Sponsor Instructions for Reviewing the Income Eligibility Form (IEF)
SFSP Income Eligibility Guidance for Camps, Conditional Non-Congregate Sites, and Closed Enrolled Sites
Sponsor Instructions for Reviewing the Income Eligibility Form (IEF)
- Each parent or guardian shall be given the parent letter and an IEF on a yearly basis. If the parent does not return the completed form, the child may not be counted toward site eligibility requirements at closed enrolled sites, or if at a camp or conditional non-congregate site, meals served to the child may not be claimed for Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) reimbursement.
- The IEF shall be reviewed by the sponsor representative to determine if all Parts (1-4) of the application have been completed. The application is not valid if not fully completed by the parent or guardian.
- The sponsor representative must ensure that the first and last name and the birth date of the child(ren) enrolled at the camp or site is listed on the IEF.
- A foster child, whose care and placement is the responsibility of the child welfare agency or who is placed by the court with a caretaker household, is eligible for free meal benefits without completing an IEF if the sponsor obtains documentation verifying that the child’s placement in the household is the responsibility of the state or the court. The eligibility of foster children applies only to children formally placed by the child welfare agency or the court. It does not apply to informal arrangements that may exist outside of the state or the court-based systems.
- Households with foster and non-foster children may choose to include the foster child as a household member (as well as any personal income* earned by the foster child) on the same household application that includes their non-foster children. This may help the foster family’s non-foster children qualify for free meals based on household size and income. Community Food and Nutrition Assistance (CFNA) will certify the foster child for free meals (with appropriate supporting documentation as described above) and will then make an eligibility determination for the remainder of the household based on the household’s income. Foster payments received by the family from the child welfare agency are not considered income and do not need to be reported on the IEF.
- Personal income for foster children is defined as: Funds that are specified by the welfare agency as being for the personal use of the child. If no funds are specified, the funds received from the welfare agency are not to be considered as income.
Money received in hand from any source. This includes, but is not limited to, funds received from trust accounts, monies provided by the child’s family for personal use, and earnings from the child’s employment other than occasional or part-time jobs.
- Personal income for foster children is defined as: Funds that are specified by the welfare agency as being for the personal use of the child. If no funds are specified, the funds received from the welfare agency are not to be considered as income.
- A child who is not legally designated as a foster child by virtue of not being an official ward of the court and/or the welfare agency does not qualify as a "foster child" for the purposes of the SFSP (i.e., adopted foster child). Such children are considered part of the entire family economic unit for the purpose of determining eligibility in the SFSP.
- If the parent or guardian checks that the child(ren) is receiving SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (formerly AFDC, now funded by TANF) and enters the SNAP or Temporary Assistance case number, the child(ren) are automatically eligible for free meals. The parent does not need to complete Part 2.
- SNAP numbers have the following characteristics: FS-xxx-xxxxxxxx*. The three-digit portion is a county code.
- Temporary Assistance numbers have the following characteristics: C-xxxxxxxxxxx*. The three-digit portion is a county code.
- At a minimum, the eight-digit portion of the case number must be provided on the IEF for the child to be automatically eligible for free meals.
*If a child has a ten-digit case number, the parent or guardian does not need to enter the first two zeros on the form.
- If the parent or guardian did not report a SNAP or TANF case number, they must complete all entries in Part 2 and Part 4 to determine eligibility.
- Check that the parent or guardian listed all household members other than those children listed in Part 1. A household is defined as a group of related or nonrelated individuals who are not residents of an institution or a boarding house, but who are living together as one economic group.
- Check that the parent or guardian listed each household member and indicated gross monthly income by source before any deductions are made. Current income is defined as income received during the month prior to the application. If the prior month's income is not representative of the household's annual rate of income, the household should report projected annual income.
- Completion of the Participant’s Ethnic and Racial Information (Part 3) is not mandatory, and the failure to complete this information shall not affect the eligibility of the child.
- The adult household member completing the IEF must sign Part 4 to certify that the information provided is correct and true and that all income is reported, that it is being given in connection with the receipt of federal funds, that institution officials may verify information, and that deliberate misrepresentation may subject the individual to prosecution under applicable state and federal laws. If the adult does not have a social security number, "none" should be written in the space provided. The IEF cannot be approved for free meals unless it is fully completed, signed, and dated by the parent or guardian.
- The parent or guardian must fully complete the IEF. The sponsor representative shall complete only the section labeled "For Sponsor Use Only."
- The sponsor representative shall determine if the child is eligible or ineligible by completing the bottom section of the IEF marked “For Sponsor Use Only.” The IEF is effective from the first day of the month that the form was signed and dated.