DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES
Division of Food, Nutrition and WellnessCHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM STATE WAIVER REQUEST
CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM
STATE WAIVER REQUEST TEMPLATE
Child Nutrition Programs are expected to be administered according to all statutory and regulatory requirements; waivers to the requirements are exceptions. However, Section 12(l) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1760(l), provides authority for USDA to waive requirements for State agencies or eligible service providers under certain circumstances. When requesting the waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements for the Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs), including the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), the Special Milk Program (SMP), and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), State agencies and eligible service providers should use this template. State agencies and eligible service providers should consult with their FNS Regional Offices when developing waiver requests to ensure a well-reasoned, thorough request is submitted. State agencies and eligible service providers are encouraged to submit complete waiver requests at least 60 calendar days prior to the anticipated implementation date. Requests submitted less than 60 calendar days prior to the anticipated implementation should be accompanied by an explanation of extenuating circumstances.
For more information on requests for waiving Program requirements, refer to SP 15-2018, CACFP 12-2018, SFSP 05-2018, Child Nutrition Program Waiver Request Guidance and Protocol- Revised, May 24, 2018.
1. State agency submitting waiver request and responsible State agency staff contact information:
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Lakeisha T. Hood, Director, (850)617-7438, Lakeisha.Hood@FDACS.gov
Lisa Church, Bureau Chief of Implementation and Accountability, (850)617-7413 Direct Line, Lisa.Church@FDACS.gov
2. Region: Southeast
3. Eligible service providers participating in waiver and affirmation that they are in good standing:
FDACS will ensure that sponsors participating in the waiver are in good standing by not being deemed seriously deficient for their returning sites that operated in prior summer.
4. Description of the challenge the State agency is seeking to solve, the goal of the waiver to improve services under the Program, and the expected outcomes if the waiver is granted. [Section 12(l)(2)(A)(iii) and 12(l)(2)(A)(iv) of the NSLA]:
FDACS is requesting a statewide waiver for Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) flexibilities and policies that were rescinded by the USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) on October 11, 2018 through SFSP 01-2019 Summer Food Service Program Memoranda Rescission.
The impact and challenges faced as a result of the rescinded flexibilities and policies to FDACS and Florida’s SFSP sponsors are as follows:
The waiver of meal time restrictions allows sponsors to serve meals at times that align with program activities and meet the needs of children and families. The restriction of shortening the duration of meal services times will negatively affect sites with large ADA’s, especially those sites utilizing the OVS option or family style serving. In 2019, there were 664 sites with ADA’s of 150 children or more operating breakfast.
In the past, these sites have had the flexibility to choose their meal services times to fit their needs. By restricting them, these sites may not have the capacity or staff to accommodate the higher ADA within a shorter time frame. In addition, FDACS sites are predominantly open sites at recreation centers and libraries, where children and youth participate in a combination of structured and non-structured activities. Because times when children and youth arrive at open sites flows, site staff find they serve more children when they have longer serving windows. Mealtime restrictions would prevent hundreds of children from receiving a healthy meal. Families rely on these meals. They also rely on public transportation to get to meal sites, and therefore it is essential to have longer meal times to accommodate families.
By implementing meal service time restrictions, FDACS would be required to develop a manual process of calculating the duration of each meal service and the time elapsed between meal services. FDACS staff would spend an estimated 210 additional hours in the initial approval of the site applications. This estimate does not include the time it would take to process revisions.
The goal of this waiver is to reinstate the rescinded flexibilities and policies to allow for efficient and cost-effective program management and reduce administrative burden for sponsors and FDACS.
Approval of this waiver will allow FDACS and Florida’s SFSP sponsors to continue implementing streamlined measures for effective program management and operation. In addition, if approved, FDACS will not be required to spend additional administrative funds and staff time to update technology systems and revise statewide training and review procedures.
With the waiver request being approved for summer 2019, the sponsors provided FDACS with feedback on how it benefited their programs. Out of the sponsors that completed the annual sponsor survey, 77% reported increased participation, 29% reported increased number of sites operating, 32% reported reduced staff labor and 25% reported decreased costs due to the approved meal service time waiver. In addition, sponsors stated that the following benefits were also associated with the waiver approval:
· Allowed more flexibility with scheduling and activities;
· Allowed children ample time to eat;
· Allowed time for staff to continuously cook meals and keep them at safe temperatures;
· Allowed participants arriving later to still participate in the meal service;
· Allotted a longer window to serve and ultimately reach more children;
· Able to serve children two meals in a shorter time frame; and
· Able to accommodate more programs at a single site.
