[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37087-37089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17407]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Child and Adult Care Food Program: National Average Payment 
Rates, Day Care Home Food Service Payment Rates, and Administrative 
Reimbursement Rates for Sponsoring Organizations of Day Care Homes for 
the Period July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the annual adjustments to: The national 
average payment rates for meals and supplements served in child care 
centers, outside-school-hours care centers, at-risk afterschool care 
centers, and adult day care centers; the food service payment rates for 
meals and supplements served in day care homes; and the administrative 
reimbursement rates for sponsoring organizations of day care homes, to 
reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Further adjustments are 
made to these rates to reflect the higher costs of providing meals in 
the States of Alaska and Hawaii. The adjustments contained in this 
notice are made on an annual basis each July, as required by the 
statutes and regulations governing the Child and Adult Care Food 
Program (CACFP).

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Rothstein, Section Chief, 
Child and Adult Care and Summer Programs Section, Policy and Program 
Development Branch, Child Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition 
Service, USDA, Alexandria Virginia, 22302, (703) 305-2620.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Definitions

    The terms used in this notice shall have the meanings ascribed to 
them in the regulations governing the CACFP (7 CFR Part 226).

Background

    Pursuant to sections 4, 11 and 17 of the National School Lunch Act 
(NSLA) (42 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1753, 1759a and 1766), section 4 of the 
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) (42 U.S.C. 1773) and Secs. 226.4, 
226.12 and 226.13 of the regulations governing the CACFP (7 CFR part 
226), notice is hereby given of the new payment rates for institutions 
participating in CACFP. These rates shall be in effect during the 
period July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000.
    As provided for under the NSLA and the CNA, all rates in the CACFP 
must be revised annually on July 1 to reflect changes in the Consumer 
Price Index (CPI) for the most recent 12-month period. In accordance 
with this mandate, the Department last published the adjusted national 
average payment rates for centers, the food service payment rates for 
day care homes, and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsors 
of day care homes on July 2, 1998 at 63 FR 36205 (for the period July 
1, 1998-June 30, 1999). A subsequent notice was published on July 13, 
1998 at 63 FR 37628 to correct printing errors in the original notice.
    Section 103(b) of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition 
Reauthorization Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-336, enacted October 31, 1998, 
amended section 11(a)(3)(B) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1759a(a)(3)(B)) 
and changed the method of computing the annual adjustments to the 
reimbursement rates for free and reduced-price meals and supplements 
served in centers participating in CACFP. Effective July 1, 1999, the 
amendment requires that operating reimbursement rates for meals and 
supplements served in centers be rounded down to the nearest lower 
whole cent. This complements the amendment made by section 704(b) of 
the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 
1996, Pub. L. 104-193, enacted August 22, 1996, which changed the 
method of computing the paid meal reimbursements in centers, and the 
reimbursements for all meals served in CACFP family day care homes. 
With the amendment described within section 103(b), all reimbursement 
rates for meals served in CACFP will be adjusted and then rounded down 
to the nearest lower whole cent.
    Section 708(e)(1) of Pub. L. 104-193 also amended section 
17(f)(3)(A) of the NSLA to establish two ``tiers'' of day care homes 
and reimbursement rates. Tier I homes are homes located in low-income 
areas or homes in which the provider's household income is at or below 
185 percent of the Federal income poverty guidelines. Tier II homes are 
those homes which do not meet the location or provider income criteria 
for a tier I home. However, tier II homes may receive the tier I rates 
for meals served to identified income-eligible children (i.e. children 
from households with incomes at or below 185 percent of the Federal 
income poverty guidelines).
    Pub. L. 104-193 further specified in section 17(f)(3)(A)(ii)(III) 
and (IV) the reimbursement factors for meals served in tier I day care 
homes as the factors in effect on July 1, 1996, with adjustments made 
to the factors on July 1, 1997, and each July 1 thereafter. Pub. L. 
104-193 further provided in section 17(f)(3)(A)(ii)(IV) and 
17(f)(3)(A)(iii)(I)(bb) (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(3)(A)(ii)(IV) and 
1766(f)(3)(A)(iii)(I)(bb)) of the NSLA that the factors paid to tier I 
and tier II homes be rounded down to the nearest whole cent, instead of 
rounding the factors up or down to the nearest quarter-cent increment 
as previously required. Subsequent adjustments must be based on the 
unrounded rate from the preceding school year. In addition, annual 
adjustments, which were previously based on changes in the CPI for food 
away from home, must now be made based on the CPI for food at home.
    Please note that reimbursement rates for tier II family day care 
homes are set forth in section 17(f)(3)(A)(iii)(I)(aa) of the NSLA (42 
U.S.C. 1766(f)(3)(A)(iii)(I)(aa)), as amended by section 708(e)(1) of 
Pub. L. 104-193. After these reimbursement rates were adjusted and 
rounded down to the nearest whole cent as required under the law, an 
additional six cents was added to the breakfast rate as required by 
section 4(b)(3) of the CNA of 1966, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1773(b)(3)). 
The CNA requires that all reimbursement rates for breakfasts served 
under the School Breakfast Program and the CACFP be adjusted upward by 
six cents. As background, this addition was first made in 1986, under 
Pub. L. 99-500, the School Lunch and Child Nutrition Amendments of 
1986, which added three cents to adjusted breakfast rates to assist 
States in improving the nutritional quality of the breakfasts. This 
adjustment was raised from three cents to six cents in 1989 under Pub. 
L. 101-147, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 1989, 
for the same reason.
    The payment rates for the period July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000 are:

[[Page 37088]]



      Meals Served in Centers--All States Except Alaska and Hawaii
         [Per meal rates in whole or fractions of U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Reduced
          Type of meal served               Paid      price       Free
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast..............................       0.21       0.79       1.09
Lunch and Supper \1\...................       0.19       1.58       1.98
Supplement.............................       0.05       0.27      0.54
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These rates do not include the value of commodities (or cash-in-lieu
  of commodities) which institutions receive as additional assistance
  for each lunch or supper served to participants under the program. A
  notice announcing the value of commodities and cash-in-lieu of
  commodities is published separately in the Federal Register.


