Maryann Durrant (USBE):
Let’s get right into learning about income eligibility forms, or IEFs as we refer to them. This is an image of an IEF, notice there is a front and a back, you need to have both sides completed in order for an IEF to be valid, so make sure that you print them double sided. You don’t have to print them in color, black and white is fine.
Now, why are IEFs important? IEFs are how you determine which participants can be claimed at the free, reduced, or paid rate. Any participant being claimed at the free or reduced rate must have a completed, approved, and current IEF. If you don’t have this for a participant, the participant is claimed at the paid rate. This is very important. If on a review we come out and find that you’re claiming a participant at the free or reduced rate but they didn’t have an IEF, we would have to take back the money you received at the free or reduced rate for that participant. One way to think about this is that the default benefit category is paid. All participants are in the paid category unless you have a completed, approved, and current IEF that shows they’re eligible for the free or reduced rate.
In addition, for-profit institutions must show that at least 25% of their participants qualify at the free or reduced rate. The way that institutions show this is either through IEFs or through participants receiving title XX funds – that’s when you get paid through DWS to provide care for the child. We would recommend that you use IEFs to show that at least 25% of your participants qualify at the free or reduced rate because you have to have IEFs anyway.
IEFs request financial information from the parent or guardian. Some parents might be hesitant to fill them out. This is understandable because of the sensitive nature of the information requested. IEFs are voluntary for the parents to fill out, you can’t require them to fill out an IEF. If you don’t have an IEF for a participant, you simply claim them at the paid rate. Participants reimbursed at the paid rate receive a smaller amount of reimbursement, so it is in your best interest to get as many IEFs back as you can that qualify for Free/Reduced. What you tell parents about the IEF can possibly lessen their concerns about filling out IEFs. You can let them know that the IEF is kept private, only those who need to know will have access to the information and that IEFs can allow you to receive a higher rate of reimbursement from the food program which translates into healthier meals and possibly lower child care fees.
In addition to the IEF, there are instructions and a parent letter that you will need to distribute to the parents. You’re welcome to print these off and give them to each parent along with the IEF, you’re welcome to email them, you could even have a laminated copy that the parent reads and leaves at your center. Both of these documents are double sided, so if you print them off, you’ll need to make sure that you print both sides. The parent letter will be updated each year in July.
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