It’s that time of the year where many of us will take a break from busy work schedules to spend the holidays with family and friends.
OSPI Child Nutrition Services will not be releasing a weekly newsletter on the following dates:
- Monday, November 21, 2022
- Monday, December 26, 2022
- Monday, January 2, 2023
Staff will be available to answer questions and provide technical assistance.
Thank you for all you do to provide nutritious meals to children in our state. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.
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What needs to be asked to determine whether a dietary accommodation is a preference of the parent in how they would like their child to eat?
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors have expressed uncertainty in how to navigate conversations with parents who indicate their child has a specific dietary modification. The following definitions and brief description should help you better serve your clients and ensure to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), CACFP, and Civil Rights requirements.
Ask Questions
The most important question to guide the handling of this situation is to establish whether providing the child the requested food item is a parent preference or a special dietary need.
- A parent preference is a preference for how they want their child to eat.
- When a program participant has a disability that restricts their diet, such as a food allergy or intolerance, this is a special dietary need.
Asking questions like "Is this modification due to a food intolerance or sensitivity?" can help you determine if the request is for a special dietary need or a preference and how you might handle the request.
Special Dietary Needs
According to USDA, disability is defined as something that limits one or more major life activity, including digestive health. For more details, please review the Civil Rights for Child Nutrition Program Training. Please note: You must have a Moodle account to access this training.
- When a program participant has a diagnosed disability that restricts their diet, the sponsor must make reasonable accommodations to provide the prescribed food substitutions or modifications at no charge.
- Reasonable accommodations are meal component modifications or substitutions served in place of the food the participant must avoid that are not too burdensome (in Sponsor labor or expense) to provide.
- For example: If a participant has a gluten allergy, program operators are required to provide gluten free meals and snacks to that participant. This often requires meal component substitutions like replacing a whole wheat roll with brown rice. The accommodation does not have to be an exact brand or item.
- If a parent states that a child cannot have a certain food or has an allergy like “My child needs to be served gluten free foods”, then you should ask the parent whether this is a preference or a special dietary need.
- If a disability is indicated, you immediately need to begin accommodating the need while working through the documentation process.
- Provide the parent/guardian a copy of the Request for Special Dietary Accommodations form. This form helps you understand the scope of how you must accommodate the dietary intolerance, allergy, or condition.
- Explain to the parent or guardian that the form must be filled out and signed by a recognized medical authority and provided to you with the required information as soon as possible.
- Please use the Special Dietary Needs Reference Sheet for more details.
- Discuss with the parent what would be acceptable substitutions for the special dietary need and have those choices documented. You need to come to an understanding on what the accommodation looks like.
Parent Preferences
A parent preference is a preference for how they want their child to eat.
- Child Nutrition Program operators must have processes in place outlining if and how your organization will accommodate parent preferences.
- This process should include how long you will provide an accommodation without having a signed special dietary needs form on file.
- Parent preferences are not required to be accommodated, or may be accommodated on a case-by-case basis, based on your organizational practices.
- Parents and guardians are allowed to provide one substitution for the meal your center provides. Your organization can claim these meals if the entire meal meets meal pattern.
Best Practice
Have special dietary needs and parent preference processes outlined in your center’s enrollment paperwork.
Having this process in place and sharing it with families from the start lets parents and guardians know what to expect. This process should include the alternatives you will provide for parent preference. For example, parents that don’t want their child having regular milk- your center might choose to offer soy or lactose free milk.
Have questions or need help? Please contact your CACFP specialist for assistance with specific case scenarios. We want you to feel confident in your ability to claim meals that have these specific substitutions and have the required records on file.
Monthly claims are due by the 15th of each month following the claim period. All claims entered in WINS and in OK to Pay status will process for payment at the end of the month.
WINS will be available to input claims until 5:00 pm PT, Tuesday, November 15. At 5 pm, WINS will log sponsors out of the system in order to run the monthly payment process and will not be available until after noon on Wednesday, November 16.
