Home Daycare Provider Handbook
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Home Daycare Provider Handbook 2306 Guthrie Rd. Suite 260-H Garland, TX 75043 972-203-9490 toll free: 877-208-9490 fax: 972-203-9429 TABLE OF CONTENTS Program Introduction .................................................... page 1 Purpose of the Child Care Food Program .................... page 2 Rates of Reimbursement .............................................. page 3 Qualifying for Tier I Rates………………….…………….page 4 Child Enrollment Form .................................................. page 5 Staff/Child Ratio Chart .................................................. page 6 Eligibility for Your Own Children ................................... page 7 Income Standards for Provider Family ......................... page 8 BASIC MEAL REQUIREMENTS Sample Menu for 1-12 ................................................. page 9 Meal Requirements for 1-12…..…………………………page 10 Sample Infant Menu ..................................................... page 11 Infant Meal Pattern ....................................................... page 12 Infant Q & A .................................................................. page 13 Meal Count and Cover Sheet ....................................... page 14 Licensing Ratios ........................................................... page 15 All About Allowable Meals ............................................ page 16 Unallowable Meals ....................................................... page 17 Helpful Hints ................................................................. page 18 BASIC FOOD GROUPS Breads and Cereals...................................................... page 19 Fruits and Vegetables .................................................. page 22 Meats and Equivalents ................................................. page 24 Milk Group .................................................................... page 25 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ FORMS On behalf of , Welcome to the Child Care Food Program! 972-2033-9490 877-208-9490 tollfree fax: 972-203-9429 email: [email protected] www.nutriservice.org Please feel free to call for any reason! NUTRISERVICE, INC. 2306 GUTHRIE RD. SUITE 260-H Garland, TX 75043 Sharon Ray, Director A nonprofit organization established in 1983. People who are eligible to participate in the program must not be discriminated against because of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion or political belief. Anyone who believes that they have been discriminated against should write immediately to: Director, Civil Rights Division, MC E609, Texas Department of Human Services, P.O. Box 149030, Austin, TX 78714-9030 or Secretary of Agriculture, Washiington, D.C., 20250. Note: Discrimination complaints based on religion or political beliefs must be referred only to the Director, Civil Rights Division, Texas Department of Human Services 1 THE PURPOSE OF THE CHILD CARE FOOD PROGRAM The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) was established to help home daycare providers offer nutritious meals to the children in their care by partially reimbursing daycare providers for each eligible meal or snack served to daycare kids. HOW THE CACFP WORKS: YOUR PART: 1. You provide a copy of your registration. 2. Read over this Provider Handbook. 3. Provide 100% of the meals served to each child you are claiming (excluding infant formula). 4. Complete menus and meal counts on a daily basis. 5. Mail/Submit your menus on the last day of the month. 6. You must receive CACFP training each year, either in a self-study or on-site workshop. 7. Receive your direct deposit for reimbursement. OUR PART: 1. Visit your home to provide materials and assistance. 2. Check your menus each month and calculate reimbursement. 3. Submit monthly reimbursement claim to TX DEPT AGRICULTURE. 4. Provide you with all information you need to serve "allowable" meals and snacks, as well as menu planning ideas, recipes, etc. 5. Offer in-home training, workshops & education material to enhance your daycare. U.S.D.A. Food and Nutrition Programs Texas Dept. Agriculture, Child Nutrition Programs Nutriservice, Inc. 2 Rates of Reimbursement Effective July 1, 2011 Tier I Tier II Breakfast: 1.24 .45 Lunch: 2.32 1.40 Supper: 2.32 1.40 AM & PM Snacks: .69 .19 Reimbursement rates are the same for infant meals as they are for children ages 1-12. Reimbursement rates for the meals served under the CACFP are adjusted annually on July 1. The money for your reimbursement check comes from the U.S. Dept of Agriculture. They have a "block" of money set aside for the CACFP, which is divided among the different state agencies that administer the CACFP. The agency in Texas is the Texas Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Division. TDA contracts with sponsoring agencies, like