New USDA Regulations for CACFP

Block Claiming

Q. What is it?

A. Block claiming is defined when a provider's menu indicates a pattern of claiming the exact same number of children every day for at least fifteen (15) days.

Q. Reasoning for Block Claim Check?

A. USDA believes that some providers could be marking children as present that may not be present every day. Although many providers do have the same number of children each day it becomes less likely that they will have a perfect attendance every day of the month. This is especially true for providers who care for a lot of children.

Q. Can you give me an example?

A. If you care for 2 or 3 children it is likely they will both be in care, but as your number of children increases such as 8, 10, or 12, it is less likely that you will have a perfect attendance every day. USDA anticipated that children will get sick, parents will take time off of work and other circumstances will occur that necessitate children being absent from your home.

Q. What will happen if my menu appears to have "block claiming"?

A. You will receive a visit by your Area Rep. She will want to see your past and present menus.You will explain to her your reasons for the block claiming. If your reasoning is valid she will make a note of that in your file as "approved" for that year.

If the menu is determined to be invalid, the Area Rep. will conduct an additional unannounced visit within 60 days. If the Area Rep. has a difficult time getting a home visit conducted she will notify the NE Dept. of Education - Child Nutrition Services. If the provider continues to block claim without a valid reason, action may be taken; parent reviews and possibly a declaration of being seriously deficient notice will be sent to the provider.

5 Day Reconciliation

Q. What is it?

A. This is a procedure that your Area Rep. will conduct at your home visits. She will have to reconcile the number of children she sees at your home visit with the number of children claimed on your menu.

Q. Reasoning for Block Claim Check?

A. USDA believes that some providers could be marking children as present that may not be present every day.

Q. Can you give me an example?

A. If you claim 8 children for an extended period of time and at the home visit the Area Rep. sees only 2 children present - she will ask you why the rest of the 6 children aren't present.

Q. What will happen if I don't have a valid reason?

A. If no valid reason can be established, the Area Rep. will disallow the meals claimed for the absent children and/or follow the procedures for declaring the provider seriously deficient.