A9~.'t : O<.o5'
Be a Sponsor
for Day Care Homes
in the Child Care Fo
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food & Nutrition Service
FNS-205
/
-'
., tfll't ..
e .
v
You can help young children get the meals
they need to grow healthy and strong. If you're
a public agency or private nonprofit organization,
you can help children in your community
by sponsoring licensed or approved family
or group day care homes in the USDA Child
Care Food Program.
The Child Care Food Program helps improve
the health and eating habits of preschool and
school-age children. Children at participating
homes receive meals which supply the nutrients
they need to keep them in good health. There
they have the opportunity to learn to eat and
enjoy a variety of nutritious foods.
A key link in the chain between Federal
assistance and local child care providers is the
sponsoring organization - the organization
that brings it all together for family day care
homes and the children they care for.
Sponsoring organizations get Federal funding
and technical assistance that can have a
, lasting effect on the quality of child care in
local communities. Day care homes are able
to give more meals or higher quality meals
to the children they care for. And sponsoring
organizations are able to expand their
." .A.. operations to homes that otherwise couldn't
~ benefit from their help.
Sponsoring organizations include
churches, community action
agencies, family day care
organizations, and units of State
or local governments - such as
social service or human
resource agencies.
To Participate
To participate in the Child Care Food Program as a
sponsoring organization, you have to be public, or private
and nonprofit. Private organizations must have Federal
tax-exernpt status or have applied to IRS for that status.
If you already operate another Federal program that requires
nonprofit status, you qualify for the program. You
must also have the administrative and financial capability
to operate the program.
Benefits
You can get financial benefits and technical help
when you participate in the Child Care Food Program.
Federal help comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). In
most States, the program is administered by the State
Department of Education. Where States don't administer
the program, FNS Regional Offices operate it directly.
Administrative money
Sponsoring organizations get funds to help cover
costs in administering the Child Care Food Program.
The amount of money you get each month depends on
the tqtal number of family or group day care homes that
operate under your sponsorship.
The amount you are paid is based on the lesser of:
1. Actual costs for administration.
2. An approved administrative budget.
3. A national formula based on the number of homes
you sponsor.
Startup money
Some sponsoring organizations can get money to pay
for the costs of starting the Child Care Food Program in
family or group day care homes. Ask the agency administering
the program in your State if you are eligible for
startup funds.
·,
i
Technical assistance
The administering agency can advise you on food service
operations in day care homes, managing program
funds, recordkeeping, and nutrition education. It can
give you advice on technical matters through workshops,
visits, newsletters and other publications, and phone
calls.
When you have a problem, or a question that needs
an answer, the administering agency is there to help
you .
Money for providers
Family and group day care home providers receive
payment for each meal they serve to enrolled children in
their care. Under the guidance of a sponsoring organization,
day care home providers need only keep daily
records of the number of children in attendance and the
number of meals, by type, served to children.
1
l
1
Your Responsibilities
As a sponsoring organization, you have a number of
responsibilities:
• Managing the food service programs in the homes
you sponsor.
• Keeping records of your administrative costs.
• Keeping records of enrollment, meals, and payments
for each of your homes.
• Filing monthly claims for reimbursement with your
administering agency and distributing payments to each
day care home.
• Training and visiting day
care providers and giving
them the advice and
he I p they need to
participate in the
program.
• Making sure that all
meals you claim meet
USDA meal
requirements.
• Responding to the
needs and problems of
your day care providers.
What are Fam.ily and
Group Day Care Hom.es?
Definitions in each State vary. But generally a family
day care home has one staff member who is licensed to
care for up to six children, including no more than two
of her own.
A group day care home generally has no more than 12
children enrolled under the care of two or more staff
members.
Day care homes must offer organized, nonresidential
day care, mostly to preschool children, in a private
home. They must have an approved sponsoring organization
and a written agreement with them that is approved
by the administering agency. And each home must meet
Federal, State, or local licensing or approval
standards. Your administering agency will help
you with this.
To locate family and group day care
homes that don't yet participate in the
Child Care Food Program, contact a
local community service agency
such as Departments of Welfare or
Social Services, or licensing
authorities. The administering agency ·
i•n your State also might be able to
give you information on homes in
your area.
~· ' -~
What are Family and
Group Day Care Providers
Responsibilities?
Providers must:
• Keep a daily attendance record for the enrolled
children.
• Keep a daily count of the meals they serve to all
enrolled children.
• Keep the menus of the meals they serve each day.
• Send all of these records to the sponsoring organization
at least once a month to receive reimbursement for
all the meals served to enrolled children.
• Let you know as soon as they have changes in enrollment
or licensing or approval status.
• Serve meals that meet USDA requirements.
Meals to Serve
Parents can be assured that their children in the Child
Care Food Program get balanced, nutritious meals
because day care providers must serve meals that meet
certain USDA meal patterns.
Day care homes can serve breakfast, lunch, supper,
and two snacks each day. The required meal patterns
include: • Breakfast Milk
Juice or fruit or vegetable
Bread or bread alternate
• Lunch and Milk
Supper Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables or fruits
Bread or bread alternate
• Snacks Milk
Meat or meat alternate
· ~ tl Fruit or vegetable or juice
.. , Bread or bread alternate
, (Snacks must have any two of the four
-~ ~ choices, except that milk and juice
can't be served in the same meal.)
There are special meal patterns for infants. The admin
istering agency can provide you with more information.
To Apply
For more information, contact the FNS Regional Office
for _your State as listed below. The Regional Office can
tell ·you whether the State Educational Agency or their
office administers the program.
The FNS Regions
Mountain Plains
New England Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
33 North Avenue
Burlington, Mass. 01803
Telephone: (617) 272-0861
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, Vermont
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
One Vahlsing Center
Robbinsville, N.J. 08691
Telephone: (609) 259-3041
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania,
Washington, D.C., Virginia,
West Virginia, Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands
Vlrglnlslllnda
Southeast Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1100 Spring Street, N.W.
Atlanta, Ga. 30309
Telephone: (404) 881-4911
Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee
Midwest Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
536 South Clark Street
Chicago, Ill. 60605
Telephone: (312) 353-6673
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Mountain Plains Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
2420 West 26th Avenue
Room 430-D
Denver, Colo. 80211
Telephone: (303) 837-5071
Colorado, Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
North Dakota, South Dakota,
Utah, Wyoming
Western Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
550 Kearny Street
San Francisco, Cal. 94108
Telephone: (415) 556-4256
Alaska, American Samoa,
Arizona, California, Guam,
Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada,
Oregon, Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands, Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana
Isla.n ds, Washington .
'A" U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1980 0- 62-4-327 ' 1633 REGION 3-1
The Child Care Food Program is
available to children regardless
of race, color, or national origin.
May 1980
1
d
Home Economics and Household Collection