Nutriservice, Inc. to work with the individual day home providers like you. SUBMITTING MENUS AND WAITING FOR THE CHECK: The 2 to 6 week lag time of your reimbursement check is due to processing. Each month, you can check to see what Monday is the first Monday after the 2nd of the month. This is the day our claim is usually processed by the TDA in Austin. Now count two Wednesdays after this process day and that is our target date for your receipt of payment. If a holiday falls on Monday, if the batch in which our claim is included has any incorrect claims in it, if any little unforeseen anything delays the check writing process, it will delay it until the following Monday. That is why it is so important to send your menus on the last day of the month. If you are uncertain when to expect payment, feel free to call. While we can never depend on the regularity of payment, we can try to predict it. If your menus are not in the office in time to send in with the rest of the claim, you will most likely lose reimbursement for that month. Unfortunately, we cannot “catch up” the next month. Occasionally we can “amend” the claim. If your menus are going to be late, call the office to make sure you won’t miss the deadline. MENUS DUE ON THE 2ND DAY OF THE MONTH REGARDLESS OF HOLIDAYS. 3 Qualifying for TIER I Rates: 1. If your home is located in the attendance area of an elementary school where 50% or more of the students receive free/reduced price lunch, then your business qualifies for Tier I rates. 2. If your home is located in a geographically eligible area based on census data, you qualify for Tier I rates. or 3. Your household income qualifies you if your total household income is at or below the rates in the chart on page 7. or 4. The household income of the parents of each child can qualify that child’s meals for Tier I rates. If you qualify by elementary school, that determination lasts for 5 years. If you qualify by household income, that determination lasts for 1 year. (We renew these applicatiions in annually.) . If a child in your daycare qualifies by income, the determination lasts for one year. You can request an application for all children enrolled in youur daycare or you can request an application for those families you think might qualify. The income information is confidential and is mailed by the parent diri ectly to the sponsor. If you need an applicatiion for either your own household or for the parents of your dayycare children, you simply request them from the office. If you have any questions abouut your Tier status, just call us! 4 ELIGIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN CHILDREN Home daycare providers may claim their own children on the Child Care Food Program ONLY if the total household income meets income guidelines established by USDA. Check the chart on the next page to see if your total household income is less than or equal to those standards. If you qualify to claim your own children, you will be reimbursed for your child's eligible snacks and meals at the same rate as your daycare children. In order to be eligible to claim your children's meals, an application must be submitted to Nutriservice,Inc. containing all eligibility criteria, including total current household income, names of all household members, and the signature of a household member. Children having parents or guardians who become unemployed are eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the period of unemployment provided that the loss of income causes the family income during the period of unemployment to be within the eligibility standard for those meals. If you are able to claim your child's meals, your status is valid for one year. You will be required to renew your application annually. Verification of income is not required at the time of application but you may be asked to verify your income at any time during the year. The income that you receive from Nutriservice is considered self-employment income. However, the income from the meals you serve to your own children is not considered taxable income. The information that you give to Nutriservice on form 1531 will remain confidential and will not be used for any purpose other that the Child Care Food Program. If you have any questions regarding the eligibility of your own children, please call us at (972)203-9490. TO QUALIFY FOR A FREE OR REDUCED-PRICE MEAL FOR YOUR CHILD/CHILDREN, AT LEAST ONE NON-RESIDENT CHILD ENROLLED FOR CHILD CARE MUST BE PRESENT AND PARTICIPATING IN THE MEAL SERVICE. 5 INCOME STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING NUTRITION PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY INGRESOS MAXIMOS PARA DETERMINAR LA ELEGIBILIDAD PAREA EL PROGRAM DE NUTRICION July/julio 1, 2011 – June/junio 30, 2012 Family Size Household Incomes/Ingresos de la case Numero de personas en Annual Income Monthly Income Weekly Income la familia