Reminder that yearly sponsor training must be completed prior to submitting the application in MAPS. To access the required training, visit https://mtsfsptraining.com/ [u15376568.ct.sendgrid.net] and use the course catalog access code mt-406 to register for trainings. There is MT-179 refresher training for returning sponsors/staff or the MT-178 comprehensive training for new sponsors or staff, and also an MT-150 Civil Rights Training course for all SFSP staff.
To increase access to healthy meals over the summer, SFSP program operators in rural areas have a new non-congregate meal service option currently available for summer 2023 only. This new non-congregate meal service option allows for determined rural sites to provide meal pick up such as grab and go meals, curbside service, take-home backpack meals, or even home delivery of meals. Non-congregate meal service is not intended to replace congregate meal service and cannot be provided along with congregate meal service. This new rural non-congregate meal service option is intended to increase access to healthy meals to children who are widely disbursed and not being served by congregate meal service.
Sponsors planning to provide non-congregate (grab and go) meals will need State agency approval. Please complete this Rural Non-Congregate Form [u15376568.ct.sendgrid.net] to report on your non-congregate meal service plan.
Direct Certification for Medicaid will be live in the Direct Certification Application (DCA) July 1st
Expanding the eligible programs that directly certify students’ meal eligibility to include Medicaid data presents an opportunity to reach additional students. It’s important to note that the process of using Medicaid data to determine students eligible for direct certification works differently than other qualifying programs. Participation in Medicaid does not confer categorical eligibility but rather uses income information from Medicaid eligibility to determine whether a student is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Therefore, some students may qualify as Medicaid Free and some may qualify as Medicaid Reduced.
If your district uses software to manage student eligibility and/or to track meals served to students, please contact your Student Information System (SIS) or Point of Service (POS) software system(s) accordingly to confirm system functionality is able to accept the two different eligibility categories for Medicaid Free (MA Free) and Medicaid Reduced (MA Reduced), in addition to the SNAP, TANF, FDPIR, Foster Care, Migrant, Homeless, and Runaway free direct certification indicators you already use.
Some important things to note about meal eligibility based on Medicaid:
If a student is directly certified and has multiple active eligibility source programs, MA Reduced is the bottom of the direct certification hierarchy, and MA Free is second to the bottom in the hierarchy.
Both MA Reduced and MA Free can be extended to other household students. The DCA will automatically extend eligibility where the data allows as it does for SNAP, TANF, and FDPIR; you may need to manually extend eligibility if the data does not allow the system to automatically determine the extended eligibility.
MA Reduced should never override a FREE determination whether that determination is made through an application or through a different program that has auto matched and directly certified eligibility in the DCA. Eligibility source programs that come through the DCA will be automatically evaluated and applied by the system, so you don’t need to worry about those. However, you will need to manually compare the determinations made automatically in DCA as MA Reduced with your Free and Reduced applications to be sure the MA Reduced qualifier will not override free eligibility determined through application.
MA Reduced students are not included in the CEP ISP count for direct certification. MA Free are included in the CEP ISP count.
For CEP ISP determination, the DC Report will provide you with the ability to run just the free eligibility sources; in other words, all sources except Medicaid Reduced and Medicaid Reduced-EE. You can choose the option to adjust parameters to get various reports, or you can export all sources to Excel and separate the Free from the Reduced using filters in Excel. The percentages in the headers of the report reflect the categories you select in your report parameters. Depending on your vendor, you may also need to upload your Reduced students separately from your Free students. Your vendor will know how their system needs to handle this change.
MA Free or MA Reduced can ONLY be determined by the system, including through potential matches. It is not to be determined by letter or calling the DPHHS. If there are any discrepancies, please report them to the OPI so we can find out where the data is not being sent correctly, or we can assist you in finding the potential match referral within the DCA. See Direct Certification Tip Sheets on the upper right quadrant of the Home page of the DCA for more information on Linking Potential Matches.
If a child is determined to be MA Reduced in the DCA, the family has the option to fill out a Free or Reduced Meal Application to see if they qualify for free meals based on income. There are variations in how the National School Lunch Program and Medicaid determine income and household size that may make a difference for some families.
New Medicaid DCA Direct Certification Indicators
Medicaid Reduced = MA Reduced
Medicaid Reduced Extended Eligible = MA Reduced-EE
Medicaid Free = MA Free
Medicaid Free Extended Eligible = MA Free-EE
Request for Applications: Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for Small and/or Rural School Food Authorities
This announcement has been modified to add the Request for Applications informational webinar.
As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative [fns.usda.gov], Action for Healthy Kids is offering competitive grants (up to $150,000 per SFA) for small and/or rural SFAs to support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals. The deadline for submitting a grant application [healthymealsincentives.org] is 5:00pm EST, on May 26, 2023.
Eligibility Criteria:
SFA must participate in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program
SFA must meet the following definitions of small and/or rural:
Small SFA: SFA with an enrollment of less than or equal to 5,000 students.
Informational Webinar: On April 11th, AFHK will host an informational webinar about the grants, from 12:00 – 1:30pm EST. This webinar will provide an overview of the funding opportunity including information about eligibility, the application process, application requirements, scoring criteria, and more. Register for the webinar here [form.jotform.com].
The Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for small and/or rural SFAs are a key part of USDA FNS’ Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative [fns.usda.gov], which was established to improve the nutritional quality of school meals through food systems transformation, school food authority recognition and technical assistance, the generation and sharing of innovative ideas and tested practices, and grants.
State agencies are encouraged to share this announcement with their Child Nutrition Program operators and others who may be interested.
The Healthy Meals Incentives Grants for small and/or rural SFAs are a key part of USDA FNS’ Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative [gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com], which was established to improve the nutritional quality of school meals through food systems transformation, school food authority recognition and technical assistance, the generation and sharing of innovative ideas and tested practices, and grants.
State agencies are encouraged to share this announcement with their Child Nutrition Program operators and others who may be interested.
This memorandum provides additional procurement-related technical assistance and information for state agencies and school food authorities to consider when entering into and executing contracts with Food Service Management Companies.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance regarding onsite and offsite strategies and options for oversight and monitoring of the school meal programs.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to state agencies and school food authorities on the paid lunch equity requirements for school year 2023-24. It explains the exemption provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 and provides guidance for SFAs that do not qualify for the exemption, including those who may be returning to PLE requirements for the first time in a few years.
The purpose of this memo is to share updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education for making within-district Title I allocations under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
This memorandum provides a reminder of the annual Community Eligibility Provision notification and publication requirements. This memorandum also reminds state agencies that the statutory election deadline for local educational agencies to elect CEP for school year 2023-24 is June 30, 2023.
This guidance applies to state agencies and school food authorities administering the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. This guidance provides a reminder of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
This memorandum provides guidance on the administration and operation of non-congregate meal service in rural areas during summer 2023 for the Summer Food Service Program and National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option.
SFSP 01-2023, SP 05-2023
Please ensure the Application Packet in MAPS has up-to-date contact information
The Claim Contact can update the Application Packet. If you do not know your sponsor's Claim Contact, please call 406-444-2501.
It is best practice to have a different staff person listed for each of the three MAPS roles.
The SNP module and FDP module do not share information and must be updated separately.
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