   Meals Served in Day Care Homes--All States Except Alaska and Hawaii
         [Per meal rates in whole or fractions of U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Type of meal served                   Tier I    Tier II
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast.........................................       0.92       0.34
Lunch and Supper..................................       1.69       1.02
Supplement........................................       0.50       0.13
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Administrative Reimbursement Rates--All States Except Alaska and Hawaii
            [For sponsoring organizations of day care homes]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Rate per
                       Number of homes                            home
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial 50...................................................         78
Next 150.....................................................         59
Next 800.....................................................         46
Each Additional..............................................         41
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to section 12(f) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C 1760(f)), the 
Department adjusts the payment rates for participating institutions in 
the States of Alaska and Hawaii. The new payment rates for Alaska are 
as follows:

                     Meals Served in Centers--Alaska
         [Per meal rates in whole or fractions of U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Reduced
             Type of meal served                 Paid     price    Free
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast....................................     0.30     1.44     1.74
Lunch and Supper \1\.........................     0.30     2.81     3.21
Supplement...................................     0.08     0.44    0.88
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These rates do not include the value of commodities (or cash-in-lieu
  of commodities) which institutions receive as additional assistance
  for each lunch or supper served to participants under the program. A
  notice announcing the value of commodities and cash-in-lieu of
  commodities is published separately in the Federal Register.


                 Meals Served in Day Care Homes--Alaska
         [Per meal rates in whole or fractions of U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Type of meal served                    Tier I  Tier II
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast.............................................     1.45     0.52
Lunch and Supper......................................     2.73     1.65
Supplement............................................     0.81     0.22
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Administrative Reimbursement Rates--Alaska
[For sponsoring organizations of day care homes per home/per month rates
                            in U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Rate per
                      Number of homes                            home
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial 50.................................................          126
Next 150...................................................           96
Next 800...................................................           75
Each Additional............................................           66
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The new payment rates for Hawaii are as follows:

                     Meals Served in Centers--Hawaii
         [Per meal rates in whole or fractions of U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Reduced
          Type of meal served               Paid      price       Free
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast..............................       0.23       0.97       1.27
Lunch and supper \1\...................       0.22       1.92       2.32
Supplement.............................       0.05       0.31      0.63
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These rates do not include the value of commodities (or cash-in-lieu
  of commodities) which institutions receive as additional assistance
  for each lunch or supper served to participants under the program. A
  notice announcing the value of commodities and cash-in-lieu of
  commodities is published separately in the Federal Register.


                 Meals Served in Day Care Homes--Hawaii
         [Per meal rates in whole or fractions of U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Type of meal served                   Tier I    Tier II
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast.........................................       1.06       0.39
Lunch and Supper..................................       1.97       1.19
Supplement........................................       0.58       0.16
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Administrative Reimbursement Rates--Hawaii
[For sponsoring organizations of day care homes per home/per month rates
                            in U.S. dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Rate per
                      Number of homes                            home
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial 50.................................................           91
Next 150...................................................           69
Next 800...................................................           54
Each Additional............................................           48
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The changes in the national average payment rates for centers 
reflect a 2.49 percent increase during the 12-month period, May 1998 to 
May 1999, (from 160.6 in May 1998 to 164.6 in May 1999) in the food 
away from home series of the CPI for All Urban Consumers.
    The changes in the food service payment rates for day care homes 
reflect a 1.99 percent increase during the 12-month period, May 1998 to 
May 1999, (from 160.7 in May 1998 to 163.9 in May 1999) in the food at 
home series of the CPI for All Urban Consumers.
    The changes in the administrative reimbursement rates for 
sponsoring organizations of day care homes reflect a 2.09 percent 
increase during the 12-month period, May 1998 to May 1999,

[[Page 37089]]

(from 162.8 in May 1998 to 166.2 in May 1999) in the series for all 
items of the CPI for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
    The total amount of payments available to each State agency for 
distribution to institutions participating in the program is based on 
the rates contained in this notice.
    This action is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from the provisions of that 
Act. This notice has been determined to be exempt under Executive Order 
12866.
    This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.558 and is subject to the provisions of 
Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation 
with State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, and 
final rule related notice published at 48 FR 29114, June 24, 1983.)
    This notice imposes no new reporting or recordkeeping provisions 
that are subject to Office of Management and Budget review in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3518).

    Authority: Secs. 4(b)(2), 11a, 17(c) and 17(f)(3)(B) of the 
National School Lunch Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)(2), 1759a, 
1766(f)(3)(B)) and section 4(b)(1)(B) of the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1773(b)(1)(B)).

    Dated: July 2, 1999.
Samuel Chambers, Jr.,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 99-17407 Filed 7-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U