Evaluation of Demonstrations of National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program Direct Certification of Children Receiving Medicaid Benefits: Year 1 Report (Summary)

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA; P.L. 111-296) directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to conduct a demonstration that directly certifies students for free school meals based on income eligibility identified through Medicaid data. Under the Direct Certification with Medicaid (DC-M) demonstration, students are eligible for free meals if they are (1) enrolled in Medicaid and (2) in households with Medicaid gross income not exceeding 133 percent of the Federal poverty level for their household size. Other students in a household with a child who meets these criteria can also be directly certified for free meals under DC-M.