CACFP Resources Index

This Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Resources Index page provides an extensive list of helpful resources and guidance for current and prospective CACFP operators and family day care home providers. In addition to accessing resources from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) CACFP homepage, program operators will be able to locate more information and resources to assist with their CACFP operations provided by topic/category listed below.

Child and Adult Care Food Program
Operations and Support
Program Guidance
CACFP Meal Patterns
Fiscal and Reimbursements
Procurement
Training and Professional Development
CACFP Bulletins
Archived Management Bulletins
Program Data
Other Nutrition Programs
Grants and Funding Opportunities
Contact Us

Child and Adult Care Food Program

Title	Description
About CACFP	General information about CACFP program operations and support.
How to Apply to the CACFP	How to apply to participate in the CACFP.
CACFP Information for Operators (Print Brochure)	Printable brochure overview of the CACFP in California for operators.
CACFP Information for Operators (Accessible Pamphlet)	Accessible pamphlet overview of the CACFP in California for operators.
CACFP Information for Families (Print Brochure)	Printable brochure overview of the CACFP in California for families.
CACFP Information for Families (Accessible Pamphlet)	Accessible pamphlet overview of the CACFP in California for families.
CACFP Satisfaction Survey	The CACFP Satisfaction Survey is an anonymous online survey designed to assist in evaluating the CACFP Branch’s ability to provide support and communicate information to CACFP participants in multiple CACFP service areas.

Operations and Support

Title	Description
Child and Adult Care Food Program Contact List	List of contacts for CACFP program specialists.
CACFP Center Sites	A list of existing locations that operate the CACFP, by county.
CACFP Day Care Home Sponsors	A list of existing locations of Day Care Home Sponsors, by county.
CACFP Civil Rights	USDA policies and procedures about nondiscrimination in the administration of the child nutrition programs.
CACFP COVID-19 Information	Information about operating the CACFP program during the COVID 19 pandemic.
CACFP - Stay Connected Quarterly Webinar	Provides webinar information, including registration for quarterly webinar. The purpose of the webinar is to engage the CACFP community in an effort to promote excellence in the operation of local CACFP programs.
CACFP Waivers	Includes resources, claiming and reimbursement information, policy guidance, and contacts for all disasters that affect the CACFP.
CACFP Webinar Resources	Provides resources that were shared during the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) —Stay Connected Quarterly Webinars.
CACFP Week	CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually during the third week of March by the National CACFP Sponsors Association.
Child and Adult Care Food Program: Appeal Process	Outlines the procedure for operators that wish to appeal actions taken by the CDSS.
Child and Adult Care Food Program: Appealable Actions	Provides examples as well as the regulatory language that defines each appealable action.
Child Nutrition: Program Integrity Final Rule	CDSS Implementation Status of the Program Integrity Final Rule.
Impact of Guaranteed Income on CACFP Income Calculations	Income from a guaranteed income program and calculating household income on meal benefit forms.
National Disqualified List	Information about the process for placing CACFP operators on the USDA National Disqualified List.
News, Events, & Webinars	Information about CACFP announcements, listservs, and webinars. Also, information to sign up to receive program information and announcements.
Participants and Families	Resources for participants receiving meals through the CACFP and their households.
Serious Deficiency Process: Corrective Action Plan for Program Operators	The CACFP serious deficiency process and corrective action plan for CACFP operators.
Serious Deficiency Process and Corrective Action Plan for Day Care Home Sponsors	The CACFP serious deficiency process and corrective action plan for Day Care Home (DCH) Sponsors.
USDA Waiver Requests	USDA waiver requests to operate the CACFP program.

