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This report responds to the legislative requirement of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-234) to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify certain children for free school meals without the need for household applications. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) required all LEAs to establish, by school year (SY) 2008-2009, a system of direct certification of children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) requires that States meet certain direct certification performance targets. Beginning in SY 2013-2014, States that fail to achieve a direct certification rate of at least 95 percent are required to develop and implement continuous improvement plans. Ninety-five percent of LEAs that participate in the NSLP directly certified some SNAP participants and other categorically eligible students in SY 2014-2015. These LEAs enroll 99 percent of all students in schools that participate in the NSLP. This is an increase from SY 2004-2005, when 56 percent of LEAs, enrolling 77 percent of all students in NSLP schools, directly certified some categorically eligible students. The number of school-age SNAP participants directly certified for free school meals, including those in schools participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and those in other special provision schools in a non-base year, was 13.8 million for SY 2014-2015, an increase of 3.8 percent from SY 2013-2014. This is the second year the methodology for calculating the direct certification performance rate made use of data elements collected in the Verification Collection Report (FNS-742) and the Direct Certification Rate Data Element Report (FNS-834). Therefore, direct certification performance rates presented in this report are not directly comparable to those in reports from prior years. The results of the analysis in this report indicate that 91 percent of children in SNAP households were directly certified for free school meals. Twenty-four States achieved the HHFKA-mandated performance target of 95 percent, and no States had a direct certification rate lower than 60 percent. [For the summary report, see ED616765. For the SY 2013-2014 report, see ED616761.]

This report responds to the legislative requirement of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-234) to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local education agencies (LEAs) to certify certain children for free school meals without the need for household applications. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required all LEAs to establish, by school year (SY) 2008-2009, a system of direct certification of children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) requires that States meet certain direct certification performance targets. For SY 2013-2014, States that fail to achieve a direct certification rate of at least 95 percent are required to develop and implement continuous improvement plans. The performance target will remain at 95 percent in future years. Ninety-three percent of LEAs that participate in the NSLP directly certified some SNAP participants and other categorically eligible students in SY 2013-2014. These LEAs enroll 99 percent of all students in schools that participate in the NSLP. This is an increase from SY 2004- 2005, when 56 percent of LEAs, enrolling 77 percent of all students in NSLP schools, directly certified some categorically eligible students. The number of school-age SNAP participants directly certified for free school meals was 12.4 million for SY 2013-2014, an increase of 1 percent from SY 2012-2013. This year the methodology for calculating the direct certification performance rate was refined in order to make use of new data elements collected in the revised Verification Collection Report (FNS-742) and the new Direct Certification Rate Data Element Report (FNS-834). Therefore, direct certification performance rates presented in this report are not directly comparable to those in reports from prior years. The results of the analysis in this report indicate that 87 percent of children in SNAP households were directly certified for free school meals. Twelve States achieved the HHFKA-mandated performance target of 95 percent, and no States had a direct certification rate lower than 60 percent. [For the summary report, see ED616759. For the SY 2012-2013 report, see ED616756.]

This report responds to the legislative requirement of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-246) to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify certain children for free school meals without the need for household applications. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required all LEAs to establish, by school year (SY) 2008-2009, a system of direct certification of children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The mandate was phased in over three years. The largest LEAs were required to establish direct certification systems by SY 2006-2007; all were required to directly certify SNAP participants by SY 2008-2009. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) requires that States meet certain direct certification performance targets. For SY 2012-2013, States that fail to achieve a direct certification rate of at least 90 percent are required to develop and implement continuous improvement plans (CIPs). The performance target increases to 95 percent for SY 2013-2014 and beyond. Ninety-one percent of LEAs that participate in the NSLP directly certified some SNAP participants in SY 2012-2013. These LEAs enroll 99 percent of all students in schools that participate in the NSLP. This is an increase from SY 2004-2005, when 56 percent of LEAs, enrolling 77 percent of all students in NSLP schools, directly certified some SNAP-participant students. The number of school-age SNAP participants directly certified for free school meals was 12.3 million for SY 2012-2013, an increase of 6 percent from SY 2011-2012. Analysis in this report estimates that 89 percent of children in SNAP households were directly certified for free school meals, which is 3 percentage points higher than last year's rate of 86 percent. Twenty-four States achieved the HHFKA-mandated performance target of 90 percent, and 16 States achieved direct certification rates of at least 95 percent. Only one State had a direct certification rate lower than 60 percent. [For the summary report, see ED616757. For the SY 2011-2012 report, see ED616745.]

