found here. Applications cannot be distributed until Saturday, July 1.
Please note the following changes:
- Adult and child income sections have swapped positions.
- Annual income has been added for each income type.
- Some sections have updated wording or have had instruction boxes removed.
- The parent letter/instructions have the updated income guidelines for reduced benefits.
- All paperwork has the updated program year.
The application is a PDF with fillable space at the top and bottom for customization. The parent and notification letters are Google Docs. In order to update templates with contact information, click File and then Make a copy to revise, or click File and Download into your preferred file format.
If distributing your own applications or letters, make sure the information matches the templates.
While the textbook disclosure signature is optional for households to complete, it should still be included on all applications (paper and online) because it remains part of Indiana Code. Missed the Meal Benefit Application Walkthrough and New School Year Preparation webinar on Tuesday, June 20? Watch for the webinar recording to be posted in Moodle soon.
Questions? Contact Gretchen Huntzer.
Upcoming Dates |
|
 |
|
Thursday, June 29
|
April claim date
|
|
Friday, June 30
|
Direct Delivered USDA Foods and DoD Funds will be lost this date
|
|
Friday, June 30
|
Application deadline for CEP
|
|
Saturday, July 1
|
First day to distribute Free and Reduced applications for the 2023-2024 school year
|
|
Wednesday, July 12, at 10 a.m. ET
|
DC Basics webinar. Register here.
|
|
Thursday, July 13, at 1 p.m. ET
|
Application Processing webinar. Register here.
|
|
Tuesday, July 25, at 10 a.m. ET
|
USDA Foods Beginning of Year Reminders webinar. Register here.
|
|
Wednesday, July 26, at 2 p.m. ET
|
Verification for Cause webinar. Register here.
|
|
Tuesday, August 1, at 2 p.m. ET
|
DC: Processing Possible Matches webinar. Register here.
|
|
Tuesday, August 15, at 9 a.m. ET
|
Eligibility Disclosure webinar. Register here.
|
|
Friday, September 1
|
Annual Financial Report (AFR) due
|
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
|
