[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12423-12425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05314]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Request for Information: Summer Meal Programs Data Reporting
Requirements
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; request for information.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this Request for Information is to help the
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) better understand what sponsors and
State agencies could regularly report to FNS to more adequately track
participation in the summer meal programs. The current data reporting
system for sponsors and State agencies was designed primarily to
process meal claims and not to track program participation. FNS is
interested in modifying the current reporting system to better identify
the number of eligible children the programs are serving and assess the
impacts of efforts to increase program participation. In order to
develop proposed changes to reporting requirements, FNS is seeking
information from all affected parties regarding current State agency
and sponsor data reporting requirements. Specifically, FNS is
interested in information about data that sites, sponsors, and State
agencies currently collect but do not report to FNS, as well as the
feasibility of obtaining currently reported data in a timelier manner.
FNS is particularly interested in the opportunities and challenges
associated with these changes.
DATES: To be assured of consideration, written information must be
submitted or postmarked on or before June 8, 2015.
ADDRESSES: The Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, invites the submission
of the requested information through one of the following methods:
Preferred method: Submit information through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submissions.
Mail: Submissions should be addressed to Mandana Yousefi,
Program Analyst, Child Nutrition Programs, Food and Nutrition Service,
P.O. Box 66740, Saint Louis, MO 63166-6740.
All information properly and timely submitted, using one of the two
methods described above, in response to this request for information
will be included in the record and will be made available to the public
on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Please be advised that
the substance of the information provided and the identity of the
individuals or entities submitting it will be subject to public
disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mandana Yousefi, Program Analyst,
Child Nutrition Programs, Food and Nutrition Service, at 703-305-2590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Food and Nutrition Service's (FNS)
summer meal programs play a critical role in ensuring that America's
children have access to nutritious food. The summer meal programs
include meals served to children during the summer through either the
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or the National School Lunch Program
(NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). The SFSP is a Federal
program, administered by State agencies, and operated locally by
approved sponsors who provide free meals to children in low-income
areas when school is not in session. Schools may provide meals to
eligible children during the summer through either the SFSP or the NSLP
and SBP. Schools that serve children meals during the summer through
the NSLP and SBP can choose to only serve meals to children enrolled in
summer school or utilize the Seamless Summer Option to provide meals to
children in the general community.
The current data reporting system for sponsors and State agencies
was designed primarily to process meal claims and not to track program
participation. FNS is interested in modifying the current reporting
system to better identify the number of eligible children the programs
are serving and assess the impacts of efforts to increase program
participation.
In addition to increasing the utility and accuracy of summer meal
program data collection, FNS is also interested in ensuring that data
is collected and reported to FNS in a timely manner. Although anecdotal
information is collected during program operations, the current data
reporting timeline does not provide FNS with accurate program
participation information until several months after the programs are
completed. Receiving more timely data would help FNS in its efforts to
improve program access. FNS recognizes that because many State
operating systems are more technologically advanced than when reporting
requirements were first implemented, changes to improve the timeliness
and utility of reporting requirements may be possible without imposing
significant additional burden on sponsors or State agencies.
In order to assess FNS efforts to increase access to the summer
meal programs, FNS would like to reexamine the current sponsor and
State agency reporting requirements for meal claims and participation
data, and the timeline for submitting this information. FNS is
interested in obtaining feedback about the reporting requirements for
the SFSP and for meals served during the summer through the NSLP and
SBP.
In accordance with SFSP regulations at 7 CFR part 225, sponsors
currently submit monthly claims to their State administering agencies
to receive reimbursement. These are due within 60 days following the
claim month. State agencies are required to submit data on SFSP
participation using the FNS-418--Report of the Summer Food Service
Program for Children--30 and 90 days following the month being
reported.
Schools that provide summer meals to eligible children through the
NSLP and SBP submit claims to the State agency using the same process
as that used during the regular school year. State agencies report
participation data on a monthly basis using the form FNS-10--Report of
School Program Operations. This is the same form submitted by schools
providing NSLP and SBP meals during the school year.
FNS' objective with this Request for Information is to receive
input from a broad spectrum of parties that may be affected by changes
to reporting requirements. These include site supervisors, sponsors,
school food authorities, State agency officials, summer partners, and
the general public. We are especially interested in current reporting
and data collection purposes, methods, and outcomes used by State
agencies, sponsors, and sites, which are in addition to those required
for completing and submitting FNS-10 and FNS-418. Finally, FNS has an
interest in working with sponsors and State agencies to collect data in
a more comprehensive, timely manner while also minimizing additional
reporting burden.
