Emergency shelters participating in CACFP must provide training to all staff and operate in compliance with CACFP and Civil Rights regulations.

Training Requirements

Documentation of annual Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) training is required. Independent centers and sponsoring organizations are responsible for the annual program training of staff. They must include instruction appropriate to the level of staff experience and duties on the following (CACFP) required topics:

• The CACFP meal pattern requirements.
• Recordkeeping requirements.
• Meal count procedures.
• Reimbursement system.
• Claim submission and review procedures.
• Adherence to Civil Rights requirements.

Reference: [7 CFR 226.15(e)(14)].

All volunteers at an emergency shelter who come to help with food service must be trained on Civil Rights at a minimum. If volunteers are not trained on all the required training, they must work with and be supervised closely by staff who have completed all of the required training.

Your training can be formal or informal; however, it must be documented and per 7 CFR 226.15(e)(12) include:

• The training session dates.
• The training location.
• The CACFP topics presented.
• The names of each staff member trained (legible, printed) and their position/title.

The Annual CACFP Training Documentation form (CACFP-222) may be used to document your CACFP training, or you may develop a form to include the training requirements. The CACFP222 is located at CACFP website under Forms.

Online Civil Rights training is also available at the CACFP website.

Civil Rights Compliance and Other Requirements

All sponsors participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are required to comply with the following civil rights obligations and to provide information as follows:

• Display the “And Justice For All” poster in a prominent location (visible to the public). Please contact our office for additional posters.
• Collection of Ethnicity and Race Data: Sponsors are required to collect ethnicity and race data once a year for the CACFP. Visual observation and identification are not allowable practices in collecting data. The preferred method is self-identification and self-reporting. CACFP sponsors should explain the importance of this data to participants as they encourage them to self-identify and self-report.
• Emergency shelters may obtain ethnicity and race data from other sources where respondents have self-identified their ethnicity and race, such as school databases. Another method an emergency shelter may use to gather the required ethnic and racial data, in which the participant or the participant's parent/guardian provides this data, is the completion of the Outreach and Beneficiary Data Survey. Completion of the survey is voluntary. The collected data is used to improve outreach efforts and ensure compliance with USDA nondiscrimination requirements. The completion or lack of completion has no impact on program participation.
• Compile the Ethnic and Racial Data on the Beneficiary Data Report. Once a year, sponsors must compile the ethnic and racial data, as completed by the participant or guardian, into this report. This report must be kept on file at the shelter.
• The Outreach and Beneficiary Data Survey and the Beneficiary Data Report are both available at the CACFP website under Forms.
• Display the “Building for the Future” flyer in a prominent location or “Building for the Future” pamphlet. This pamphlet explains the CACFP, who is eligible, the types of meals served, and the types of facilities that serve the meals. Both are available at the CACFP website - Posters, Flyers, & Pamphlets.
• Annual Civil Rights training for all CACFP sponsors, staff, and volunteers. Online training is available on our website at the CACFP website.
• Services must be provided for limited English proficient (LEP) persons. Take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services for LEP persons by providing information in the frequently encountered, non-English language of individuals eligible to be served or likely to be affected by the program.
  
  Ensure that translations are accurate concerning the availability and nutritional benefits of the program.
  
  Sponsors must ensure that interpretive services are available and that LEP participants do not have to rely on family, friends, or children as interpreters.
  
  Make reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal access and effective communication when accessing the program.
• USDA nondiscrimination statement and civil rights complaint information are required on program material directed to the parents/guardians or adult participants. If the shelter has a parent handbook or a policy booklet that indicates the shelter participates in the CACFP, the nondiscrimination statement and the procedure for filing a complaint must be included and are available at the CACFP website under USDA Nondiscrimination Statement.
• Discrimination Complaint Filing. The USDA prohibits discrimination in Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs) based on race, color, national origin, age, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, and religion. If you believe you experienced discrimination when participating in a USDA program, you may file a complaint. Civil rights complaint filing information is located at the USDA website.
• Forward complaints of alleged discrimination to the Department of Health and Senior Services-Community Food and Nutrition Assistance (DHSS-CFNA). All complaints of discrimination, written or verbal, including anonymous complaints, must be forwarded to the DHSS-CFNA within four days of receipt. Provide all available information and details. The toll-free number is 800-733-6251.