This report responds to the legislative requirement of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-246) to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify certain children for free school meals without the need for household applications. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required all LEAs to establish, by school year (SY) 2008-2009, a system of direct certification of children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The mandate was phased in over three years. The largest LEAs were required to establish direct certification systems by SY 2006-2007; all were required to directly certify SNAP participants by SY 2008-2009. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) requires that States meet certain direct certification performance targets. For SY 2011-2012, States that fail to achieve a direct certification rate of at least 80 percent are required to develop and implement continuous improvement plans (CIPs). The performance target increases to 90 percent for SY 2012-2013 and 95 percent for SY 2013-2014 and beyond. Eighty-nine percent of LEAs that participate in the NSLP directly certified some SNAP participants in SY 2011-2012. These LEAs enroll 98 percent of all students in schools that participate in the NSLP. This is an increase from SY 2004-2005, when 56 percent of LEAs, enrolling 77 percent of all students in NSLP schools, directly certified some SNAP-participant students. The number of school-age SNAP participants directly certified for free school meals was 11.6 million for SY 2011-2012, an increase of 17 percent from SY 2010-2011. Analysis in this report estimates that 86 percent of children in SNAP households were directly certified for free school meals, substantially higher than last year's rate of 77 percent. Thirty-six States achieved the HHFKA-mandated performance target of 80 percent, and 17 States achieved direct certification rates of at least 90 percent. Only one State had a direct certification rate lower than 60 percent. [This report was submitted to the Food and Nutrition Service's Office of Research and Analysis. For the summary report, see ED616746.]

This report responds to the requirement of Public Law 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications. In school year (SY) 2014-15, an estimated 91 percent of school-age Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants were directly certified for free meals. This represents a four-percentage-point improvement from SY 2013-2014. [For the full report, see ED616764.]

This report responds to the requirement of Public Law 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications. The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC [Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children] Reauthorization Act required LEAs to establish systems to directly certify children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by school year (SY) 2008-2009. Children from households with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are eligible for free school meals. Children from households with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals. Certain homeless, runaway, and migrant children and children from households that receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) are deemed "categorically eligible" for free school meals. This report presents information on the outcomes of direct certification for SY 2013-2014. The report estimates the number of school-age SNAP participants and the number of children directly certified with SNAP for free school meals in each State. The ratio of these figures is a measure of the success of State and local systems to directly certify participating SNAP children. The report also estimates the number of all SNAP, TANF, and FDPIR participants certified for free school meals, either by direct certification or by application. This provides a more comprehensive measure of State success in certifying categorically eligible children for free school meals. [For the full report, see ED616761.]

This report responds to the requirement of Public Law 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications. The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC [Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children] Reauthorization Act required LEAs to establish systems to directly certify children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by school year (SY) 2008-2009. Children from households with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are eligible for free school meals. Children from households with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals. Certain homeless, runaway, and migrant children and children from households that receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) are deemed "categorically eligible" for free school meals. This report presents information on the outcomes of direct certification for SY 2012-2013. The report estimates the number of school-age SNAP participants and the number of children directly certified for free school meals in each State. The ratio of these figures is a measure of the success of State and local systems to directly certify participating SNAP children. The report also estimates the number of all SNAP, TANF, and FDPIR participants certified for free school meals, either by direct certification or by application. This provides a more comprehensive measure of State success in certifying categorically eligible children for free school meals. [For the full report, see ED616756.]

This report responds to the requirement of Public Law 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications. The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC [Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children] Reauthorization Act required LEAs to establish systems to directly certify children from households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by school year (SY) 2008-2009. In SY 2011-2012, 89 percent of LEAs directly certified some children from SNAP-recipient households. These LEAs enroll 98 percent of all students in schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. States and LEAs directly certified 11.6 million children at the start of SY 2011-2012, 1.7 million more than in the previous school year. The national direct certification rate reached 86 percent in SY 2011-2012, up from 77 percent in SY 2010-2011. [This report was prepared by the Food and Nutrition Service's Office of Research and Analysis. For the full report, see ED616745.]