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Washington Update:
The Child and Adult Care Food Program Legislation Passes

This year, Congress passed bipartisan Child and Adult Care Food Program legislation designed to address integrity issues by improving program operations. The Administration set the stage for the passage of an integrity bill this year when the President's budget highlighted CACFP integrity legislation as part of plans for the Child Nutrition programs. The Office of the Secretary of Agriculture provided political assistance to help ensure the passage of CACFP legislation. Throughout the process USDA's child nutrition staff contributed their considerable CACFP program expertise to helping Congress understand the issues and possible solutions.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program community worked together effectively to help shape this legislation. The National CACFP Forum, the Sponsor's Association, the CACFP Professionals Association, the Children's Defense Fund and the Food Research and Action Center worked together to pursue shared goals for the program. The aim was to work toward balanced legislation that reflected the need to address CACFP integrity issues while maintaining access to the program. Everyone agreed on the need to attempt to target the bad apples in the program without unnecessarily limiting access to nutrition benefits for children.

Sponsors had a very successful meeting with the key congressional committee staff during the National CACFP Forum and Food Research and Action Center's annual conference in February 2000. This was an excellent opportunity for sponsors to communicate the value of CACFP and to offer recommendations for Congress to safeguard both program integrity and access. As always, sponsors were very effective communicators. Committee staff and sponsors engaged in a very thorough discussion of all the key integrity issues concerning CACFP. Everything that was raised as an area of concern at that meeting was resolved in the final legislation.

Throughout this process FRAC met with both the Senate and House committee staff and submitted a series of written comments and recommendations on the legislation, including the National CACFP Forum's Response To The Office of Inspector General Audit Report Recommendations. The final legislation addresses the issues raised by the Office of Inspector General's report without many of the most limiting and problematic provisions originally recommended. This was all accomplished without any damaging hearings (a fate we only narrowly averted) and the negative unbalanced media coverage the hearings would have generated. For additional information on the legislation please see attached summary. A copy of the bill is available through the Thomas web site under H.R.2559: The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, Title II. Agricultural Assistance, Subtitle E. Nutrition Programs, Section 243. Child and Adult Care Food Program Integrity. (The CACFP legislation is stuck in the middle of a gigantic farm bill -- if you get to the section on Boll Weevil Eradication you have gone too far.)

For more information, contact Geri Henchy at ghenchy@frac.org or (202) 986-2200 ext. 3018.

See Also FRAC's Special Analysis of Key CACFP Provisions of Bill