Best Practice - Submit claims early in case an error comes up and you need assistance.
What's New in Fiscal Year 2022–23 (FY23)?
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Operating expenditures reporting is required with monthly claims
- This change affects all Sponsors who are required to complete a Budget in WINS and will start with your October claim. Claims will remain in error status until operating expenses have been entered.
- Please review the 10/31 Claim article for resources to ensure success.
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October Study Month
- If your institution is required to submit a study month, October study month numbers must be entered in WINS prior to submitting your first claim for reimbursement for FY23.
- Please review the 10/31 October Study Month article for resources to ensure success.
Best Practices for Submitting Claims
- Submit your claim by the 10th of the month. This will ensure your claim is in “OK to Pay” status prior to 5:00 pm PT on the 15th.
- Operating expenses must be entered in WINS first to avoid WINS errors.
- Always select “Preview Errors” at the bottom of each site claim once information is entered.
- Review the Claiming Error Messages in WINS Information Sheet for more details on possible errors.
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Common Errors
- Total Attendance is entered with the claim and is the sum of children in attendance each day during the month. Meals claimed in excess of Total Attendance will result in a claim error.
- WINS edit checks the number of approved operating days for each site to the number of operating days entered in the site claim. If these numbers don’t match, the claim will go into error status.
- When revising claim errors, use the Recalculate all Claims feature after claim revisions have been submitted. If errors persist, use the Preview Errors feature.
- When you are experiencing issues with submitting your claim or when your claim is in error status, please contact your CACFP Specialist to assist you. Your Specialist will help to troubleshoot what the issue(s) may be. Do not reach out to CNS’s Fiscal Department or the WINS team directly.
General Claim Reminders
- Monthly claim data must be in "OK to Pay" status by 5:00 pm PT on the 15th.
- WINS will automatically log all users out of the system on the 15th of each month at 5pm PT.
- Ensure to give yourself enough time to input all claiming data so the claim is in “OK to Pay” status.
- Once WINS closes down the claiming option users are not allowed to input claim data until after the monthly claim reconciliation process is complete. This can take up to two business days.
- Didn't submit your claim by the 15th? That's okay! File your monthly claim by the 60-day deadline.
- Example: The September 60-day claim deadline is November 29, 2022.
- Claim reimbursements that are not entered into WINS or not in OK to pay status will NOT process for payment by the end of the month.
- The 21–22 Claim Processing Dates Information Sheet takes weekends and holidays into consideration for the 60-day deadlines. You may want to print or bookmark this information.
- Refer to the Claims Reference Sheet for details on what to do if you don't submit your claims by the 60-day claim deadline.
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Administrative Expenses
Sponsors may elect to use CACFP reimbursement to cover administrative expenses in their Food Service Budgets this fiscal year. Please review our 11/8 Entering Administrative Expenses article.
- Errors must be resolved for claims to be paid. WINS has multiple edit checks to help resolve issues before your claim is submitted.
- Common Errors
- Total Attendance is entered with the claim and is the sum of children in attendance each day during the month. Meals claimed in excess of Total Attendance will result in a claim error.
- WINS edit checks the number of approved operating days for each site to the number of operating days entered in the site claim. If these numbers don’t match, the claim will go into error status.
- Pro-Tip: Always select “Preview Errors” at the bottom of each site claim once information is entered.
Claiming Resources
Questions? Please contact your CACFP Specialist.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) invites you to participate in the Modifications to Accommodate Disabilities in Community Programs training!
Join the Webinar
This one-hour session clarifies general Civil Rights requirements regarding meal modifications in the Child and Adult Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program.
Register for the Modifications to Accommodate Disabilities in Community Programs webinar!*
Date: Wednesday, December 7
Time: 11 am–Noon PT
*Note: Select "WRO" as the regional office when registering.
Do you need an alternative format or accessibility tools to help you participate in this event? Automated Closed Captioning will be offered during this training. Participants who require different accessibility tools to participate should email Sheila Kopczynski by November 15 for assistance.
