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Meal Counting, Claiming and Reimbursement National School Lunch Program New Directors Orientation

Amanda Chisholm, MPA & Katina Kefalas, MS

Office for Nutrition, Health & Safety

August 12, 2014

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Components of a Successful Counting and Claiming System

Eligibility Documentation

Point of Service (POS) Meal Counts

Collection Procedures

Reports

Internal Controls

Edit Checks

Monitoring

Claim for Reimbursement

Purpose of Meal Counting and Claiming To have an accurate claim and adequate

documentation on file to support the claim.

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Video 1 – Making it Count Developing an Acceptable Meal Counting and Collection Procedures

http://www.makingitcount.info/training/module-7/

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Eligibility Documentation Schools must have on file income eligibility

documentation for each student receiving a free or reduced-price meal

This provides the number of eligible students in each category

Supports your claim for Federal reimbursement of meals

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Point of Service Meal Counts

Meal counts must be taken at the point of service (POS)

The point at which staff determines that a reimbursable meal has been served to an eligible child or student

Common POS locations include cafeterias, classrooms, hallways

Count:

Reimbursable meals

By category

Each day

Prevent Overt Identification

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Overt Identification

Overt identification is when a child is openly or physically identified as receiving a free or reduced meal Separate meal service lines for students who are eligible for free,

reduced-price and paid meals

Color-coded tickets for free/reduced eligible students

Serving different meals

Simple roster coding methods, such as F,R,P; or 1,2,3

A casual observation of your point of service should never be able to tell who is free, reduced, or paid

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Medium of Exchange

The medium of exchange includes any type of ticket, token, I.D. , name or number that is issued to the students for obtaining the meals.

Should allow for updates on a daily basis (noting transfers, withdrawals and changes in status due to verification, etc.).

The meal count/collection system selected must ensure that the medium of exchange prevents overt identification of free and reduced-price meal recipients in the coding, distribution and collection processes. 8

Acceptable mediums of exchange systems include:

1. Verbal Identifier/Roster

2. Coded ticket/token

3. Coded I.D. cards

4. Cash Register Code System

5. Prepaid List

6. Computerized Bar Code

7. I.D. Cards

Medium of Exchange Examples

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Verbal Identifier/Roster

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Advantages Disadvantages

•Cannot be stolen, lost or destroyed •Documentation of meal count is produced during meal service as names/numbers are checked off on a roster or number sheet. If used with a number sheet, may be a fast method

•Can be used by another student or twice by the same student if more than one serving line. •Coded roster sheet is time consuming for cashiers using manual system.

Examples include: name checklist, class list, number list

Coded Ticket/Token

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•When collected at point-of-service, provides a means of physically counting meals by category. •When used in small to medium schools, counts by category can be completed quickly after the meal service

•Can be destroyed, transferred, lost, stolen or sold. •In large schools, too cumbersome to collect and count all tickets or tokens by category after the meal service. •If not coded properly, may result in overt identification.

Coded I.D. Cards

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•Not easily transferred if photo is on the card. •Can be incorporated as function of student I.D. card, which may be a savings to school district.

•Can be lost, stolen or destroyed. •May be used twice if more than one serving line. •Possible high replacement cost.

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Automated PIN Pad Advantages Disadvantages

•Provides accurate count and saves time; compiles meal count by category at the same time the students are counted. •Students do not have to be in the line by classroom; lines moves at the same pace whether the cashier knows all of the students names or not •Prevents overt identification on the line. •Provides automated reports.

•Students may forget their numbers, thus slowing the line. •Start-up and operating costs may be high. •If more than one service line, there may be two meal claimed if the electronic machines are not linked.

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Coded Bar Line Advantages Disadvantages

•Provides accurate count and saves time; compiles meal count by category at the same time the students are counted. •Students do not have to be in the line by classroom; lines moves at the same pace whether the cashier knows all of the students names or not •Prevents overt identification on the line. •Provides automated reports.

•Can be lost, destroyed or transferred. •Start-up and operating costs may be high. •If more than one service line, there may be two meal claimed if the electronic machines are not linked.

Activity 1 Acceptable Meal Counting System?

YES NO 1. Are claims based only on meal counts taken in the morning in the classroom or at any other location before the meal is served? YES NO 2. Are claims based on attendance records? YES NO 3. Are meal counts based on the number of tickets or tokens sold and distributed or

the number of meals paid in advance?

