Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability (10.579)

Program

10.579 Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Office: Food and Nutrition Service

Authorization

Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1751, 1758, 1759a,1761, 1765, 1766, 1769, 1772, 1773, 1779; School Breakfast Program (SBP); Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, Public Laws 108-265, 104-193, 100-435, 99-661, 97-35; Special Milk Program (SMP); Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended; Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP); 89 Stat. 522-525, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

Program Number

10.579

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

NSLP: To assist States, through cash grants and food donations, in making the school lunch program available to school children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities. SBP: To assist States in providing a nutritious nonprofit breakfast service for school children, through cash grants and food donations. SMP: To provide subsidies to schools and institutions to encourage the consumption of fluid milk by children. CACFP: To assist States, through grants-in-aid and other means, to initiate and maintain nonprofit food service programs for children, elderly or impaired adults in nonresidential day care facilities and children in emergency shelters. SFSP: To assist States, through grants-in-aid and other means, to conduct nonprofit food service programs for low-income children during the summer months and at other approved times, when schools are out of session or are closed for vacation.

Types of Assistance

PROJECT GRANTS

Uses and Use Restrictions

Determined by the legislation providing the grants. Examples of grants in this category include the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-265) which authorized funds for State agencies to perform administrative reviews and training of selected local education agencies participating in the NSLP. The purpose of these funds is to improve program integrity and administrative accuracy by decreasing administrative errors in those local education agencies identified by the States as having problems or where problems are likely to arise. The funds cannot be used to replace or augment funding allocated for existing review requirements and they cannot be used for local level expenses associated with administrative reviews or training activities. In addition, P.L. 108-265 authorized funding for grants under the SFSP to increase participation at congregate feeding sites through innovative approaches for overcoming limited transportation resources in rural areas. These multi-year grants were awarded in December 2005 on a competitive basis to Mississippi (6 sponsors), New York (7 sponsors), Oregon (8 sponsors), Texas (2 sponsors), and West Virginia (7 sponsors). The projects may not comprise pre-award costs associated with the development of a grant application or the cost of obtaining food. Over the course of 3 years, $4 million will be available to the 5 States. Additional examples of grants in this category include the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 108-7) which provided funds for eligible schools to cover costs associated with implementing the SBP. The purpose of these grants was to increase the number of schools participating in the SBP, particularly those serving low-income children. The grants were used for State level costs associated with the administration of the SBP grant activities and local level costs that were allowable, reasonable, and necessary for an approved school to implement the SBP. The State agency could retain no more than 17.5% of the grant award for State level costs associated with the administration of the grant activities.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

State agencies administering Child Nutrition Programs, and other determinations made by legislation.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Determined by the legislation providing the grants.

Credentials/Documentation

Determined by the legislation providing the grants. For example, the SBP Grants under Public Law 108-7 earmarked funds for a specific State, with the remaining funds to be awarded competitively. Eleven States were identified that had less than 60 percent of their NSLP Schools participating in the SBP over the past 3 years. These States received an Application for SBP Start-up Grant Funds. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Instructions provided in Request for Application. An environmental impact statement is required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. Application package may be submitted electronically via www.grants.gov http://.grants.gov.

Award Procedure

A grant review technical panel objectively reviews all complete applications according to established review criteria provided in the Request for Applications and makes recommendations to Agency officials, who make final award decisions.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Determined by the legislation providing the grants.

Appeals

Determined by the legislation providing the grants.

Renewals

Determined by the legislation providing the grants. For example, a due date was established for the SBP and grants were awarded after review of all submissions by a selection panel from FNS and receipt of a Letter of Intent from the selected States. All State and local level SBP Grant funds had to be obligated by September 30, 2005 and expended by December 15, 2005.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Determined by the legislation providing the grants. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: by letter of credit.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," State governments that expend Federal financial assistance of $500,000 or more within any fiscal year shall have either a single audit or (in certain cases) a program specific audit made for that year. Audits may be conducted less frequently under conditions specified in A-133.

Records

State agencies must maintain records as necessary to support the use of Grant funds in accordance with the Grant Agreement. Such records must be retained for a period of 3 years after the date of submission of the final report for the fiscal year to which the records pertain, except that if audit findings have not been resolved, the records shall be retained beyond the three year period as long as required for the resolution of the issues raised by the audit.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: Not available at this time. Fiscal Year 2009: To be determined. Fiscal Year 2010: To be determined.

Financial Information

Account Identification

12-3539-0-1-605.

Obligations

(Salaries) FY 08 $3,206,404; FY 09 est $628,313; FY 10 est $7,000,000 - Availability limited based on eligibility requirements or duration by current year appropriations or authorizing legislation language and Agency priorities, determined by the legislation providing the grants.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

None available.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

7 CFR Part 3016, 7 CFR Part 3017, 7 CFR Part 3018. Determined by the legislation providing the grants.

Related Programs

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. See the Food and Nutrition Service Regional Offices listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office

Charles Okal Food and Nutrition Service, Financial Management
Grants Management Branch
3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302 Email: Charles.Okal@fns.usda.gov Phone: (703) 305-2854. Fax: 703 605 0363

Web Site Address

http://www.fns.usda.gov.

Examples of Funded Projects

Fiscal Year 2008: Not available. Fiscal Year 2009: None available. Fiscal Year 2010: None available.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Determined by the legislation providing the grants.