FNS Documents & Resources

In order to ensure efficient and effective program delivery, this memorandum clarifies existing statutory, regulatory and policy guidance regarding the documentation required for a QC case file, second party reviews, state quality control requests for policy interpretations, and requirements for federal access to state systems.

The purpose of this memorandum is to revise guidance on the use of school and census data to establish area eligibility in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the At-Risk Afterschool component of CACFP, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option of the National School Lunch Program.

SNAP’s QC system uses a tolerance level to set the threshold for determining which errors are included in the national payment error rate calculation. For FY 2017, the tolerance threshold will remain at $38.

There are three components of the Quality Control (QC) system that are covered in this required information collection. They are: (1) The sampling plan; (2) the arbitration process; and (3) the good cause process. Each state is required to develop a sampling plan that demonstrates the integrity of its case selection procedures. 

This final rule establishes requirements for state agencies, local educational agencies, and schools operating the Community Eligibility Provision, a reimbursement option that allows the service of school meals to all children at no-cost in high poverty schools without collecting household applications.

The SNAP quality control system measures the accuracy of State eligibility and benefit determinations. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, QC's measurement of errors in cases that were denied, terminated and suspended was renamed from the negative error rate to the case and procedural error rate. The name change was accompanied by a new review process that takes into account customer service aspects of negative actions, such as timeliness and correctness of the notice, in addition to the accuracy of the determination.

This legislation directs USDA to carry out annual national performance assessments of the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Programs.

The CEP Characteristics Study will include surveys of nationally representative samples of participating and eligible non-participating LEAs to obtain updated information on the characteristics of participating and non-participating districts and schools. 

The purpose of the Performance Reporting System is to ensure that each state agency and project area is operating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in accordance with the Act, regulations, and the state agency's Plan of Operation.

The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PL 104-13.