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School
Food Authority Administration of
National School Lunch Program
Free and Reduced Price Eligibility
Determination
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Background
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From July
to September 2002, the Food and
Nutrition Service reviewed the free
and reduced price (F/RP) eligibility
determination process (i.e.,
application, verification,
reapplication, meal ticket status)
for each of 3,474 applications
selected for verification in 14
large School Food Authorities in the
2001-02 school year. These SFAs
enroll nearly one million children,
among whom 45 percent were approved
for free meals and 7 percent were
approved for reduced price meals as
of October 31, 2001.
Verification
Results
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Overall
results: On average, 43 percent
of applications verified in study
districts had their benefit levels
unchanged as a result of the
verification process, while 55
percent had a benefit reduction /
termination and 2 percent had an
increase in benefits from reduced
price to free.
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Respondent
ineligibility: Among respondents
to verification, 21 percent had a
benefit reduction or termination. In
random sampling districts 14 percent
of respondents had a benefit
reduction or termination; in focused
sampling districts 40 percent of
respondents had a benefit reduction
or termination. Four percent of
respondents to verification had a
benefit increase from reduced-price
to free meal eligibility.
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Reasons
for benefit change: Non-response
to the verification process
accounted for most of the
applications that had benefits
reduced or terminated. Seventy-seven
percent of benefit reductions /
terminations (BRT) in focused
sampling districts were due to
non-response while 80 percent of all
BRTs in random sampling districts
were the result of non-response.
Random sampling SFAs had a higher
rate of benefit increase from
reduced price to free (3 percent)
compared to focused sampling SFAs (1
percent).
Results
from income applications v.
categorical applications:
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Income
and household size applications:
Among applications approved on the
basis of income and household size
selected for verification, 57
percent had benefits reduced or
terminated. Among respondents, 23
had their benefits reduced or
terminated. The average rate of
benefit reduction or termination
among respondents was lower in
random sampling districts (18
percent) than in focused sampling
districts (34 percent).
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Categorically
approved applications - where
households that report a Food
Stamp / Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families / Food Distribution
Program on Indian Reservations
(FS/TANF/FDPIR) case number as the
basis of their eligibility - were
less likely to have a benefit
reduction or termination as a
result of the verification process
than income and household size
applications. Among
categorically-approved
applications, there was a 30
percent rate of benefit reduction
/ termination compared to a 57
percent rate among income and
household size applications.
Accuracy
of SFA review of applications and
verifications
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Application
review: On average, 94 percent
of initial approvals by SFAs for
free and reduced price meal benefits
where applicants reported household
income and size were accurate based
on information provided on the
applications while 6 percent of
initial approvals were inaccurate.
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Verification
determinations: 92 percent of
verification decisions by SFAs were
appropriate - consistent with the
documentation provided by parents --
and 8 percent of verification
decisions were inappropriate.
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Meal
ticket status: Among children
whose applications and verifications
we reviewed, the end of year meal
ticket status was accurate in 83
percent cases while it was
inaccurate in 17 percent of cases.
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Direction
of inaccuracy: Over 75 percent
of all SFA administrative errors
identified in this study resulted in
households being approved for a
greater level of benefit than was
supported by the materials provided
by households to SFAs. Less than 25
percent of all errors resulted in
households being approved for a
lower level of benefit than to which
they were entitled based on material
they provided SFAs.
Reapplication
of non-responders to verification
Last modified: 12/04/2008
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