SUBCHAPTER 8200
APPROVAL OF NEW FAMILY DAY CARE HOME SPONSORS
8210 PURPOSE
The purpose of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
is to ensure that nutritious meals are available to children and adults in day
care settings. Federal regulations require that home day care providers
participate in the program through a sponsoring organization. This structure
assures that home day care providers receive the support, training and
monitoring needed to accomplish the goals of the program.
Sponsoring organizations can best provide these services
under the following conditions:
-- the organization has sufficient administrative capacity to
meet accounting, recordkeeping and monitoring requirements.
-- a variety of support and training services are made
available to providers which can enhance the home day care experience for
children and ensure compliance with day care and food program
regulations.
-- sponsoring organizations have specific areas to serve so
that competition among organizations for homes does not lead to interruptions
or duplication of service or poor compliance with program regulations and day
care providers have one local organization to deal with.
8220 PROCESS
Any new organization applying for sponsorship must
demonstrate a need for services in the requested geographic area.
Therefore, the approval process for new sponsors of family
day care homes in the CACFP shall be as follows:
8221. A potential new sponsor shall submit a
letter of request for an application to the Commissioner of Education
(hereinafter "Commissioner") which delineates the area the organization
proposes to serve.
8222. The
Commissioner or his or her designee shall inform current sponsors within ten
days that the letter of request for an application has been received.
8223. The applicant organization shall
complete a CACFP proposal (hereinafter "proposal"), on a form provided by the
Commissioner, which includes the following:
a. A list of at least 40 non-participating
home day care providers who are located in the service area described in the
letter of request and who have indicated that they wish to enlist in the
program, as well as copies of the 40 providers' day care registrations. In
addition, the applicant organization must demonstrate that the number of day
care homes they have potentially recruited represents a sufficient number to
make a viable sponsorship in light of the proposed structure of the applicant
organization.
b. Board of Directors
information including names, titles, and functions of members, proof of the
organization's tax exempt status, and copies of previous year's audit
summary.
c. Documentation of
financial and administrative capability for program operations including
information about the history of the organization's management of other federal
programs, if any.
d. A management
plan describing employee names, specific job descriptions, an organizational
chart, and a program budget.
e. A
description of general employment policies including office hours, hiring and
termination of employees, non-discrimination, and employee salary and benefit
levels.
f. A listing of proposed
CACFP policies including provider monitoring and corrective action,
non-discrimination, hearing/appeals procedures, meal disallowance, monitoring
and corrective action.
g. A plan
for outreach activities.
h. A plan
for training both staff and providers.
8224. Upon receipt of notification that a
letter of request for an application has been submitted, the Commissioner shall
notify all potentially affected sponsors in the area described by the
applicant. Any such sponsors may submit documentation regarding recruitment
history in the proposed area and the reasons for failure to enroll the
non-participating day care homes. This information shall be considered when the
proposal is evaluated.
8225. The
proposal shall be reviewed for completeness. If any item is incomplete, the
applicant shall be informed within 15 days, and the missing/incomplete
information requested.
8226. Once a
complete proposal has been submitted, it will be evaluated by a team of three
reviewers designated by the Commissioner. If the proposal meets the criteria
for approval, the organization shall be sent an agreement packet to
complete.
8227. The applicant and
potentially affected sponsors shall be notified of approval or disapproval
within 30 days of receipt of a completed proposal.
8230 CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL
Approval for a new day care home sponsor shall be based on
the applicant successfully documenting the following:
8231. The needs assessment demonstrates a
sufficient number of non-participating home providers in the proposed area to
warrant an additional sponsor.
8232. The applicant demonstrates the
administrative capacity to maintain the accounts necessary to receive federal
funds. Administrative capacity includes bookkeeping systems that meet federal
reporting requirements, office support and equipment, and previous experience
in managing public funds.
8233. The
applicant organization has sufficient personnel to provide the training,
monitoring, and recordkeeping required by the program.
8234. The applicant organization demonstrates
a thorough understanding of the requirements of CACFP and demonstrates
competency in menu planning, files management, day care licensing regulations,
the day care registration process, and provider review schedules.
8235. The applicant organization offers
additional services or benefits to the home care providers they propose to
sponsor and provides information about how these services improve the day care
climate, offer more support for children or enhance the likelihood of
compliance with regulations.
8240 ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW TERRITORIES
In approving a new sponsor, the Commissioner shall outline
the territory to be served either by using the service area described in the
application or a portion of it depending on the documentation of need. Once
this new territory has been defined, the following process shall be used to
realign sponsor areas to re-establish exclusive territories:
8241. Beginning ten days after the notice of
approval of the application, newly recruited homes in the new sponsor area
shall be sponsored by the new agency.
8242. Transfer of participating homes from an
existing sponsor to the appropriate new sponsor shall occur at the start of the
next federal fiscal year as part of the sponsor renewal process.
8243. Should the number of homes to be
transferred exceed 25, the transfer may be completed at the beginning of the
third federal fiscal year at the discretion of the sponsor from whom the homes
will be transferred.
8244. The new
sponsoring organization and other organizations affected by the approval may
agree to a mutually acceptable alternative timetable for transfer of homes, not
to exceed two years, so that administrative funds and staffing levels are
adjusted gradually.
8250
APPEAL PROCESS
An organization whose application for sponsorship is denied
or one affected by the approval of a new sponsor shall be given the opportunity
to appeal the decision.
8251. A
written notice of the action taken by the Commissioner shall be sent to the
applicant and all affected organizations.
8252. If an organization wishes to appeal the
decision it shall request an appeal in writing within 30 days of the notice of
action letter.
8253. The hearing
officer shall be the Commissioner of Education or his/her designee.
8254. The appeal procedure shall be as set
forth in Rule 1232 of the Vermont State Board of Education Manual of Rules and
Practices.
8260
DESIGNATION OF DAY CARE HOME SPONSORS AND TERRITORIES
The following day care home sponsors, until amended in
accordance with the procedures set forth herein, shall serve exclusively the
following service areas:
a.
Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Council: Bennington and Rutland
Counties.
b. Central Vermont
Community Action Council: Orleans County, Caledonia County with the exception
of the Town of Hardwick, Washington County, Orange County, and Windsor County
from Bridgewater to Woodstock and all north of Hartland.
c. Childcare Resource and Referral Service:
Chittenden County with the exception of the Town of Milton.
d. The Family Center: Franklin and Grand Isle
Counties and the Town of Milton.
e.
Lamoille Family Center: Lamoille County and the Town of Hardwick.
f. Mary Johnson Children's Center: Addison
County
g. Windham Child Care
Association: Windham County, Windsor County north to Plymouth, Reading, West
Windsor and Windsor inclusive.
