tier I family or group day care home
(3) Reimbursement of family or group day care home sponsoring organizations.— (A) Reimbursement factor.— (i) In general .— An institution that participates in the program under this section as a family or group day care home sponsoring organization shall be provided, for payment to a home sponsored by the organization, reimbursement factors in accordance with this subparagraph for the cost of obtaining and preparing food and prescribed labor costs involved in providing meals under this section. (ii) Tier i family or group day care homes.— (I) Definition of tier i family or group day care home .— In this paragraph, the term “tier I family or group day care home” means— (aa) a family or group day care home that is located in a geographic area, as defined by the Secretary based on census data, in which at least 50 percent of the children residing in the area are members of households whose incomes meet the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced price meals under section 1758 of this title ; (bb) a family or group day care home that is located in an area served by a school enrolling students in which at least 50 percent of the total number of children enrolled are certified eligible to receive free or reduced price school meals under this chapter or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.); or (cc) a family or group day care home that is operated by a provider whose household meets the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced price meals under section 1758 of this title and whose income is verified by the sponsoring organization of the home under regulations established by the Secretary. (II) Reimbursement .— Except as provided in subclause (III), a tier I family or group day care home shall be provided reimbursement factors under this clause without a requirement for documentation of the costs described in clause (i), except that reimbursement shall not be provided under this subclause for meals or supplements served to the children of a person acting as a family or group day care home provider unless the children meet the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced price meals under section 1758 of this title . (III) Factors .— Except as provided in subclause (IV), the reimbursement factors applied to a home referred to in subclause (II) shall be the factors in effect on July 1, 1996 . (IV) Adjustments .— The reimbursement factors under this subparagraph shall be adjusted on July 1, 1997 , and each July 1 thereafter, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for food at home for the most recent 12-month period for which the data are available. The reimbursement factors under this subparagraph shall be rounded to the nearest lower cent increment and based on the unrounded adjustment in effect on June 30 of the preceding school year. (iii) Tier ii family or group day care homes.— (I) In general.— (aa) Factors .— Except as provided in subclause (II), with respect to meals or supplements served under this clause by a family or group day care home that does not meet the criteria set forth in clause (ii)(I), the reimbursement factors shall be 95 cents for lunches and suppers, 27 cents for breakfasts, and 13 cents for supplements. (bb) Adjustments .— The factors shall be adjusted on July 1, 1997 , and each July 1 thereafter, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for food at home for the most recent 12-month period for which the data are available. The reimbursement factors under this item shall be rounded down to the nearest lower cent increment and based on the unrounded adjustment for the preceding 12-month period. (cc) Reimbursement .— A family or group day care home shall be provided reimbursement factors under this subclause without a requirement for documentation of the costs described in clause (i), except that reimbursement shall not be provided under this subclause for meals or supplements served to the children of a person acting as a family or group day care home provider unless the children meet the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced price meals under section 1758 of this title . (II) Other factors .— A family or group day care home that does not meet the criteria set forth in clause (ii)(I) may elect to be provided reimbursement factors determined in accordance with the following requirements: (aa) Children eligible for free or reduced price meals .— In the case of meals or supplements served under this subsection to children who are members of households whose incomes meet the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced price meals under section 1758 of this title , the family or group day care home shall be provided reimbursement factors set by the Secretary in accordance with clause (ii)(III). (bb) Ineligible children .— In the case of meals or supplements served under this subsection to children who are members of households whose incomes do not meet the income eligibility guidelines, the family or group day care home shall be provided reimbursement factors in accordance with subclause (I). (III) Information and determinations.— (aa) In general .— If a family or group day care home elects to claim the factors described in subclause (II), the family or group day care home sponsoring organization serving the home shall collect the necessary income information, as determined by the Secretary, from any parent or other caretaker to make the determinations specified in subclause (II) and shall make the determinations in accordance with rules prescribed by the Secretary. (bb) Categorical eligibility .— In making a determination under item (aa), a family or group day care home sponsoring organization may consider a child participating in or subsidized under, or a child with a parent participating in or subsidized under, a federally or State supported child care or other benefit program with an income eligibility limit that does not exceed the eligibility standard for free or reduced price meals under section 1758 of this title to be a child who is a member of a household whose income meets the income eligibility guidelines under section 1758 of this title . (cc) Factors for children only .— A family or group day care home may elect to receive the reimbursement factors prescribed under clause (ii)(III) solely for the children participating in a program referred to in item (bb) if the home elects not to have income statements collected from parents or other caretakers. (dd) Transmission of income information by sponsored family or group day care homes .— If a family or group day care home elects to be provided reimbursement factors described in subclause (II), the family or group day care home may assist in the transmission of necessary household income information to the family or group day care home sponsoring organization in accordance with the policy described in item (ee). (ee) Policy .— The Secretary shall develop a policy under which a sponsored family or group day care home described in item (dd) may, under terms and conditions specified by the Secretary and with the written consent of the parents or guardians of a child in a family or group day care home participating in the program, assist in the transmission of the income information of the family to the family or group day care home sponsoring organization. (IV) Simplified meal counting and reporting procedures .