Office of Health and Nutrition

Services Town HallWednesday, April 8, 2020

School Meals In Response to Executive Order 2020-35

Section II.B.10: Provide or arrange for continuation of food distribution to eligible pupils.

• Until the end of the “scheduled school year,” Unanticipated School Closure (USC) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) remains

• After the end of the “scheduled school year,” begin “regular” SFSP• Applications due May 1

• Considerations:• Staffing capacity

• Storage capacity

• Distribution capacity

How are we doing?

27% reporting

Breakfast 1,351,808

Lunch 1,375,081

Suppers 44,824

Snacks 12,286

Unanticipated School Closure Intake Form

When should you update your form?

• If you add a site• Add full address with zip code

• Change times of meal service• Add beginning and ending times; example 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM• Days of service should be listed in 'Additional Information'

• Change ending date of meal service• MDE will change the ending date for all sites that have a current end

date of 4/13/2020 to 6/1/2020.

• Be sure to submit form; do not click on 'save' and close out

Waivers

• USDA Michigan: COVID-19 Waivers &Flexibilities Webpage

• MDE Unanticipated School ClosureWaivers Webpage

Staff Safety

• Prevention

• New guidance released Tuesday, April 7, 2020

• Best Practices for School Food ServiceProviding Meals During the COVID-19Outbreak

• Positive test

• Work closely with local health department

• Change to a different school building if possible

• Crowd Control

• Work closely with local law enforcement

• Spread out meal pick up times and locations toprevent congregation of crowds

Resources• Unanticipated School

Closures SFSP Resourceswebpage

• updated and organized

• better customerexperience

• How to Submit anUnanticipated SchoolClosure SFSP Claim in theMIND System

Should I pay food service staff?

• Paying staff including contractors that are working to feed students during this closure would be expected.

• Paying staff that are not working during the closure: • This is a local decision. MDE recommends districts consult their legal

counsel and consider Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget M-20-17 and Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order No. 2020-35.

Contact the Fiscal Monitoring Team to discuss unique circumstances at

MDE-Fiscal@michigan.gov

Maintaining Program Integrity During Unanticipated School

Closure SFSP

• SFSP Meal Pattern

• Two meals or 1 meal + 1 snack

• Third meal + snack option for At Risk After School (CACFP) sponsors

• All children served for free (at the free reimbursement rate)

• Children not required to be present at pick up/delivery

• No meals for adults without a separate funding source

• Method of distribution remains local choice

• Drive thru/pick up

• Bus routes/mobile routes

Pandemic EBT (P-EBT)

• SNAP benefits for all families with children who were receiving free or reduced meals prior to the crisis

• Including all children at CEP sites

• Including all those directly certified, or certified by categorical eligibility or application at the local level

• Benefit will be in the amount equivalent to the reimbursement rate for free breakfast + free lunch multiplied by the number of days of the closure per month per child

• Those already receiving SNAP will see benefit added to their cards

• Those not already receiving SNAP will get a card in the mail; they will need to “pin” to indicate their consent for participation

Meals to You (MTY)

•Demonstration Project only for 26 School Districts

•Children eligible for free/reduced meals will receive one box every 2 weeks with 20 meals (10 breakfasts and 10 lunches/suppers)

School District Eligibility

1. Have announced school closure for at least four weeks

2. Building(s) have 50% or higher free and reduced-price lunch eligibility

3. Are designated rural

•Michigan participating with invite only to districts that meet eligibility and were not serving in Unanticipated School Closure SFSP at the time of invitation

We Must All Be a Part of the Solution!

• Do not rely only on:

• Local food banks

• P-EBT

• Meals to You

• Private donations to provide groceries

• Consider collecting free/reduced applications now

Direct Certification (DC) and Free and Reduced-

Price Applications

• Sponsors should continue to pull the DC list to ensure students and households receive the best possible benefit

• Encourage households to complete Applications for current School Year (SY) 2019-2020

• Income on the application should be the household income at the time the application is completed (signed) and submitted

• Allowable cost to pay for labor to process applications

• Reasons sponsors should pull DC lists and process new applications:

• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) site eligibility – can use free and reduced-price student counts to support eligible school sites

• Households can carry over their current benefit for 30-operating days into the new SY 2020-2021

Billing For Care of MDHHS Children

• Your child-care center can bill for DHHS children enrolled in your center even if they are not attending

• You can bill for this care without using the DHHS allotted non-attendance hours

• Bill starting with the first day that your center was closed

• Includes children in GRSP and HeadStart

• Visit the Disaster Relief Child Care Centers page of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) website for the most up-to-date information

Disaster Declaration Request from Food Banks

• The Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM) has requested that USDA allow them to enact disaster distribution methods for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

• Disaster TEFAP (D-TEFAP) is targeted toward feeding both previous and new participants during disaster situations.

• Food banks have seen distribution levels double in the past month.

• D-TEFAP allows for normal data collection practices to be set aside to safely and quickly serve those in need of emergency food.

• FBCM will be distributing a standard "Quarantine Box" at sites.

Mental Health Considerations

• Are mechanisms in place to support the mental health needs of students?

• Are the 31n mental health providers identified and still providing services to students?

• Do the mental health providers have systems set up to support students?

• Are mental health referral protocols established and being utilized as indicated?

• Are various mechanisms in place to communicate with parents/families during this time, taking into consideration not all families have access to quality internet and/or cellular phone service?

• Are your mental health providers participating in Caring 4 Students (C4S)?

• Have your mental health providers begun/continued to seek Medicaid reimbursement for services when appropriate?

• Are supports in place to assess and respond to the mental health needs and well-being of your staff?

• Are social emotional learning (SEL) strategies being integrated into educator mindsets and behaviors while presenting distance learning lessons?

• Do educators feel they have permission, flexibility, and the appropriate tools and resources to address the emotional needs of students, vs solely pushing rigor and academics?

Time for Questions