[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43264-43266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14317]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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, 2023 Through June 30, 2024

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

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the annual adjustments to the national 
average payment rates for meals and snacks 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 snacks 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 
Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. The adjustments 
contained in this notice are made on an annual basis each July, as 
required by the laws and regulations governing the Child and Adult Care 
Food Program.

DATES: These rates are effective from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 
2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Penny Burke, Branch Chief, Program 
Monitoring and Operational Support Division, Child Nutrition Programs, 
FNS USDA, 1320 Braddock Place, Suite 401, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 
303-844-0357.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Special Note

    This Notice reflects the June 30, 2023 expiration of the temporary 
reimbursement rates provided under the Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022 (Pub. 
L. 117-158), which included an additional 10 cents per meal 
reimbursement rate and temporary Tier I reimbursement rates for Tier II 
family day care homes. The reimbursement rates in this Notice reflect 
an adjustment to the base rates from 2022-2023.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-07-26/pdf/2022-15893.pdf--Reference Page--44329.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) does not have the 
authority to adjust reimbursement rates above inflation in the 
contiguous United States (CONUS), pursuant to section 12 of the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) USDA may make 
adjustments to reimbursement rates in the outlying areas to reflect 
differences between the cost of providing meals and supplements in 
those areas and the costs of providing meals and supplements in all 
other States. Therefore, FNS is temporarily increasing the 
reimbursement rates for the child nutrition programs in Guam, Hawaii, 
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands \2\ to 30 percent above CONUS rates 
beginning July 1, 2023. This adjusted rate will be applied beginning on 
July 1, 2023, until further notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Guam, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands will receive the same 
rate as Hawaii for Child and Adult Care Food Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background

    Pursuant to sections 4, 11, and 17 of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753, 1759a and 1766), section 4 
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and 7 CFR 226.4, 
226.12 and 226.13 of the Program regulations, notice is hereby given of 
the new payment rates for institutions participating in the Child and 
Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). As provided for under the law, all 
rates in the CACFP must be revised annually, on July 1, to reflect 
changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, for the most 
recent 12-month period. These rates are in effect during the period of 
July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

Adjusted Payments

    The following national average payment factors and food service 
payment rates for meals and snacks are in effect from July 1, 2023 
through June 30, 2024. All amounts are expressed in dollars or 
fractions thereof. Due to a higher cost of living, the reimbursements 
for Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are higher 
than those for all other States. The District of Columbia uses the 
figures specified for the contiguous States. These rates do not include 
the value of USDA Foods or cash-in-lieu of USDA Foods, which 
institutions receive as additional assistance for each lunch or supper 
served to participants under the Program. A notice announcing the value 
of USDA Foods and cash-in-lieu of USDA Foods is published separately in 
the Federal Register.
    Adjustments to the national average payment rates for all meals 
served under the Child and Adult Care Food Program are rounded down to 
the nearest whole cent.

National Average Payment Rates for Centers

    The changes in the national average payment rates for centers 
reflect an 8.27 percent increase during the 12-month period from May 
2022 to May 2023 (from 325.952 in May 2022, as previously published in 
the Federal Register, to 352.892 in May 2023) in the food away from 
home series of the CPI for All Urban Consumers.
    Payments for breakfasts served are: Contiguous States paid rate--38 
cents (3 cents increase from the 2022-2023 \3\ base rate), reduced 
price rate--1 dollar and 98 cents (17 cents increase), free rate--2 
dollars and 28 cents (17 cents increase); Alaska--paid rate--58 cents 
(4 cents increase), reduced price rate--3 dollars and 36 cents (28 
cents increase), free rate--3 dollars and 66 cents (28 cents increase); 
Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands paid rate--47 cents (7 
cents increase), reduced price rate--2 dollars and 65 cents (49 cents 
increase), free rate--2 dollars and 95 cents (49 cents increase).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Rates reflect adjustment to the SY 2022-2023 base rate and 
does not include the decrease from the expiration of the temporary 
rates included in Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-158).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Payments for lunch or supper served are: Contiguous States paid 
rate--40 cents (3 cents increase), reduced price rate--3 dollars and 85 
cents (32 cents increase), free rate--4 dollars and 25 cents (32 cents 
increase); Alaska paid rate--66 cents (5 cents increase), reduced price 
rate--6 dollars and 50 cents (53 cents increase), free rate--6 dollars 
and 90 cents (53 cents increase); Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin 
Islands--paid rate--53 cents (9 cents increase), reduced price rate--5 
dollars and 14 cents (94 cents increase), free rate--5 dollars and 54 
cents (94 cents increase).

