When should an LEA or entity claim meals?
A Local Education Agency (LEA) or entity will have 60 days to claim their meals after a month ends. Any claims made outside of 60 days will require a One Time Exception (OTE).
For more information on One Time Exceptions, click here.
What is a One Time Exception (OTE) and where does an LEA or entity access the form?
If a Local Education Agency (LEA) or entity does not submit their claim for meals within 60 days from the month end, a One Time Exception would need to be requested. One Time Exceptions will only be granted once every 36 months. To determine eligibility, contact Grants Management using the Grants Management’s General Request template in Help Desk.
One Time Exception form can be found in Grants Management Resource Library under Program Area Resources in Health and Nutrition on the Grants Management Enterprise (GME). Form must be completed in its entirety, signed by Authorized Signer, and submitted to Grants Management using the Grants Management’s General Request template in Help Desk. Upon submission, form will be reviewed by Grants Management, determination will be made, and LEA or entity will be contacted concerning eligibility status.
When will an LEA or entity receive payment for claimed meals?
Claims submitted on or before the 21st of each month through CNPWeb are processed through the 22nd of each month. During this time, claims will be processed and payments are sent to Accounting. Upon submission to Accounting, Automated Clearing House (ACH)/Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or warrant will be issued within 5 business days. The LEA or entity can check to see if their claim has been processed by going into CNPWeb and review the claim in question.
Please Note: Any claims submitted after the 21st may not be processed until the following month.
When should an entity expect their Child and Adult Care Food Program – Family Day Care Homes (CACFP-FDCH) advance payment?
Advances are processed by the 21st of each month; it can take up to 10 business days for payment to be received.
Why does an entity’s CACFP-FDCH advance amount vary from month to month?
The amount of the advance is determined by the amount the entity received in the prior year for that particular month. The amount of the advance may be reduced if the entity’s meals for a given month was not enough to recovery the amount advanced. In months of August and September, an entity will receive only 50 percent of the advance amount to assure appropriate recovery before the end of the program year.
Please Note: All advances are based on adequate funding provided by USDA.
What is Attendance Factor?
Attendance Factor is a required edit check that ADE must perform for each claim submission. The Attendance Factor percentage is set each year for all entities. For a district or charter, a calculation is performed using prior year data reported in AzEDS which includes the Average Daily Attendance divided by the Average Daily Enrollment. If the entity does not report in AzEDS, the default Attendance Factor established by ADE is set.
For the Attendance Factor Calculation form, click here.
What if an LEA or entity receives an error message on their meal counts?
An LEA or entity will receive this error if the meal count they are reporting is higher than their calculated meals based off their Attendance Factor. In order to be able to submit the claim, an Attendance Factor form must be completed and submitted for the month in question. The completed form will be submitted to Grants Management using the Grants Management’s General Request template in Help Desk.
For the Attendance Factor Calculation form, click here.
If an LEA or entity still receives the error message after the Attendance Factor form has been updated, the LEA or entity will need to refresh and save the claim data in order for the updated Attendance Factor to calculate. If error still persists, please contact Grants Management at (602) 542-3901, Option 2.
What is a Recovery of a Fiscal Action or downward revision?
If an LEA or entity has received a fiscal action and funds are owed to ADE as a result, a recovery of the funds owed will be recovered/offset from following claims if indicated on the letter. If an LEA or entity submits a revised claim that reduces the meal counts previously reported and paid (downward revision), the funds overpaid will be recovered/offset from following claims.
For Fiscal Actions, a temporary hold will be placed until the full amount of the funds are recovered. The hold will only prevent payment of submitted claims; it will not prevent the ability to submit claims.
Please Note: LEA or entity should only send a check to ADE if specifically stated on the Fiscal Action letter.
What is a Food Service Annual Financial Report (AFR)?
A Food Service AFR is a required report for all LEAs and entities that receive National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) funds. Districts and charters are required to submit by October 15th and all other entities are required to submit by October 1st. Failure to submit will result in a hold of Health and Nutrition funds.
Please Note: The hold will also affect any grant funding the organization receives through Grants Management Enterprise (GME).
How does an LEA or entity submit a Food Service Annual Financial Report (AFR)?
Districts and charters will submit their Food Service AFR to School Finance. All other entities submit through Common Log On the CNP AFR application.
Districts and charters can contact School Finance for more information concerning their AFRs.
All other entities can contact Grants Management at (602) 542-3901, Option 2 for more information.