FNS intends to use the information it receives to propose
modifications to the current reporting requirements. Information
submitted will help FNS to modify the FNS-418 and FNS-10 to receive
more concrete data at an earlier stage in the reporting process. FNS
expects such changes to also require amendments to Program regulations.
To assist in the development of these changes, FNS is seeking input
regarding the following questions. FNS welcomes comments to all
questions below.
Summer Food Service Program Reporting
1. In order to more quickly assess participation during the summer,
would it be possible for sponsors to submit meal claims fewer than 60
days from the month being claimed?
a. Would it be possible for them to submit meal claims within 30
days of the close of the claim month?
b. Would reducing this time frame impact the accuracy of the claims
submitted? Please explain.
c. What challenges would arise due to a reduced submission period?
d. What additional technology and guidance would be required for
State
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agencies and sponsors to comply with new timeframes?
2. On average, what percentage of final meal claims have been
modified annually since the initial claim? Are modified final meal
claims usually higher or lower than the initial claims?
a. How often are meal claims revised?
b. Why are meal claims revised?
c. How often do sponsors appeal State imposed meal claim
disallowances? What are the outcomes of these appeals?
3. a. How accurate is the data for meals served which is submitted
by the State agency in the 30-day report when compared with the
subsequent 90-day report?
b. What accounts for the difference in actual (versus estimated)
meals served between the 30-day and 90-day reports?
4. The FNS-418 only requires State agencies to report the number of
sponsors, the number of sites, and the average daily attendance (ADA)
of sponsors for the month of July.
a. Would it be feasible for States to report this for every month
during the summer?
b. How much time would States need to report this to FNS after each
month?
5. FNS currently collects the ADA of sponsors, which is calculated
as the total number of meals served in a sponsor's primary meal service
during the claim period divided by the number of operating or meal
service days for that claim period.
a. Is this an effective method for calculating ADA?
b. Is the current reporting of ADA accurate at the sponsor and/or
State level?
c. How could ADA be calculated more accurately?
6. FNS is interested in tracking the number of unique children that
participate in the SFSP each day. Do you have any suggestions for how
this information could be captured and reported?
7. FNS is interested in tracking the number of meals served through
rural sites. Would it be feasible to separate ``self-prep'' meals
served from ``rural'' meals served on the FNS-418?
8. In your State, do sponsors submit meal claims electronically or
manually?
9. Are there any data that sponsors or State agencies currently
collect that are not reported to FNS?
a. If yes, please describe these data and how they are used.
b. Would sponsors and State agencies be able to regularly report
these data to FNS?
10. What are the best indicators or data elements to track changes
to program participation from the previous summer?
11. Please provide any additional information that would assist FNS
with understanding State agency and sponsor administrative capacities,
and how to enhance the quality and utility of the data collected while
also minimizing any additional reporting burden.
National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program Summer Meal
Reporting
Seamless Summer Option
1. Are schools able to easily separate the meal claims for children
served during the regular school year and children served through the
Seamless Summer Option? Could these meals be separately tracked on the
FNS-10?
2. Are there any State agency concerns about separately reporting
meals served to children through the Seamless Summer Option?
3. Please provide any additional information that would assist FNS
with understanding State agency and school administrative capacities,
and how to enhance the quality and utility of the data collected while
also minimizing the reporting burden. FNS is particularly interested in
receiving feedback from State agencies that already separately track
meals served through the Seamless Summer Option from those served
through NSLP during the traditional school year.
Serving Meals to Children Enrolled in Summer School
1. For schools that do not participate in the SFSP or the Seamless
Summer Option, but serve meals to children enrolled in summer school
through the NSLP and SBP, would it be feasible to separately report the
meals served to these children? Could these meals be separately tracked
on the FNS-10?
2. Please provide any additional information that would assist FNS
with understanding State agency and school administrative capacities,
and how to enhance the quality and utility of the data collected while
also minimizing any additional reporting burden.
FNS appreciates your thoughtful and responsive comments.
Dated: February 24, 2015.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-05314 Filed 3-6-15; 8:45 am]
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