5. Specific Program requirements to be waived (include statutory and regulatory citations). [Section 12(l)(2)(A)(i) of the NSLA]:
FDACS request to waive current regulations at 7 CFR 225.16(c)(1)(2) for meal times as originally published in SFSP 11-2011, Waiver of Meal Time Restrictions and Unitized Meal Requirements in the Summer Food Service Program, October 31, 2011. Regulations require that three hours must elapse between the beginning of one meal service, including snacks, and the beginning of another meal service, except that four hours must elapse between lunch and supper if no snack is served. This policy waived these requirements but maintained that sponsors must continue to establish meal service times.
7 CFR 225.16(c) -Time restrictions for meal service. (1) Three hours must elapse between the beginning of one meal service, including snacks, and the beginning of another, except that 4 hours must elapse between the service of a lunch and supper when no snack is served between lunch and supper. The service of supper shall begin no later than 7 p.m., unless the State agency has granted a waiver of this requirement due to extenuating circumstances. These waivers shall be granted only when the State agency and the sponsor ensure that special arrangements shall be made to monitor these sites. In no case may the service of supper extend beyond 8 p.m. The time restrictions in this paragraph shall not apply to residential camps.
(2) The duration of the meal service shall be limited to two hours for lunch or supper and one hour for all other meals.
6. Detailed description of alternative procedures and anticipated impact on Program operations, including technology, State systems, and monitoring:
FDACS has an electronic application system known as Florida Automated Nutrition System (FANS) in which sponsor will indicated their serving times each specific meal service on their site application in FANS. Program management, accommodate operational requirements and meet needs of participating children, time limits will not be placed on the duration of a meal service or the amount of time that must elapse between the beginning of one meal service and the beginning of the next. Sponsors must continue to establish meal times for each site and provide this information to FDACS to ensure effective oversight. FDACS will have discretion to determine the length of supper meal service and if meals served outside of the approved meal service may still be claimed for reimbursement in the case of an unanticipated event.
This waiver will significantly decrease administrative burden, allow for efficient and effective oversight of program operations, and allow sponsor organizations to meet the needs of their communities and participating children. FDACS will continue to ensure program integrity through a thorough application approval process, technical assistance visits, administrative reviews, and training. In addition, no change will need to be made to current technology systems as a result of this waiver.
If this waiver is not implemented, the following impact on program operations will likely occur:
· Increased costs to FDACS to update software systems to comply with regulation changes. Updates to software will affect application, claims, and compliance modules.
· Significant impact on FDACS staff time and effort and increased cost to update training and technical assistance materials, re-train sponsor and site staff, and monitor compliance with rescinded flexibilities and policies.
· A decrease in the number of meals offered at sites due to meal time restrictions. The restrictions hinder sites serving meals at times that align with site activities and needs of participating children. This will lead to a loss of reimbursement revenue.
· Increased operational labor costs for sponsors due to the amount of time that must be placed between meals.
These combined impacts will result in a significant decrease in access to the program, a decrease in meals served to children in Florida.
7. Description of any steps the State has taken to address regulatory barriers at the State level. [Section 12(l)(2)(A)(ii) of the NSLA]:
The flexibilities and policies rescinded by the USDA FNS on October 11, 2018 through SFSP 01-2019 Summer Food Service Program Memoranda Rescission will increase administrative burden and create barriers to program access and effective program operation. To address these barriers, FDACS is submitting this wavier. FDACS continues to implement streamlined measures and process improvement for the program.
8. Anticipated challenges State or eligible service providers may face with the waiver implementation:
FDACS does not anticipate any challenges when implementing the requested waiver.
9. Description of how the waiver will not increase the overall cost of the Program to the Federal Government. If there are anticipated increases, confirm that the costs will be paid from non-Federal funds. [Section 12(l)(1)(A)(iii) of the NSLA]:
There is no anticipated impact on Federal administrative costs for State Agency oversight with implementation of this wavier.
10. Anticipated waiver implementation date and time period:
January 1, 2020, through the end of the Federal fiscal year and remain in effect for a period of five years until September 30, 2025.
11. Proposed monitoring and review procedures:
FDACS Sponsors and sites will continue to be monitored by FDACS as outlined in 7 CFR 225.7 (2)(ii)(B). Standard review procedures will continue to be followed; if noncompliance is identified, FDACS will implement a corrective action plan and conduct follow-up reviews, as needed.
12. Proposed reporting requirements (include type of data and due date(s) to FNS):
FDACS will utilize the reporting function Report Manager link to the Florida Automated Nutrition System to review sponsors and their site times. FDACS will send the following list to USDA on an annual basis as requested:
· List of sponsors
· List of sites with meal service times
