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

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

Published: Jan 27, 2015
Publisher: Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support

Associated Project

Simplifying Access to School Meals: Using Medicaid Data for Direct Certification

Time frame: 2012-2016

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

Clients

USDA

Authors

Lara Hulsey

Anne Gordon

Joshua Leftin

Claire Smither-Wulsin

Allen Schirm

Nicholas Beyler

Anna Comerford

Jessica Galin

Brian Estes

Carole Trippe

Direct Certification-Medicaid (DC-M) is expected to expand the number of students who are certified without completing an application. DC-M might also increase the total number of students who receive free meals by reaching students who are eligible but not certified under standard procedures. If DC-M leads to an increase in the number of free meals served, it will have an impact on Federal reimbursement costs. In addition, DC-M will likely affect the costs that States and districts incur for administering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). The increased costs from conducting DC-M might be partially offset or more than offset by the reduced costs from processing fewer applications.

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