YES NO 4. Is the number of free and reduced-price meals claimed based on the number of students eligible to receive such meals? YES NO 5. Are meal counts by category taken at the beginning of the serving line without checking that the meals served are reimbursable? YES NO 6. Are meal counts by category based on visual identification of students with no backup system available for persons not familiar with the students; e.g., checklists? YES NO 7. Are meal counts based on tray or plate counts? YES NO 8. Are back-out systems used that subtract one number (e.g., number of free and reduced-price meals) from the total count to get another number (e.g., the number of full-price meals)? YES NO 9. Are the students who are eligible for meal benefits overtly identified? YES NO 10. Is this a system that does NOT yield a reliable, accurate count of meals served

by category?

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Unacceptable Meal Count Systems

Meal count systems that are not acceptable because they do not provide a daily count at the point-of-service of reimbursable meals, by Category include: Attendance counts Tray or entree counts Classroom counting Prepaid/charged meals counted on day paid Second meals claimed for reimbursement Ineligible persons claimed for reimbursement Cash converted to meals A la carte items claimed for reimbursement Category/cash back-out system Delivery counts of meals produced off-site Visual identification without backup

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Determine which type of meal counting system is best for each site. It may vary from site to site. It may also vary from breakfast to lunch.

Self Assessment 1

Meal Counting and Collection

Procedures Take a moment to assess your current Meal

Counting/Collection Methods: What are your current meal counting method(s)

used for breakfast and lunch?

Are meal counts conducted at POS?

Are all staff members following them?

Are they accurate for each site?

Policy for adult or visitor meals?

Procedure to count field trips?

Procedure to count student workers’ meals?

Procedure for handling/counting of second meals?

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How is the medium of exchange non-overtly coded for free, reduced price and full price?

What safeguards are used to prevent your medium of exchange from being duplicated, used by an unauthorized person, or used twice in one meal service?

Who distributes the medium of exchange? Where and when?

How is the medium of exchange collected at point of service? Include who collects and at what place in the serving line. Who insures that tickets, if used, are not used twice?

How is overt identification avoided for reduced price eligible students who choose to pay in the line?

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Self Assessment 1 Meal Counting and Collection Procedures

Implementation Brainstorm

Meal Counting and Collection Procedures

Current Challenge:

Future Expectations:

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Who

What

When

Where

How

Video 2 – Making it Count Consolidation and Reporting


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Meal Count Consolidation Reports

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Daily Potential Income

Daily Cash/Cash Reconciliation Sheet

Tracks daily sales by category

Free, reduced, paid

Breakfast, lunch, snack, special milk

A la carte

Adult sales (including meals tax)

Pre-payments

Cash reconciliation 24

FP-9 Meal Count Sheet

FP-9 for every school site

Record meals by eligibility

Edit checks- A,B,C and D

Signature of site/facility representative

Monthly submission to person consolidating claim

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Activity 2 Complete the following:

Part C (2/28)

F = 80 R= 10 P =175

Attendance Factor ADP Edits

Do free counts exceed approved free applications on file?

Do reduced counts exceed approved reduced applications on file?

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Self Assessment 2

Meal Count Consolidation Meal count consolidation form(s) and

procedures which include staff responsibilities for the tasks identified-

Daily Potential Income

FP-9

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Meal Count Consolidation

Current Challenge:


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Who

What

When

Where

How

Internal Controls

LEA must establish internal controls to ensure that an accurate claim for reimbursement has been made by:

Completing daily edit checks

Monitoring

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Edit Checks

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USDA regulations require SFAs to complete an edit check for each of its schools that participate in the NSLP prior to consolidation of the daily lunch counts for the monthly reimbursement claim. The purpose of the edit check is to identify errors in the schools’ lunch counts and/or problems with the meal counting and claiming procedures so that necessary corrections are made

Edits Checks cont…

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USDA’S REQUIRED EDIT CHECK PROCEDURES FOR EACH SCHOOL

1. Obtain and record the highest number of students in each category

2. Compute the attendance factor

3. Multiply the number of enrolled children approved in each meal category (free, reduced-price and paid) by the annual attendance factor

4. Compare these numbers; know as attendance adjusted eligible figures to the daily free counts of free, reduced-price and paid meals

5. Provide written justification next to the day where any category count exceeds the attendance-adjusted number. (Sample justification could be meal participation increased due to a pizza day or special promotion.)