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Program Guidance

Title	Description
Assembly Bill (AB) 558 School Meals	Program specific guidance on providing meals to nonschoolaged children.
CACFP Address Changes	Describes the process for submitting a change of address for program operators to the CDSS.
CACFP Handbooks	USDA CACFP Handbooks that are periodically updated to reflect changes to the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
CACFP Administrative Manual	Home page for the online manual for program operators to administer the CACFP.
CACFP Manual Terms, Definitions, and Acronyms	Terms, definitions, and acronyms found in the CACFP Manual.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.1	Program eligibility information.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.2	Description of parties responsible for the administration of the CACFP program.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.3	Definition of the two types of agreement programs use to administer the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.4	Identifies licensing requirements for programs administering the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.5	Requirements for other Centers to administer the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.6	CACFP Administrative Manual Section 1.6 Requirements for program ability to operate the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 2.1	Requirements to document and maintain participant enrollment numbers in the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 2.2	Age and residency requirements for CACFP participants.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 2.3	Requirements for Day Care Home provider eligibility.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 3.1	How to determine Child Care Center reimbursement.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 3.2	How to determine At-Risk afterschool centers and emergency shelters reimbursement.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 3.3	How to determine Adult Day Care Center reimbursement.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 4.1	How to determine Day Care Home reimbursement.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 4.2	How to determine Day Care Home reimbursement using area eligibility.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 4.3	How to determine Day Care Home reimbursement using income or categorical eligibility.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 4.4	How to determine Day Care Home reimbursement for Tier II.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 5.1	Instructions to submit claims for reimbursement for the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 6.1	Financial management, process, and information about budgets.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 6.2	Financial management, centers allowable expenses.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 6.3	Financial management, expenditure tracking and nonprofit food service status.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 6.4	Financial management, Day Care Home financial management.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 6.5	Financial management, Calculation of the Administrative Funding for Family Day Care Home Sponsoring Organizations.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 7.1	General information about procurement in the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 8.1	General information about meal patterns in the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 9.1	How to document and credit meals in the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 9.2	Preparing meals in the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 10.1	Identifies meal service types in the CACFP program.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 11.1	Civil rights requirements and definitions in the CACFP.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 12.1	Training requirements for CACFP programs.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 13.1	Day Care Home and Center sponsor responsibilities.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 14.1	Record keeping standards for Centers.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 14.2	Record keeping standards for Day Care Homes.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 15.1	Definition and remediation of Serious Deficiency review findings for program operators.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 15.2	Serious deficiency process for Day Care Home Providers.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 16.1	Administrative review process-analyzing the menu for the month of the administrative review.
CACFP Administrative Manual Section 16.2	Administrative review process-analyzing meals served on the day of the meal observation.
CACFP Administrative Review	Information and guidance on Administrative Review for all CACFP adult and childcare centers, emergency shelters, at-risk afterschool programs, and sponsoring organizations. Contains a current list of agencies to be reviewed within the fiscal year.
Collection of Race and Ethnicity Data by Visual Observation and Identification: Frequently Asked Questions	Frequently asked questions regarding the collection of race and ethnicity data in the CACFP.
Procurement Regulations	Federal regulations applicable to procurement in the CACFP.

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CACFP Meal Patterns and Crediting

Information and resources to assist Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators in understanding and implementing CACFP meal patterns requirements can be found on the web pages listed in table below.

Title	Description
CACFP Meal Patterns	Comprehensive information on the CACFP meal patterns; includes access to infant, child, and adult meal patterns charts, policy guidance, and related resources.
CACFP Fluid Milk Exemption Requests	Provides guidance on requesting a fluid milk exemption during a temporary or continuing emergency.
Crediting Grains as Oz Eq for Infants	Information on crediting grains as ounce equivalents (oz eq) for infants.
Crediting Grains Using Ounce Equivalents	Provides information to assist CACFP operators serving children and adults to understand how to credit grains as ounce equivalents
Crediting Luncheon and Processed M/MA in the CACFP	Guidance on how to determine whether a luncheon meat and other processed meat products are creditable toward the M/MA component in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) CACFP meal patterns.
Crediting Smoothies in the CACFP	Provides smoothie recipes and guidance on crediting fruit, vegetable, fluid milk, and yogurt smoothies served as part of reimbursable meals and snacks in the CACFP.
Determining Creditable Cheeses in the CACFP	Guidance for serving creditable cheeses in the CACFP.
Determining Creditable Grain Products in the CACFP	Provides guidance on crediting grain products in the CACFP.
Determining Whole Grain-rich Products in the CACFP	Guidance for identifying Whole Grain-rich products in the CACFP.
Documenting a Menu with Serving Sizes	Provides guidance to child care and adult day care centers on documenting serving sizes on menus.
FBG Yield Tables and In-House Study Instructions	Provides guidance on how to conduct and submit to the CDSS an in-house yield study to verify the yield for a product when it differs from the yield, or is not included, in the Food Buying Guide (FBG).
Introducing Solids to Infants in the CACFP	Provides guidance on assessing an infant's developmental readiness for solid foods.
Long Description for Figure 1: Grains Flowchart	Details for Figure 1. Flowchart 1, in the Flowchart for Determining Creditable Grain Products in the CACFP (PDF).
Long Description for Figure 2: Grains Flowchart	Details for Figure 2. Flowchart 2, in the Flowchart for Determining Creditable Grain Products in the CACFP (PDF).
Meal Modifications in the CACFP	Provides guidance on how to accommodate meal modifications for participants with disabilities and dietary preferences.
RTE Breakfast Cereal Categories: Flakes, Rounds, Puffed, and Granola	Provides guidance on the amount of ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereal in each cereal category (flakes, rounds, puffed, and granola) that CACFP operators must provide to meet the minimum serving size requirements for the grains components.
The Use of Share Tables	Guidance regarding the use of share tables in the CACFP.
Tofu and Soy Yogurt in the CACFP	Provides information on how to credit tofu and soy yogurt in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
USDA Food Buying Guide Calculator Steps	Provides log in information and step-by-step instructions on using the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Buying Guide (FBG) Calculator.