Team Nutrition has released new food yield data available in the Food Buying Guide. Additionally, a new feature in the FBG Interactive Web-based Tool and FBG Interactive Mobile App allows a Favorites List and Compare Items List to be exported as an Excel file for ease of use.
New yield data is now included for:
- sorghum
- purees (banana, blueberry, and strawberry)
- frozen mango
- frozen berry blend
- frozen cherries
- frozen cauliflower rice
- frozen diced carrots
- frozen legumes (black-eyed peas, navy beans, and garbanzo beans)
- mini sweet peppers
- pearled farro
Questions about using the FBG? Please contact your CACFP Specialist.
Program reimbursement for each institution is based on the income levels of the families that they serve. The study month establishes the percentages of the meals that will be paid at the free, reduced-price, and above scale rates and must be conducted in October.
*At-Risk centers, sites that enroll only Head Start and/or ECEAP children and Emergency Shelters are exempt from conducting a study month.
What are the Next Steps?
1. Compile your study month roster
- List all children in attendance during the month of October on the Attendance Roster.
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If a center enrolls infants they must be included on the Attendance Roster and included in the study month whether or not the center claims infant meals.
- Please note, if the center participates in the At-Risk Afterschool Program:
- A school-age child who attends only after school on school days during the study month must not be listed on the roster. This child is not part of child care.
- A school-age child who is in attendance before school or on a non-school day during the study month must be listed on the roster.
- Indicate if the child has an Enrollment Income Eligibility Application (EIEA) on roster.
- Place a check mark in the appropriate claiming category for the child (Free, Reduced-Price, Above-Scale).
- Total the numbers for each claiming category to determine the grand total of Free, Reduced-Price, and Above-Scale eligible children to determine your study month numbers that will set the rate of reimbursement for the year.
2. Enter Study Month Numbers in WINS
- Have another staff member who has received study month training review the evaluated EIEAs and completed study month roster for accuracy.
- Enter finalized study month numbers into WINS prior to submitting your first claim. To do this, navigate to the “Claims” tab, then select the “Study Month” tab.
*Please note, study month numbers do not need to be approved by CACFP Specialists and will remain in “Pending” status until the first claim of the fiscal year has been processed and paid.
Resources
Questions? Please contact your CACFP Specialist.
As part of the National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) stakeholder commitment to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, NCA is hosting a virtual event on December 7, 2022 titled Power of the Food Program.
The purpose of this event is to help raise awareness on how the CACFP contributes to nutrition security for potential CACFP Sponsors. Current CACFP Sponsors will receive practical training on serving healthy meals and discover ideas and resources that can be used in program operation immediately.
Apply for a Scholarship!
NCA is giving away 100 scholarships to attend the Power of the Food Program. You are encouraged to apply or if you know someone who isn't on the food program yet and wants to know more, please encourage them to apply.
Apply for the Power of the Food Program Scholarship today!
Earn up to 6 hours of continuing education with these sessions:
- Power of the Food Program Welcome & CACFP 101
- Making Cents! How to Get Financial Reimbursement for the Meals Your Serve
- Beginners' Guide to the Five Meal Pattern Components
- Serving Up Nutrition: Menu Planning & Recipe Ideas
- Playing Around: Making Physical Activity Part of Your Program
- Joining Made Easy - Five Steps to Food Program Success
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Register now to attend free, live, interactive training sessions for child nutrition professionals offered by the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN). These virtual training sessions feature individual lessons led by ICN's expert trainers on important topics for child nutrition professionals in child care programs.
Trainings will be held in October–December 2022. Some of the child care trainings include:
- Food Safety in Child care (4 hours)
- Introductions to Happy Mealtimes in Child Care Settings (4 hours)
- Norovirus in Child Care (2 hours)
- Training Culturally Diverse Groups (4 hours)
- Basic Culinary Math (4 hours)
For a list of trainings as well as training dates and times, please visit ICN’s VILT Registration page.
Registration is limited to 25 participants per session, and training sessions will fill up quickly.
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