[[Page 43265]]

    Payments for snack served are: Contiguous States--paid rate--10 
cents (1 cents increase), reduced price rate--58 cents (4 cents 
increase), free rate--1 dollar and 17 cents (9 cents increase); 
Alaska--paid rate--17 cents (1 cent increase), reduced price rate--94 
cents (7 cent increase), free rate--1 dollar and 89 cents (14 cents 
increase); Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands--paid rate--13 
cents (2 cents increase), reduced price rate--76 cents (13 cents 
increase), free rate--1 dollar and 52 cents (26 cents increase).

Food Service Payment Rates for Day Care Homes

    The changes in the food service payment rates for day care homes 
reflect a 5.80 percent increase during the 12-month period from May 
2022 to May 2023 (from 285.953 in May 2022, as previously published in 
the Federal Register, to 302.535 in May 2023) in the food at home 
series of the CPI for All Urban Consumers.
    Payments for breakfast served are: Contiguous States--Tier I--1 
dollar and 65 cents (9 cents increase from the 2022-2023 base rate) and 
Tier II--59 cents (3 cents increase); Alaska--Tier I--2 dollars and 63 
cents (14 cents increase) and Tier II--92 cents (5 cents increase); 
Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands--Tier I--2 dollar and 12 
cents (31 cents increase) and Tier II--75 cents (10 cents increase).
    Payments for lunch and supper served are: Contiguous States--Tier 
I--3 dollars and 12 cents (18 cents increase) and Tier II--1 dollar and 
88 cents (10 cents increase); Alaska--Tier I--5 dollars and 5 cents (28 
cents increase) and Tier II--3 dollars and 5 cents (17 cents increase); 
Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands--Tier I--4 dollars and 5 
cents (60 cents increase) and Tier II--2 dollar and 44 cents (36 cents 
increase).
    Payments for snack served are: Contiguous States--Tier I--93 cents 
(6 cents increase) and Tier II--25 cents (1 cent increase); Alaska--
Tier I--1 dollar and 50 cents (8 cents increase) and Tier II--41 cents 
(2 cents increase); Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands--Tier 
I--1 dollar and 20 cents (18 cents increase) and Tier II--33 cents (5 
cents increase).

Administrative Reimbursement Rates for Sponsoring Organizations of Day 
Care Homes

    The changes in the administrative reimbursement rates for 
sponsoring organizations of day care homes reflect a 4.05 percent 
increase during the 12-month period, May 2022 to May 2023 (from 292.296 
in May 2022, as previously published in the Federal Register, to 
304.127 in May 2023) in the series for all items of the CPI for All 
Urban Consumers.
    Monthly administrative payments to sponsors for each sponsored day 
care home are: Contiguous States--Initial 50 homes--142 dollars (5 
dollar increase from 2022-2023 annual level), next 150 homes--108 
dollars (4 dollar increase), next 800 homes--85 dollars (4 dollar 
increase), each additional home--75 dollars (3 dollar increase); 
Alaska--Initial 50 homes--230 dollars (9 dollar increase), next 150 
homes--176 dollars (7 dollar increase), next 800 homes--137 dollars (5 
dollar increase), each additional home--121 dollars (5 dollar 
increase); Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands--Initial 50 
homes--185 dollars (25 dollar increase), next 150 homes--141 dollars 
(19 dollar increase), next 800 homes--110 dollars (15 dollar increase), 
each additional home--97 dollars (13 dollar increase).

Payment Chart

    The following chart illustrates the national average payment 
factors and food service payment rates for meals and snacks in effect 
from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P

[[Page 43266]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07JY23.002

    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.
    CACFP 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 2 CFR 415.3-415.6).
    This notice imposes no new reporting or recordkeeping provisions 
that are subject to OMB review in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3518).
    Authority: Sections 4(b)(2), 11a, 17(c) and 17(f)(3)(B) of the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (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 (42 U.S.C. 1773(b)(1)(B)).

Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-14317 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C