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Fiscal and Reimbursements

Title	Description
CACFP Address Changes	Instructions for submitting CACFP Address Changes, including address change request and payee data record forms
CACFP Late Claims	CACFP policies and procedures for submitting late claims.
CACFP Reimbursement Claims and Grants	Claim submission instructions, reimbursement rates, and other financial & funding resources.
CACFP Reimbursement Rates	Reimbursement rates for centers and day care homes.
Calculation of Administrative Funding for Family Day Care Home Sponsoring Organizations	Information on the method for calculating administrative payments for Family Day Care Home Sponsoring Organizations.
Claim Submission Deadlines	Claim submission deadlines.
Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) (external)	The CNIPS is an online system for sponsors of federal food programs to submit and track the status of their applications, claims, changes, and commodity requests.
Free or Reduced-Price Meal (Student Poverty) Data (external)	CNPs data and statistics, including county profiles, free and reduced-price meals data, school meal nutrition analysis, and summer meal service sites.
Procedures for Unused Federal Administrative Payments	DCH sponsors use these procedures for retaining or returning unused federal administrative payments.
Reimbursement Claims Resources	Information to assist sponsors with timely claims processing via the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS).
Returning Uncashed Day Care Home Provider and Sponsored Center Reimbursement Funds	Process to return unused reimbursement fund checks.
USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines (external)	Income eligibility scales for the current program year.

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Procurement

Title	Description
California Public Contract Code Sections 20110-20118	Information about changes to the public contract code regarding procurement for public school districts.
Community Procurement Unit	Procurement homepage.
Federal Micro-Purchase and Small Purchase Thresholds	Information about the federal micro and small purchase thresholds in child nutrition programs.
Market Basket Analysis-Procuring Goods and Modifying Contracted-for Product Lists	Information and guidance regarding the methodology to conduct a market basket analysis.
Procurement Communications	Communications relative to procurement in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Procurement Documents	Documents regarding procurement in the CACFP.
Procurement Frequently Asked Questions	Questions and Answers to aid Operators to understand the procurement standards statutes and regulations.
Procurement Methods	Description of procurement methods available for use in the CACFP.
Procurement Regulations	Federal regulations applicable to procurement in the CACFP.
Procurement - USDA Policy Guidance	USDA policies regarding procurement in the CACFP programs.
Procurement Geographic Preference Q and A - Part II	Application of the geographic preference option to procure unprocessed locally grown or raised agriculture products.
Procuring Local Meat, Poultry, Game, and Eggs for Child Nutrition Programs	Guidance to procure local meat, poultry, game, and eggs for child nutrition programs.
Purchasing Goods and Services Using Cooperative Agreements, Agents, and Third-Party Services	Procurement guidance for using cooperative agreements, agents, and third party services.
Written Codes of Conduct and Performance of Employees Engaged in Award and Administration of Contracts	Information about creating a written code of conduct for employees engaged in procurement activities.

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Training and Professional Development

Title	Description
CACFP Training	Provides information for CACFP operators on required and optional (elective) training, as well as additional training opportunities.
CDSS Bright Track (BT) Online CACFP Training	A catalog of online courses for key staff at CACFP institutions in California. Refer to the CACFP Training web page for a definition of key staff who can create a BT account.

CACFP Bulletins

Access list of current CACFP bulletins on the Child and Adult Care Food Program Bulletins web page.

Archived Management Bulletins

This Archived Management Bulletins - Child and Adult Care Food Program web page includes archived bulletins and are not current CACFP guidance and should be used for historical reference purposes only.

Program Data

Title	Description
Child and Adult Care Food Program Data and County Reports	Provides CACFP data and statistics, including county profile reports.
CACFP Data Requests	CACFP Data Request Center. Here you will find everything you need to make a data request.

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Other Nutrition Programs

Title	Description
California's Farm to CACFP Initiative	Gardening resources, training, funding opportunities, food safety guidance, and policy to help CACFP operators start and sustain a garden at their site.
California Farm to CACFP Data	Information about the data collected to measure implementation efforts of the California Farm to CACFP Initiative.
Preschools SHINE Program	Information on the Preschools Shaping Healthy Impressions through Nutrition and Exercise (SHINE) Program, which is a voluntary recognition program.
SHINE Element 1: Participation in the CACFP	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 1 (required), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 2: Promoting Quality Meals	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 2 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 3: Mealtime Environment	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 3 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 4: Nutrition Education	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 4 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 5: Edible Gardening	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 5 (elective) of, the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 6: Physical Activity	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 6 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 7: Professional Development	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 7 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 8: Wellness Policies	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 8 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 9: Partnerships	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 9 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.
SHINE Element 10: Leadership Team	Guidance for implementing the criteria for Element 10 (elective), of the Preschools SHINE program.