— The Secretary shall prescribe simplified meal counting and reporting procedures for use by a family or group day care home that elects to claim the factors under subclause (II) and by a family or group day care home sponsoring organization that sponsors the home. The procedures the Secretary prescribes may include 1 or more of the following: (aa) Setting an annual percentage for each home of the number of meals served that are to be reimbursed in accordance with the reimbursement factors prescribed under clause (ii)(III) and an annual percentage of the number of meals served that are to be reimbursed in accordance with the reimbursement factors prescribed under subclause (I), based on the family income of children enrolled in the home in a specified month or other period. (bb) Placing a home into 1 of 2 or more reimbursement categories annually based on the percentage of children in the home whose households have incomes that meet the income eligibility guidelines under section 1758 of this title , with each such reimbursement category carrying a set of reimbursement factors such as the factors prescribed under clause (ii)(III) or subclause (I) or factors established within the range of factors prescribed under clause (ii)(III) and subclause (I). (cc) Such other simplified procedures as the Secretary may prescribe. (V) Minimum verification requirements .— The Secretary may establish any minimum verification requirements that are necessary to carry out this clause. (B) Administrative funds.— (i) In general .— In addition to reimbursement factors described in subparagraph (A), a family or group day care home sponsoring organization shall receive reimbursement for the administrative expenses of the sponsoring organization in an amount that is not less than the product obtained each month by multiplying— (I) the number of family and group day care homes of the sponsoring organization submitting a claim for reimbursement during the month; by (II) the appropriate administrative rate determined by the Secretary. (ii) Annual adjustment .— The administrative reimbursement levels specified in clause (i) shall be adjusted July 1 of each year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor for the most recent 12-month period for which such data are available. (iii) Carryover funds .— The Secretary shall develop procedures under which not more than 10 percent of the amount made available to sponsoring organizations under this section for administrative expenses for a fiscal year may remain available for obligation or expenditure in the succeeding fiscal year. (C) (i) Reimbursement for administrative expenses shall also include start-up funds to finance the administrative expenses for such institutions to initiate successful operation under the program and expansion funds to finance the administrative expenses for such institutions to expand into low-income or rural areas. Institutions that have received start-up funds may also apply at a later date for expansion funds. Such start-up funds and expansion funds shall be in addition to other reimbursement to such institutions for administrative expenses. Start-up funds and expansion funds shall be payable to enable institutions satisfying the criteria of subsection (d) of this section, and any other standards prescribed by the Secretary, to develop an application for participation in the program as a family or group day care home sponsoring organization or to implement the program upon approval of the application. Such start-up funds and expansion funds shall be payable in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Secretary. The amount of start-up funds and expansion funds payable to an institution shall be not less than the institution’s anticipated reimbursement for administrative expenses under the program for one month and not more than the institution’s anticipated reimbursement for administrative expenses under the program for two months. (ii) Funds for administrative expenses may be used by family or group day care home sponsoring organizations to assist unlicensed family or group day care homes in becoming licensed. (D) Limitations on ability of family or group day care homes to transfer sponsoring organizations.— (i) In general .— Subject to clause (ii), a State agency shall limit the ability of a family or group day care home to transfer from a sponsoring organization to another sponsoring organization more frequently than once a year. (ii) Good cause .— The State agency may permit or require a family or group day care home to transfer from a sponsoring organization to another sponsoring organization more frequently than once a year for good cause (as determined by the State agency), including circumstances in which the sponsoring organization of the family or group day care home ceases to participate in the child and adult care food program. (E) Provision of data to family or group day care home sponsoring organizations.— (i) Census data .— The Secretary shall provide to each State agency administering a child and adult care food program under this section data from the most recent decennial census survey or other appropriate census survey for which the data are available showing which areas in the State meet the requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)(aa). The State agency shall provide the data to family or group day care home sponsoring organizations located in the State. (ii) School data.— (I) In general .— A State agency administering the school lunch program under this chapter or the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) shall provide to approved family or group day care home sponsoring organizations a list of schools serving elementary school children in the State in which not less than ½ of the children enrolled are certified to receive free or reduced price meals. The State agency shall collect the data necessary to create the list annually and provide the list on a timely basis to any approved family or group day care home sponsoring organization that requests the list. (II) Use of data from preceding school year .— In determining for a fiscal year or other annual period whether a home qualifies as a tier I family or group day care home under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), the State agency administering the program under this section, and a family or group day care home sponsoring organization, shall use the most current available data at the time of the determination. (iii) Duration of determination .— For purposes of this section, a determination that a family or group day care home is located in an area that qualifies the home as a tier I family or group day care home (as the term is defined in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)), shall be in effect for 5 years (unless the determination is made on the basis of census data, in which case the determination shall remain in effect until more recent census data are available) unless the State agency determines that the area in which the home is located no longer qualifies the home as a tier I family or group day care home.