Highest # of Student Attendance Factor Highest # of Lunches

Approved in Month (average daily attendance Expected for Any

÷ school enrollment) Serving Day

Free ________________ X _________________ = ________________

Reduced-Price ________________ X ________________ = ________________

Paid ________________ X ________________ = ________________

Edit Check (Attendance Adjusted Eligible )

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Highest # of Student Attendance Factor Highest # of Lunches

Approved in Month (average daily attendance Expected for Any

÷ school enrollment) Serving Day

Free ______112_______ X _____.944_________ = __105.7 or 106___

Reduced-Price _______25_______ X _____.944_________ = ___23.6 or 24__

Paid ______403______ X _____.944_________ = _380.4 or 380__

Edit Check (Attendance Adjusted Eligible )

•School’s highest number of students approved for free meal benefits during the month: 112 •School’s highest number of students approved for reduced price benefits during the month: 25 •School’s highest daily enrollment for students with access to the lunch program: 540 •School’s highest number of students in the paid category: 540 – 137 = 403 •School’s average daily attendance: 510 School’s attendance factor: 510 ÷ 540 = .944

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Other Edits Checks

Patterns or repetition of numbers

Counts which equal the number of eligibles

Counts equal to the number of meals delivered

Identical counts on certain days (like every Monday or at breakfast and lunch)

All of these are red flags which may tell you that you need to investigate further

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Monthly Edits Check

Meal counts on the Claim for Reimbursement must also not exceed the number of children approved in any eligibility category multiplied by the operating days within the month

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Activity 3– Making it Count Making the Fp-9 Count


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Self Assessment 3

Edits Checks Procedures for conducting edits checks of daily

meal counts, including staff responsibilities and when these checks are completed?

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Edit Check Procedures

Current Challenge:


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Who

What

When

Where

How

Video 3 – Making it Count Accuclaim Montitoring Report


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Site Monitoring

SFAs must monitor the lunch service at all sites to evaluate meal counting procedures by February 1 each year. Monitoring of breakfast is also recommended

SFAs participating in the After School Snack Program must monitor snacks twice per year

SFAs should record monitoring activities on required form located in the document library

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Site Monitoring Cont…

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Monitors should ensure that sites do not claim the following meals/food:

Adult Meals

Second meals eaten by eligible students

Suppers or dinners (third meal of the day) unless the SFA participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-risk Afterschool Program

Snacks served on ineligible days

Meals not meeting the meal pattern

Meals served outside the required meal periods, unless otherwise approved

A la carte items

Staff Training

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All SFAs should have a training plan for meal counting procedures. The plan should include:

Annual training for staff in key positions

Ongoing training for new staff with identified problems

Annual review of all meal counting procedures

Maintain agenda and sign-in sheets

Self Assessment 4

Monitoring and Training

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What are your current procedures for conducting site monitoring?

Current training practices?

Who conducts trainings?

Who needs to attend?


Monitoring & Training

Current Challenge:


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Who

What

When

Where

How

Submitting a Claim for Reimbursement

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Claim Submission

Make sure edit checks have been conducted on each school’s counts

Consolidate daily meal counts to monthly site totals by meal

Once you’ve completed the edit, conducted your comparisons, found no problems, you can submit your claim

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How is Payment Received

Most schools receive an electronic funds transfer EFT

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“Green Mailer”

To check reimbursement amount you can check the “green mailer”

“My Document List” tab on the Security Portal (e.g. Home > School Lunch and Breakfast > My Document List). > My Document List tab

Click on the “Other Documents” hyperlink, it will take you to the “Other Documents” section which will contain your payment information as it did on the Green Mailers 50

Green Mailer Example

The following payment, # INTF7500200416700287, was sent on 06/16/14 to the

Comptroller's Office for processing. The total payment is $249,643.23. Appropriation Period Type Amount Approp. Total ------------- ------ ---- ------ ------------- STATE SHARE, SL MAY 14 CLAIM 4,818.16 4,818.16 FED SECTION 11 MAY 14 CLAIM 168,547.10 168,547.10 FED SECTION 4 MAY 14 CLAIM 45,913.84 45,571.63 MAY 14 INVOICE #289783 -267.21 MAY 14 INVOICE #290218 -75.00 FED SCHOOL BRKFST MAY 14 CLAIM 30,706.34 30,706.34 This information may be useful to your treasurer.

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Vendor Web

To determine what has actually been paid or is scheduled to be paid, you should go to the Comptroller’s VendorWeb site at https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp. Enter your 12 character vendor code. This code should

begin with the letters "VC". If you do not know your vendor code, contact our office.

Enter the last four digits of your TIN (Tax Identification Number). This is the number you provided to the Commonwealth on the W-9 form when you first became a vendor. This is either a Social Security Number (SSN), or an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Press "Login".

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https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp

https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp

Meal Counts Records Retention SFAs must retain original meal count records

for the current day and month by site

SFAs must retain all meal counts records, including rosters and site monitoring reports for three years plus the current school year

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Questions ??

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