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The Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000
The CACFP Integrity Section
Key Provisions

Eligibility Criteria:

• Requires a sponsoring organization to employ enough monitors to ensure effective oversight of homes and centers.
• Requires sponsoring organizations to have a policy that restricts other employment by employees if that employment would interfere with their responsibilities and duties as sponsor employees.
• Prohibits the participation of institutions in CACFP that are "ineligible to participate in another publicly funded program by reason of violation of the requirement of the program."
  

Institutional Approval and Applications:

• Specifics that institutions (sponsoring organizations and centers) must be administratively capable of participating in CACFP as defined by the following criteria:

  1) financially viable,
  2) administratively capable including appropriate management plans, and
  3) have internal controls in effect to ensure program accountability.

• Modifies the new institution approval process by requiring:

  1) State agencies to establish criteria for approving new sponsoring organizations to evaluate the need for an additional organization statewide or in a particular area,
  2) applicant institutions to follow relevant state bonding requirements,
  3) applicant institutions to have tax exempt status,
  4) State agencies to conduct site visits to an applicant institution prior to approval, and
  5) State agencies to notify applicant institutions of approval or disapproval within 30 days.

• Limits ability of provider to change sponsoring organizations to once a year unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Oversight and Monitoring:

• Requires a minimum number of unannounced and scheduled site visits:

  1) Periodic unannounced site visits at not less than 3 year intervals to sponsored centers and homes,
  2) at least one scheduled site visit each year to sponsored centers and homes, and
  3) at least one scheduled site visit at not less than 3 year intervals to sponsoring organizations and centers.

Sharing Program Information:

• Requires the center or home (or its sponsoring organization) to provide the parents of newly enrolled children with information on CACFP, the name of the State CACFP agency and the name and telephone number of the sponsoring organization. Requires that families participating at the time of the implementation of this provision be provided with the same information.

Program Management:

• Requires USDA to provide ongoing training and technical assistance to STATE agencies, and ensure that States provide training for sponsoring organizations, for the identification and prevention of fraud and abuse and program improvement.
• Requires USDA to develop, in consultation with State agencies and sponsoring organizations, a list of allowable administrative expenses for sponsoring organizations.
• Requires USDA to establish procedures, including requirements for corrective action and a right to a fair hearing, for terminating institutions and homes that have:

  1) engaged in unlawful practices, falsified information or concealed a criminals background, or
  2) substantially failed to fulfill the terms of its agreement with the State agency.

• Allows for the immediate termination of institutions or homes if the State agency determines that there is "imminent threat to the health and safety of a participant."
• Allows for the recovery of funds from institutions that have:

  1) engaged in fraud or abuse, or
  2) submitted an invalid claim for reimbursement.

• Specifies that such institutions will have the opportunity for a fair hearing prior to the recovery of funds.
• Requires USDA to maintain a list of institutions, homes and individuals that have been disqualified from participating in CACFP.
• Allows USDA to withhold funds from State Agencies for failure to provide sufficient training, technical assistance and monitoring.
• Establishes a 15% cap on the amount of administrative money a sponsoring organization can earn sponsoring centers. Permits State agencies to waive the limit if sponsoring organizations can justify additional costs.