Sponsoring Organizations in the CACFP - Administrative Effects of Reimbursement Tiering: A Report to Congress on the Family Child Care Homes Legislative Changes Study

by Lawrence Bernstein and William Hamilton

Sponsors of family child care homes in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) took on additional responsibilities as a result of the tiered reimbursement structure introduced in 1997. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 mandated a tiered reimbursement structure designed to target benefits more narrowly to low-income children and called for a study of its effects on program participants and on meals offered to children. Tiering has created a requirement for sponsors to classify family child care homes (providers) and some participating children according to income status. Sponsors surveyed in 1999 also reported that they had increased training and monitoring, expanded services to providers, and heightened recruitment efforts.

Keywords: meal reimbursement tiering, Child and Adult Care Food Program, CACFP, child care, childcare, family child care providers, child nutrition programs, welfare, reform, Food and Nutrition Service, FNS

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Abstract, Contents, Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Profile of Family Child Care Sponsors
• Implementation of Tiering Requirements
• Changes in Sponsors? Administrative Reimbursements and Outreach
• Tiering?s Effect on Sponsors? Administrative Operations
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix A
• Appendix B