Each Arkansas public school district and charter school receiving federal funds from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the administration of district child nutrition meal programs is required to submit an annual school district “Verification Summary Report” to the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Child Nutrition Unit (CNU). The Child Nutrition Unit is required to submit the statewide data compiled from the district summary reports to USDA.
The DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING A DISTRICT’S REPORT to the CNU office is TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2009. Please see attached revised Verification Timeline for 2009.
CHANGES FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2009-2010
Clarification of box 11 of the FNS-742 “Did Not Respond.”
The following are considered non-responses:
The household does not contact the Local Education Agency (LEA) when the initial request for verification is sent or when the Local Education Agency attempts follow-up;
The household responds to the initial request but provides incomplete information and the Local Education Agency is unable to determine if the eligibility determination was correct; or
The household responds to the initial request but fails to provide the Local Education Agency with documents or is otherwise unable to provide appropriate documentation.
HOUSEHOLDS WHO RECEIVE REQUESTS FOR VERIFICATION AND RESPOND BY WITHDRAWING THE APPLICATION ARE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE “DID NOT RESPOND” TOTAL.
HOW TO COMPLETE THE REPORT
Each district MUST report the summary of verification using FNS-742 “Verification Summary Report.” To follow a Step-by-Step Guide to Verification, go to the Child Nutrition website at http://cnn.k12.ar.us and click on the red 'Verification” button. The “Verification Summary Report” is at Step 15 of the verification guidance.
Each district MUST submit one report for the entire district. The form should be downloaded from the website, renamed (use district’s LEA number), completed, saved, and e-mailed. See instructions below for submission to CNU by e-mail.
In order to complete the “Verification Summary Report,” a school district will need the following information:
• Total number of applications and students approved for free meals based on a food stamp case number
• Total number of applications and students approved for free meals based on household size and income
• Total number of applications and students approved for reduced-price meals
• Total number of students directly certified (Homeless, Migrant, Direct Certification)
• Results of verification by application (Application Tracker, Step 13 of the verification guidance)
STANDARD SAMPLING (formerly called Error Prone Sampling)
Attached is a list of school districts that are required to complete verification using Standard Sampling. Guidelines for Standard Sampling may be downloaded from Step 2 of the verification guidance. These school districts were selected for Standard Sampling based either on the 2008-2009 Non-Response Rate of Verified Applicants, or if errors were discovered in the district’s verification process.
For assistance with completing the “Verification Summary Report,” call the school district’s assigned Child Nutrition Area Specialist at 501-324-9502.
HOW TO SUBMIT THE REPORT
When the report is emailed, the district’s LEA number MUST BE INCLUDED in the subject line.
The body of the e-mail MUST INCLUDE:
• District name
• Name of verification contact
• Phone number of verification contact
• Completed ADE “Verification Summary Report”
The report should be e-mailed to: ade.chnutverify@arkansas.gov Every e-mail will receive an automatic reply indicating that a school district’s report has been received. No additional action is required on behalf of the district. The district will be notified by phone or e-mail if there is a problem or if additional information is needed to complete the Verification Summary Report.
For assistance in submitting the report by e-mail, call the school district’s assigned Child Nutrition Area Specialist at 501-324-9502.