CACFP Administrative Manual Section 2.2

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• Terms, Definitions, and Acronyms

Section 2: Participant Eligibility

2.2 Age and Residency Requirements of Participants

Age Requirement

To be eligible for reimbursement, children, as defined in Title 7, Code of Federal Regulation, Section 226.2 must be enrolled and meet certain age requirements at participating day care homes and child care centers:

• Children must be 12 years old or younger
 
• Children must be 15 years old or younger, if classified as a child of a migrant worker
 
• Any age for a person with disabilities, if the majority of the enrolled persons in care are children 18 years old or younger. DCH providers and center staff must substantiate that a person is disabled by obtaining a medical statement signed by a recognized medical physician.

To be eligible for reimbursement, children must meet certain age requirements at participating emergency shelters and at-risk afterschool care sites:

• For emergency shelters, children must be 18 years of age or younger
 
• For at-risk afterschool care, children must be 18 years of age or younger, or turning 19 years of age during the school year
 
• Any age for a person with disabilities when the majority of the enrolled persons in care are children 18 years of age or younger. Program operators must substantiate that a person is disabled by obtaining a medical statement signed by a recognized medical physician.

To be eligible for reimbursement, enrolled adults must meet certain age or functional impairment requirements at participating adult care centers:

• In Adult Day and Health Care Centers, adults must be 60 years of age or older, or functionally impaired, as described below:
 
• Functional Impairment: A functionally impaired adult is a chronically impaired disabled person 18 years of age or older, including victims of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders with neurological and organic brain dysfunction. A functionally impaired adult has a markedly limited capacity to carry out daily living activities independently.
 
• Functionally impaired adults must have a plan of care. A plan of care is a written evaluation of a functionally impaired individual’s health and social needs. It must include:
 
• Goals and objectives of the planned care;
• The activities that will be completed to achieve the goals and objectives;
• Recommendations for therapy;
• Referrals to and follow-up with other service providers as needed; and
• Provisions for periodic review and renewal.

Residency Requirements

The CACFP mainly supports children and adults who do not reside with the center or provider on a 24-hour basis. These participants are eligible for reimbursement as long as they meet the age requirements listed above.

Exceptions to the residency requirement are participants in emergency shelters and a day care home (DCH) provider’s own children.

Children and disabled adults in an emergency shelter are eligible to participate in the program if the shelter is temporary housing. Transitional apartments, independent living facilities, single room occupancy residences (such as hotels), and housing units where families double or triple up with friends or relatives are generally not eligible for CACFP.

In DCHs, a provider’s own children can participate in the program only if the provider was determined to be categorically or income eligible for Tier I reimbursement (See Section 4.3).

A provider’s own children may include the provider’s children, foster children, or nonrelated children with an informal arrangement when they live with the provider on a 24-hour or more basis.

Day Care Home Only: Temporary Emergency Residential

Children who require temporary residential care for more than 24 hours due to an emergency are eligible for reimbursement for three consecutive calendar days. The number of meals allowed per day is the same as for children in nonemergency care. A child placed in a DCH by a military parent for residential care may be claimed for reimbursement as a nonresidential program participant for as long as the child is with the provider, if the following conditions are met:

• The child is a dependent of a military parent who has been deployed from a normal duty station as a result of the current national situation
 
• The provider has legal power of attorney or custody of the child or an agreement has been established by the military to provide residential care to the child
 

Reference: 7 CFR, Sections 226.2, 226.13(a), 226.18(e), and 226.23(e)(1); Participation of Emergency Shelters in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)—Questions and Answers; MB 06-219 Eligibility of Day Care Home Provider’s Residential and/or Own Children; MB 02-216 Residential Care and Military Personnel; and MB 01-216 Residential Care; USDA Adult Day Care Handbook.

Questions: A list of program specialists that can assist is found on the CACFP Contact List.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Esta institución es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades.