Child Care Food Program
1. What is the Child and Adult Care Food program?
Answer: The Child and Adult Care food Program (CACFP) is a nutrition education and reimbursement program for providers. In addition to receiving information and tips on nutrition and meal planning, CDA offers cash reimbursement to enrolled providers who serve nutritious meals to the children in their care. The Federal government recognizes the importance of good nutrition and physical activity for all children and the CACFP was born out of the desire to improve the lives of children by supporting providers who serve fresh, high quality meals and snacks. CDA shares that belief and will help you maximize the benefit to your business and to the children you serve. Reimbursement is based on rates set by the State and is received monthly for each child and meal that you serve.
2. What are the Requirements for Participation?
Answer: In order to participate in the CACFP providers must:
be licensed or listed with TrustLine
agree to follow the basic Federal and State regulations and requirements
3. What is TrustLine?
Answer: TrustLine is California's registry of in-home child care providers, tutors and in-home counselors who have passed a background screening. It was created by the California Legislature in 1987 and is a powerful resource for parents hiring a caregiver. All caregivers listed with TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check of records at the California Department of Justice. This means they have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated child abuse reports in California. TrustLine is administered by the California Department of Social Services and the non-profit Child Care Resource and Referral Network. It is endorsed by the California Academy of Pediatrics.
4. Do I need to be income eligible in order to participate in the program?
Answer: No, all licensed and TrustLine providers are eligible to participate.
5. Do the children in my care need to be income eligible?
Answer: All children from birth to their 13th birthday, regardless of the family’s income, are eligible to participate in the program.
6. How do I know if the area that I live in qualifies me to participate?
Answer: Providers in all areas are qualified to participate as long as they have a license or are listed with TrustLine. There are, however, two different reimbursement rates, depending on the area in which you live and other eligibility factors.
7. What are the two reimbursement rates?
Answer: Reimbursement rates are based on the school boundary within which the provider lives. If the school is in an area where fewer than 50% of the students are eligible to receive free/reduced price meals then the provider is reimbursed at a lower Tier I rate. If the school percentage is higher than 50% the provider will receive a higher reimbursement rate, or Tier II, for the meals they serve in their home. The provider may also qualify for a higher reimbursement rate if she submits an income application and her personal income is below a level set by the State. Individual children who meet the income eligibility requirements may also qualify for the higher Tier II reimbursement rates.
8. How do I Sign Up?
Answer: The process to join CDA’s Nutrition Program is completed in the provider’s home at a time that is convenient for the provider. In addition to regular business hours, early evening and Saturday morning appointments are also available for your convenience. Please contact us at (619) 427-4922 for more details or to schedule an appointment.
9. What paperwork will be required?
Answer: USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) regulates the program and requires that providers complete paperwork on a daily basis. That means that each day you will need to document the attendance of the children to whom you have served meals or snacks, and document the foods you have served for the meals you are claiming. When you initially sign a child up for care in your home, the parents will complete an enrollment form to enroll their child on CDA’s food program. Then at least once a year the parent will re-enroll their child to verify they are still in your care and are being fed the meals you are claiming. At the end of each month you submit your Attendance and Menu forms along with any new Enrollment forms to our office. We process those forms and you are reimbursed for the meals that you have served as long as they meet the guidelines. We provide you with forms or you may claim on-line, and we train you in the best way to keep your paperwork up-to-date to ensure maximum reimbursement.
10. How will I know what to serve and how much?
Answer: Providers are trained on all of the rules and regulations at the initial sign up. You will receive a provider Handbook for your reference that explains which foods are reimbursable and in what amounts and combinations they need to be served. The “USDA meal Plan” in your handbook gives exact specifications by age group so that you can be sure you are serving the proper foods. You will receive training and guidance on menu planning and food selection as often as you need it and you will most likely find that you will be able to serve most of the foods you are accustomed to.
11. What if the children that I care for are only here for a few hours after school but not here for dinner?
Answer: PM snack is a reimbursable meal that you can choose to serve between lunch and dinner. If a child is enrolled and in attendance at the time the provider serves PM Snack, the child can be claimed for that meal.
12. What if I have a child in the program with food allergies who can not eat the same foods as some of the other children?
Answer: When a child is allergic to a food, it needs to be replaced with something providing similar nutritional value that the child is able to eat. The parent will need to get a Dr.’s approval in writing in order to replace the food.
13. Am I reimbursed for infants?
Answer: Yes, the reimbursement you receive is the same for each meal whether the child is an infant, preschooler, or school-age child. The menu requirements and amounts are, of course, different for each age group.
14. What if an infant in my care is only on formula or breast milk?
Answer: Providers are reimbursed for formula when they provide it and for the “labor” of feeding the formula/breast milk if the parent provides it.
15. Can parents sign up for the program?
Answer: Only a licensed or listed TrustLine child care provider can sign up for the program; children can receive the benefit only through their child care provider.
16. How is this program better than having the parents bring food for their children?
Answer: When all children are served provider prepared meals, parents can be sure that the meals served meet the high standards for quality and nutrition set by the USDA. Children will have the opportunity to experience foods that they may not be exposed to at home and there will be no jealousy between children who are eating different foods from home.
17. Are the Nutrition Program forms available on CDA’s website?
Answer: Providers who do not claim on-line must use scannable forms to submit meal and attendance information for reimbursement. Forms will be available to you when you sign up and must be requested from the office if you need more. The forms that are available on the website can be used as a substitute if you are waiting for forms to be mailed to you but the information must be transferred to the scannable forms prior to submission. Many providers find that online claiming is a faster and simpler way to complete the paperwork requirements.
Child Care Food Program