[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 96 (Friday, May 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22431-22432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10308]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Request for Information: The Serious Deficiency Process in the 
Child and Adult Care Food Program

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is a request for information to gather detailed comments 
from stakeholders about the serious deficiency process in the Child and 
Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The serious deficiency process 
provides a systematic way to correct serious management problems and, 
when that effort fails, protect the program through due process.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: USDA invites the submission of the requested information 
through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal (preferred method): Go to 
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Autumn McCain, Program 
Monitoring Branch, Program Monitoring and Operational Support Division, 
Child Nutrition Programs, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, 3101 Park 
Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    All comments submitted in response to this request for information 
will be included in the record and will be made available to the 
public. Please be advised that the substance of the comments and the 
identity of the individuals or entities submitting the comments will be 
subject to public disclosure. USDA will make the comments publicly 
available via http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Autumn McCain, Program Monitoring 
Branch, Program Monitoring and Operational Support Division, Child 
Nutrition Programs, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, 703-605-3223.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Integrity is essential to achieving the 
mission of all FNS nutrition assistance programs. FNS works in close 
collaboration with State and local partners to facilitate the 
promotion, practice, and improvement of integrity-focused efforts while 
ensuring the delivery of excellent customer service. To that end, State 
agencies are responsible for monitoring CACFP institutions--independent 
child and adult care centers and sponsoring organizations of family day 
care homes and centers--to ensure compliance with program requirements.
    Serious deficiencies, as provided for in Sec. 17 of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1766), and the 
serious deficiency process, as codified in 7 CFR part 226, offer a 
means to address severe and pervasive issues of program non-compliance, 
with a structured set of steps that provide all institutions and day 
care home providers the opportunity for corrective action and due 
process. The intent of the serious deficiency process is to correct 
non-compliance issues in a timely fashion. As such, the process 
incorporates critical deadlines for the completion of corrective 
actions, and milestones for monitoring progress towards meeting those 
deadlines.
    The serious deficiency process starts when the State agency or 
sponsoring organization identifies one or more serious non-compliance 
issues and concludes when all such issues are resolved, through either 
corrective action or termination and disqualification of the 
institution or day care home. The process includes required procedures 
that are designed to help the State agency and sponsoring organization 
document actions taken to correct serious deficiencies or to terminate 
and remove from CACFP those non-performing institutions or day care 
homes that are unwilling to, or incapable of, resolving their serious 
deficiencies.
    On March 29, 2016, FNS published a proposed rule, Child Nutrition 
Program Integrity, 81 FR 17563, available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/03/29/2016-06801/child-nutrition-program-integrity, concerning several provisions of the 
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296, affecting 
integrity in CACFP and in the National School Lunch Program, Special 
Milk Program for Children, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food 
Service Program (SFSP), and State Administrative Expense Funds. Among 
other things, the rule proposed serious deficiency and termination 
procedures in SFSP, serious deficiency and termination procedures for 
unaffiliated sponsored centers in CACFP, and procedures to prohibit the 
participation of entities or individuals terminated from any of the 
Child Nutrition Programs.
    Comments on the proposed rule suggested that prior to making the 
operations of any other Child Nutrition Program subject to the serious 
deficiency process, FNS should further investigate and attempt to 
address potential inconsistencies in the implementation of that process 
across States. Consequently, this notice requests information to help 
FNS understand firsthand the experiences stakeholders have had with the 
serious deficiency process in CACFP. We are asking for public comments 
to gather feedback about the successes, challenges, potential benefits, 
and negative impacts associated with the application of the serious 
deficiency process. Your responses to this request for information will 
assist FNS in its efforts to ensure consistent and effective 
application of the serious deficiency

[[Page 22432]]

process, in line with current statutory and regulatory requirements. 
FNS is committed to the rulemaking process and reciprocity between its 
programs.
    This request for information reflects the commitment of FNS to work 
with all of our stakeholders, including State administrators, 
sponsoring organizations, center operators, food service professionals, 
and other advocates, to ensure that program requirements are 
practicable and effectively disseminated.
    Please respond to any/all of the questions listed below. In your 
response, we request that you include the following information, to the 
extent applicable: your name, title, the name of your organization, and 
your role in the serious deficiency process.
    1. Are determinations of serious deficiency and resulting 
corrective actions:
    a. Reasonable and commensurate with the severity of the non-
compliance issues they are intended to address?
    b. Effective in achieving positive outcomes, including timely and 
permanent correction of non-compliance issues?
    2. Is the serious deficiency process consistently implemented? 
Explain.
    a. Among States?
    b. Within your State?
    c. By sponsoring organizations within your State?
    3. Describe your decision-making process as it relates to 
determinations of serious deficiency.
    a. How do you decide that a given non-compliance issue or 
combination of non-compliance issues rise to the level of a serious 
deficiency?
    b. What factors weigh most heavily?
    c. Who is involved in the decision-making process?
    4. What could be done to bring further clarity and consistency to 
the administrative review (appeal) process?
    5. What would improve your understanding of the serious deficiency 
process and your ability to apply the process effectively?
    a. Which definitions or operational provisions related to the 
serious deficiency process in 7 CFR 226 need additional clarification?
    b. What areas of training would be most beneficial?
    c. What types of technical assistance resources would be most 
useful?
    FNS appreciates your thoughtful and responsive replies to these 
questions. Your feedback is essential to helping FNS to ensure that our 
nutrition programs are administered as effectively and efficiently as 
possible. Together, we can strive to improve operations and outcomes to 
best serve our participants and all American taxpayers.

    Dated: May 13, 2019.
Brandon Lipps,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-10308 Filed 5-16-19; 8:45 am]
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