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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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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Monthly Food Operating Costs 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 Monthly Food Operating Costs 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.
- Monthly Food Operating Costs 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.
Civil Rights training must be completed annually by all staff who help administer a Child Nutrition Program. Program directors and administrators must train staff on organizational practices and requirements.
Review Your Requirements with the CNS Civil Rights Training!
CNP sponsors, administrators, and directors of organizations must be trained annually on Civil Rights requirements, as well as train program staff on their requirements. While this training goes over what is required for Civil Rights training, it does not go into your organization’s practices. Additional training must be provided to staff to meet requirements.
How To Access This Training
Anyone is able to access the Civil Rights training in the Moodle platform. NOTE: You must have a Moodle Account to access this training.
Civil Rights Updates
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated their nondiscrimination statement in May 2022 to clarify prohibitions against discrimination based on sex in all USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs.
Sponsors must:
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Update program discrimination complaint processing procedures to include complaints alleging sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, if not currently part of your organizational practices.
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Process any complaints alleging sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination as complaints of prohibited sex discrimination.
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Update webpages and documents with the updated USDA Child Nutrition Programs Nondiscrimination Statement.
- The nondiscrimination statement is required on all documents referring to program access, program approval, and widely distributed documents. Examples include: items distributed to the public, landing page of web pages, student handbooks, brochures, letters to families, or press releases.
- Child Nutrition Program operators and sponsors are required to take reasonable steps to ensure program access and benefits to individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
- OSPI CNS updated documents to include the updated statement in English and Spanish. USDA will be updating their Nondiscrimination Statement Webpage as additional translations are made available. Be sure to use the document listed under the "All Other Programs NDS" column.
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Continue using the 2019 'And Justice for All' posters OSPI CNS has ordered updated And Justice for All Posters, we are currently waiting to receive these items and will announce when distribution will begin. Until you receive the updated posters, please continue using the 2019 'And Justice for All 'poster in areas where participants may see it.
Questions? Please email the Child Nutrition inbox so we may assist.
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.
The National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) has created quick tips on some of CACFP's hottest topics. The Institute of Child Nutrition's (ICN) nutrition education specialist, Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, addresses common meal pattern questions in quick 1 minute videos. Visit ICN’s Meal Pattern Minute to learn about some of these frequently asked questions and more!
- Can I serve yogurt with added sugar?
- Can I be reimbursed for fruit in milk smoothies at breakfast?
- Why are muffins creditable, but doughnuts are not?
- How do I credit dried fruit in CACFP?
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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