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 Advocacy and Legislation
Communicating with your Congressperson is Key
Communicating with your Congressperson is Key to the
CACFP’s Success in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Ohio
Sponsors Share Their CACFP Stories.
Please see below for a set of materials used for a letter writing CACFP
reauthorization campaign in Ohio. Feel free to modify and use these
for your state.
If you need assistance with modifying the letters to suit your state or you have any questions please contact Geri Henchy, FRAC, (202)986-2200
ext. 3025 ghenchy@frac.org, or a Forum Board member.
A Call To Action
Advocate: One who pleads in favor of; defends by argument before a tribunal or the public; to support, vindicate or recommend publicly.
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CACFP Recommendations
Read the recent OIG report here
View online or download as a PDF file
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Statewide Analysis of the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Family Child Care Providers in Oregon
View online or download as a PDF file
The Impact of the Economic Downturn on Child Care in Georgia
View online or download as a PDF file |
Promoting CACFP - Five Easy StepsTo A Successful Hill Visit
Developing a relationship with your member of Congress and their key staff will be critical to promoting, perfecting and protecting CACFP this year. At the annual conference in Washington, we developed five easy steps to a successful visit with your Congressperson or key congressional staff. These steps worked well for us during the many congressional visits that took place during the conference. They should work equally well for those of you planning to visit with your Congressional members while they are back home. If necessary you can also use the five steps on the phone with the Congressional member or staff person.
- Tell them who you are.
- Tell them the name of your organization and let them know that your organization sponsors the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Provide them with a context for what you do by explaining the number of providers and children you serve. Since many of them vote, the fact that you provide their constituents with a valuable service matters. If you are also representing your state sponsors' association let the Congressperson or staff person know the total numbers of sponsors as well as the total number of providers and children your association members serves.
- Tell them why you have come to visit. You want them to know about the importance of CACFP and CACFP sponsoring organizations in their community. Share any materials you have about CACFP and your organization. Include any pictures you have of children eating in family child care homes participating in CACFP. Show samples of your nutrition education materials.
If the Congressperson or staff person expresses concern about integrity in CACFP you can calm their concerns by setting the record straight about what problems, if any, exist in your state. Let them know that the problems are being taken care of through the Management Improvement Initiative which Congress funded as part of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization. In addition, you can share any procedures or actions your sponsorship or association has taken to address integrity issues in your state.
- Tell them what you want them to do. You want them to understand any concerns you have about CACFP and any recommendations that you have for improving the program.
- Let them know you will stay in touch. Make sure that you give them your contact information: Name and Number. Thank them for their time.
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USDA STUDY PROPOSED
The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 requires the Department
of Agriculture to identify and reduce significant improper over- and under-
payments in various programs, including the Child and Adult Care Food
Program (CACFP). Therefore, the Food and Nutrition Service is conducting
a feasibility evaluation of four possible data collection methods for validating
the number and type of meals claimed for reimbursement by family day care
homes in the CACFP. The feasibility evaluation is scheduled to collect data
from August 2007 until September 2007. Localized data collection is to be
conducted in up to four States to evaluate whether the data collection methodologies under evaluation can:
- Validate the meal reimbursement claims submitted by FDCHs for the
number of children who are CACFP eligible and present in the FDCHs
during the time period(s) for which the meals/snacks were claimed.
- Generate the data required for developing an estimate of improper
payments, based on the meals claimed for reimbursement by FDCHs, that
meet the requirements of the IPIA.
- Be implemented nationwide in an efficient and cost effective method.
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT
The USDA's Paperwork Reduction Work Group has issued its Final Report. Click Here to read the report.
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