Finding Text
CRITERIA: Eligibility: Per the USDA Free and Reduced Price School Meals instructions, the household size number MUST be equal to the number of household members listed in Step 1 and Step 3 on the application. Also the free and reduced status must be determined using the Federal Registry income eligibility guidelines. CONDITION: There were 8 cases where the household size was larger than the number of household members listed in Step 1 and Step 3 on the application. In 3 cases there was no change in the free/reduced status if the smaller number of household members were used. In 5 cases there were changes in the status. There was an additional case where the listed income put the family in the reduced status but they were listed as free. QUESTIONED COSTS: There were 2 cases in the 5 mentioned above that were listed as free but based on the listed household members the status should have been reduced. If those applications were reduced instead, possible questioned costs for both lunch and breakfast were $730. The other 3 cases were listed as reduced but should have been full price based on the listed household members. Possible questioned costs for those 3 for lunch and breakfast was $5,250. In the additional case where based on income the correct status was reduced not free, the possible questioned costs were $851. Total $6,831. CONTEXT: 40 students were tested to confirm the free/reduced status. Found classification issues with 6 and 3 others that didn't have the correct household size with no classification issues. EFFECT: Using the household size number instead of the listed number of household members could result in students receiving more federal nutrition benefits than they should have. CAUSE: The District used the household size number rather than the listed household members. RECOMMENDATION: We recommend reviewing applications to ensure that the household size and the listed household members in Step 1 and Step 3 match. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE: The Food Service Department will implement a triple check process to ensure that all household
data matches and the appropriate criteria is being used to calculate household eligibility.