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The Washington Department of Health (DOH) recently released updated guidance on Requirements and Guidance to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission in K-12 Schools, Child Care, Early Learning, Youth Development, and Day Camp Programs. As Washington K-12 instruction enters the final months of the 2021-2022 academic year, this document outlines the remaining requirements for K-12 schools, child care, early learning, youth development, and day camp programs, along with options to consider when building a framework for controlling COVID-19 and minimizing the risk of exposure in educational and child care settings.
Summary of Changes
- Required measures
- Additional options and considerations for schools and child care providers
- Additional resources and information
- The previous K-12 Requirements for the 2021-2022 School Year and K-12 Supplemental Considerations have been merged into one document and streamlined
- Previous recommendations for child care, early learning, youth development, and day camp programs have been included in this comprehensive and aligned document
Resources
Since the late 1970's, each legal entity that received funds from the U.S. Government was required to have a unique identifier called a DUNS number. On April 4, 2022, the federal government will be moving away from the DUNS Number as its official entity identifier and toward the new Unique Entity ID (SAM), which will be generated in SAM.gov.
All Child Nutrition Sponsors should already have their DUNS number registered at SAM.gov. If you do not know your SAM ID or have never registered for one, you can go to www.sam.gov to register for a new account and request your unique SAM ID in a few minutes.
Communication from CNS
If you received a survey link from OSPI titled “Needed Fiscal Information-SAM ID”, we were not able to find your SAM ID in the database at www.sam.gov. It is important that you obtain a SAM ID and complete this survey as soon as possible. We need to add a SAM ID for all Sponsors in WINS prior to our next federal reporting deadline.
Questions? Contact the Summer Meals team.
Who Must Attend Annual Training?
Training is required for all sponsors who wish to operate the SFSP. Sponsor administrators must attend training and then train all sponsor staff.
Who must attend "New Sponsor" training?
Sponsors who did not operate SFSP in summer 2021; sponsors electing to operate the SFSP and have not operated a Child Nutrition Program previously; returning sponsors with new lead administrative staff; returning sponsors required to attend as part of their corrective action plan.
Training Requirements
New sponsors must complete the following training to operate the SFSP in summer 2022:
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In-Person SFSP Annual Training
- Civil Rights* recorded training
- Procurement* recorded training
- Budget and Financial Viability, Capability, and Accountability (VCA)* training
*NOTE: Civil Rights & Procurement trainings can be waived if training was completed earlier in the year with another CNS program. Please keep documentation regarding training completed. The Budget and Financial Viability, Capability, and Accountability (VCA) training is not required for Local Education Agencies.
Please review the Intro to SFSP recorded training for details on program operations.
Additional Details
We anticipate WINS will open for SFSP applications in mid-April. More details will be available in the coming weeks.
As our 2/21 Newsletter Article states, new SFSP sponsors must be assessed for VCA as part of the onboarding process (LEAs are exempt). It can take approximately three (3) months to assess VCA, and this must be done prior to submitting a SFSP application. If VCA is not determined by the federal application deadline of June 15, 2022, organizations will be not be able to move forward as a new SFSP sponsor this summer.
Questions? Contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist or email the Summer Meals Team.
Who Must Attend Annual Training?
Training is required for all sponsors who wish to operate the SFSP. Sponsor administrators must attend training and then train all sponsor staff.
Who is a "Returning Sponsor"?
Returning Sponsors: Includes sponsors who operated the SFSP during summer 2021 and do not have new lead administrators, and are not required to attend in-person training as part of a corrective action plan.
Training Requirements
Returning sponsors may watch a recorded training instead of attending the in-person training. This training will be available on the OSPI CNS website and additional information will be shared in upcoming SFSP Newsletters.
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Program Training
Returning sponsors may attend In-Person SFSP Annual Training or the virtual SFSP Returning Sponsors Training (live or recorded) to meet their annual training requirements.
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Virtual SFSP Returning Sponsors Training
This live training will be recorded and posted to the SFSP Returning Sponsors Annual Training Moodle after closed captioning is complete. Please register below if you would like to attend the live Returning SFSP Sponsors training.
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In-Person SFSP Annual Training
If you are a returning sponsor and would prefer to attend the New Sponsor in-person training rather than the Returning Sponsor recorded training you can register below:
- Civil Rights* recorded training
- Procurement* recorded training
- Budget and Financial Viability, Capability, and Accountability (VCA)* training
*NOTE: Civil Rights & Procurement trainings can be waived if training was completed earlier in the year with another CNS program. Please keep documentation regarding training completed. The Budget and Financial Viability, Capability, and Accountability (VCA) training is not required for Local Education Agencies.
Additional Details
More information on application requirements will be released in the coming weeks. At this time, there has been no indication the USDA will extend any nationwide waivers that were available for SFSP operators in 2020 and 2021, therefore, training will be focused on regular SFSP requirements.
Questions? Contact your OSPI CNS Program Specialist or email the Summer Meals Team.
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines have been announced for FNS child nutrition programs.
These guidelines are to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and free milk for the period from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. These guidelines are used by schools, institutions, and facilities participating in the National School Lunch Program (and Commodity School Program), School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program.
Download a copy of the July 2022–June 2023 Income Guidelines
The 2021–22 Washington Public School Data for Area Eligibility Report is now available.
This report may be used to establish area eligibility for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). Area eligibility may be assigned if school data indicates that the proposed meal site is located in an attendance area of a public school where at least 50% of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
The Area Eligibility in Child Nutrition Programs Reference Sheet provides more details on area eligibility.
Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
Does your district offer summer school or other activities during the summer? If so, it’s time to start thinking about summer meals!
Who must provide summer meals?
Schools in the district offering summer programs of academic, enrichment, or remedial services and have 50% or more of the children enrolled in the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. (RCW 28A.235.160)
Exemptions are provided by OSPI on a case-by-case basis and must be approved in advance.
Who else can provide summer meals?
School districts can operate the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) at any school or site where 50% or more of the children living in the area qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This can be determined using school data or census data. Summer school sites must be open to all children, ages 0-18. Participation in meal service cannot be limited to summer school students.
Districts offering summer school at sites that do not qualify for SSO or SFSP or offering meals only to students enrolled in summer school may operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) School Breakfast Program (SBP). Under NSLP and SBP, a by-name meal count is required and meals must be claimed according to a student’s approved eligibility status.
What options does our district have when offering summer meals?
There are many resources to help you decide which option is best for your school or district:
Please be aware that the USDA nationwide waivers expire when your school year has ended. Once your school year has ended, please prepare to return to traditional summer program requirements.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
Do you believe in the power of good nutrition? Are you interested in assisting school districts and other institutions in providing children with healthy and nutritious meals? CNS is seeking skilled candidates for several positions. Does this sound like you? Apply to join the CNS team today!
Current Recruitments
Upcoming Recruitments
- Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Special Programs Supervisor
- Administrative Program Specialist – multiple programs
- Business Analyst
- Fiscal Specialist
- Fiscal Analyst
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