Conducting Reconciliation in the CACFP
September 7, 2016
Summary
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released a new memo to clarify the procedure and purpose in conducting five-day reconciliations in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) during monitoring visits. Reconciliations are vital to safeguarding program integrity, but a recent recommendation by the report Reducing Paperwork in the Child and Adult Care Food Program has identified state-by-state variation regarding the overall goal of the process and how to conduct a reconciliation.
To clarify, during a review of a day care home or center, the monitor must “reconcile and ensure consistency of three critical elements - enrollment, attendance, and meal counts - for a five-day period.”
The reconciliation process is meant to guard against potential errors in the claiming process that can lead to more serious concerns and potential corrective action while not placing an undue burden on providers to produce multiple sets of paperwork. Additionally, State Agencies utilize five-day reconciliations as part of their monitoring review of sponsoring organizations. Please refer to the Q&As in the full-text memo for a detailed discussion of compliance and procedures for both State Agencies and sponsoring organizations.
Why It Matters
Serving our children within the CACFP by ensuring program integrity in day care centers and homes is vital to the continual operation of the program. By refreshing our understanding of policy and procedures relating to program operation, we can work together to make the CACFP the best it can be at all levels.
For more information, check out Conducting Five-Day Reconciliation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, with Questions and Answers(CACFP 24-2016:)