Afterschool Snacks in RCCI's
Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCI's)
- Are
all residential child care institutions including juvenile detention
centers eligible for the afterschool snack provision or just residential
child care institutions which also have a day care component?
Any residential child
care institution that participates in the NSLP/SBP may participate
as long as the residential child care institution operates an afterschool
care program with enrichment or education activities.
- When
determining the reimbursement status of residential child care institutions,
should the State agency consider the percentage of free and reduced
price children enrolled in the institution or the percentage of free
and reduced price children enrolled in the local public school?
As schools, residential child care institutions will routinely receive
free reimbursement for all snacks based on the fact that more than
50 percent of their enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced
price school meals. In
the unlikely event that a residential child care institution cannot
qualify for the free rate for all snacks based on its enrollment,
the residential child care institution could still qualify by using
enrollment data from a school serving the area in which the institution
is located.
- Can
afterschool care programs operated by residential child care institutions
claim reimbursement for snacks served during weekends, holidays and
school vacations?
Congress intended this
provision to apply to snacks served in schools after an educational
activity. If no regularly
scheduled education activity is taking place, as is generally the
case on weekends, holidays and vacations, reimbursement cannot be
claimed for snacks served on those days. In this respect, residential
child care institutions are subject
to the same provisions as any other school. They may not claim reimbursement for snacks served on
weekends, holidays or vacation periods unless the snack is served
during an activity that takes place after an education activity that
is determined to be an integral part of the curriculum or an
actual extension of the local education system. This limitation on snack eligibility differs from the general
authorization of reimbursement for lunches and breakfasts served in
residential child care institutions due to the special nature of the
afterschool snack benefit.
- Can
preschool children enrolled in residential child care institution
afterschool care program have reimbursable snacks?
Yes, just as in any other school.
- Under
the current lunch/breakfast program regulations, residential child
care institutions may be reimbursed for meals served to children who
have not yet reached their 21st birthday. However, children who turn
19 during the school year may continue to participate in the snack
program rather than becoming ineligible immediately upon reaching
their 19th birthday. Is this inconsistency intentional?
The age requirements for participation under the afterschool snack
provision are somewhat different from those established for the NSLP
and SBP in general. The
law limits participation in the snack provision to children 18 years
old and under. However,
to reduce paperwork and ease administrative burdens on local administrators,
Congress, in the conference report, authorized schools to continue
receiving reimbursement for snacks served to children who become 19
during the school year ending the following June 30. This provision applies to residential child care institutions
as well as all other schools. It must be emphasized that, under no circumstances, can a residential
child care institution continue to be reimbursed for snacks served
to children after the school year in which they become 19, and students
continue to become ineligible for reimbursable lunches or breakfasts
as soon as they reach 21.
- Can
a residential child care institution claim reimbursement for a snack
served to a child who did not attend school that day (e.g., the child
was ill)?
It would depend on whether the child is participating in an approved
afterschool care program on that day. If the child is participating
in the approved afterschool care
activity, it doesn’t matter that he may not have been in school.
As with other schools, there is no requirement or expectation for
tracking whether or not the child actually attended school on
any given day.
- If
the afterschool care activities occur late in the afternoon and coincide
with the evening meal service, may the residential child care institution
claim that meal as a snack?
Congress intended the afterschool snack to be an additional food benefit
that, in all likelihood, would not otherwise be available to children. Therefore, if a residential child care institution already
has a scheduled evening meal service, as would generally be the case,
it would have to serve a separate snack as an additional offering
at some other time during the afternoon or evening in order to receive
reimbursement. The snack
can be served either before or after the supper.
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