Building for the Future Awards - Past Winners

...let USDA recognize innovative practices that lead to excellence. Congratulations to the three award winners who were announced at the CACFP National Professional Association Meeting in March 2002!

Applications, Management Plans and Budgets

The Florida Department of Health has excelled in managing CACFP operations by adopting business strategies, and by making use of available technology, including:

• user friendly management tools for institutions

• pre-printed renewal applications

• second party reviews of all applications

• a board member certification checklist

• a database management and payment system that helps staff detect problems

Internal Controls, Monitoring and Edit Checks

The Utah State Office of Education was quick to respond to the problems identified in CACFP audits. In fact, as early as March 1998, the Utah State Agency began to address these problems by using:

• a portion of its Federal audit funds to hire a full-time monitor to conduct unannounced visits in day care homes.

• a database that provides the State with a complete and current list of active, inactive and withdrawn providers
  trends analyses based on monitors' reports

• a database to assist monitors in identifying providers who need to be reviewed more often.

Training and Technical Assistance

The 4Cs (Community Child Care Coordinating Council) of Alameda County, California realized that to be effective, training must be based on each day care home provider's needs, and it must be convenient. The 4Cs responded with:

• individualized training sessions in each provider's home

• a monthly newsletter to providers

• training materials translated into Spanish

• nutrition education activities with children during reviews

• partnerships with retail companies to obtain materials for a garden training project

• "tasting passports" to introduce children to new and culturally diverse foods

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