USDA FNS publishes final rule on child nutrition program integrity

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars. The final rule impacts the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The final rule strengthens program integrity by modernizing how state agencies oversee child nutrition programs, including…

• Introducing targeted flexibilities in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs that streamline monitoring requirements and lower administrative burden for states;

• Finalizing provisions in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) that have already been in place. These provisions streamline processes, provide additional resources, and increase accountability.

• Allowing more efficient use of state agency resources by ensuring that organizations at risk of serious management issues in CACFP receive more frequent oversight, and that financial transactions are appropriately reviewed.

• Improving the ability of FNS and state agencies to address the rare instances of severe or repeated violations of program requirements in the child nutrition programs.

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This rule is one of many steps that USDA says it is taking to ensure that federal child nutrition programs can serve the millions of children who depend on them to reach their full potential.