Home Reviews

Due to COVID-19, all Home Reviews in FY21 will be completed virtually.  All Reviews will be Off Site/Virtual

Important thing you can do for a successful off-site/virtual Home Review

Have your paperwork organized with copies of your

  • Permanent Agreement
  • Rights and Responsibilities/Annual Status Update
  • Current Child Enrollment Forms

Advise us of any changes to your scheduled meal service times and be current in your Minute Menu/KidKare Menus and Meal Counts. By entering your Minute Menu/KidKare Menu and Meal Counts DAILY, your Home Monitor can complete the Home Review Form with minimal interference to you and your Day Care activities!

Remember, you are responsible for notifying Clarendon’s field trip line, or calling your Home Monitor in advance whenever you and the children will be away from home during a schedule mealtime. Notify Clarendon or your Home Monitor in advance, if you will be on vacation or closed for any reason so Clarendon may update the “provider calendar” in Minute Menus/KidKare.  Your adherence to meal service times and closure notifications allows Clarendon to monitor your participation the CACFP as per your Permanent Agreement.

What you can expect during an Off-Site/Virtual Home Review

Your Home Monitor may or may not call you 10-15 minutes prior to your scheduled meal service time. They will ask you a few questions regarding your meal service. This will only take a few minutes. They will then schedule a follow-up time to complete the off-site/virtual home review at a time of your convenience. This part of the review will be completed via your choice of FaceTime or ZOOM.

Note: As a last resort, if no type of video conferencing is available, then a telephone call will be scheduled.

During an Off-Site/ Virtual Review, your monitor will

  • Ask where your daily or weekly dated menu(s) are posted.
  • Ask where your signed copies of most current Child Enrollment Forms for all children in your childcare are.
  • Review current month’s menus, recorded prior to meal service, and verify that the meal observed matches your menu.
  • Review current meal counts entered to date in Minute Menu/KidKare.
  • Ask where your copy of your CACFP Permanent Agreement is.
  • Ask where your copy of your current fiscal year Annual Enrollment Status Update is.
  • Ask where your “Building for the Future” poster is placed in view for parents.
  • Ask where EEC licenses are posted for you and current assistants working in your childcare.
  • Discuss your kitchen and food storage areas for general sanitation.
  • Ask for the temperature of your thermometers in refrigerators and freezers used for childcare.
  • Discuss expiration dates of refrigerated and dry storage foods.
  • Record all the children’s names present. Children that are present and claimed are validated during claims processing. Children listed as absent are not eligible for reimbursement for the observed meal.
  • Reconcile the past 5 days’ meal counts to your attendance records and enrollment information.
  • Record any assistants present.
  • Verify that you are within your EEC license capacity.
  • Verify that 1% or fat–free milk is being served to children over age 2, and whole milk to children ages 1-2, if part of meal service. 2% milk is not creditable for any age group.
  • Give you technical assistance or corrective actions on any menu or other CACFP compliance issues.
  • Answer questions and provide resources as needed.
  • Check that you are current on CACFP training requirements.
  • Ask if you have specific training needs.
  • Ask you to check information recorded, including attendance information, is accurate, before confirming the Home Review Report.

Remember to Maintain Daily

  • Copies of most Current Child Enrollment Forms completed and signed by parents for all infants and children in care including participating and non-participating children.
  • Menus that are planned and recorded before each meal service. These menus are to be dated and posted daily or weekly.
  • Meal counts, by each meal type claimed, supported by child enrollment forms, recorded by the end of your business day.
  • Daily attendance taken with in and out times that support your meal counts. The attendance record alone is not a meal count.

Failure to maintain required records may result in you being found seriously deficient in your operation of the CACFP and loss of reimbursement dollars.

Remember to Display (and keep on file)

  • The “Building for the Future” poster must be displayed in each home so parents are aware that the home is receiving federal assistance for serving meals that meet the nutrition requirements established by USDA
  • Your daily or weekly dated pre-planned menu
  • Your childcare license
  • License/approval of all assistants who are working in your childcare

 

The following documents must be on file for immediate review by your monitor, or representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and/or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These records must be kept in the childcare home and available during your business hours:

 

  • Copy of the Permanent CACFP Agreement
  • Copy of the Annual Enrollment Status Update for the current year
  • Current month Menus, Meal Counts, and Child Enrollment Forms
  • Copies of Home Review Reports for current fiscal year
  • Tier Status documentation, along with Copies of any approval letters for income eligibility or capacity changes
  • Medical Statement, if applicable
  • Any correspondence regarding the CACFP
  • Training certificates for you and any assistants

USDA regulations require that providers maintain the current fiscal year and the three prior years of CACFP records. Current year’s records are listed above; you may store the remaining years of records in a manner that is accessible within a reasonable amount of time and under your control. Records may be stored in hard copy or electronic format. Records available in both your home and Clarendon’s office allow DESE or USDA the ability to confirm the accuracy of records at both locations.
Any advertising of your childcare that references the CACFP must have the USDA non- discrimination disclaimer included. The disclaimer is included in the front of this training.   If the material is too small to print the full statement, you may include, in the same print size as the text: “This institution is an equal opportunity provider”.

REMEMBER

  • We need current information to process your claim quickly and accurately.
  • Explain a reason you are temporarily claiming a child outside the schedule we have on file.
  • Update any changes to your scheduled meal times.
  • Notify CEES when children no longer in your program so nutrition staff can withdraw them from your program.
  • A new Child Enrollment Form must be completed by the parent for any permanent changes to a child’s schedule.
  • Minute Menu/KidKare generated Child Enrollment Forms are NOT acceptable.
  • Notify CEES’s field trip line 781-275-2720 ext. 113 in advance if closed or away from premises during a meal service.

Changes to your Early Education and Care (EEC) License

  • You must send CEES a copy of any new license for you or an assistant as soon as you receive them from EEC.
  • Your assistants must complete this training so that they understand the obligations of CACFP record keeping. Assistants must be able to maintain and access CACFP records if you are away from the childcare home.