State Agencies (CN and SFA Directors)

APPENDIX A

State cn Director Survey CNOPS-II Year 3

OMB Number: 0584-0607

Expiration Date: 07/31/2020

Child Nutrition Program Operations Study-II

CN-OPS-II

State Child Nutrition Director

Survey 2017-2018

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY

Please complete the survey at:

http://www.2mresearch.com/cnops2state

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0607. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average two hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Food and Nutrition Service

This survey is being conducted for the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a study of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and other USDA food programs throughout the country. All responses will be treated in strict privacy; no names will be used in our reports, and only aggregated results will be reported.

The study is authorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) and cooperation by selected states, local education agencies, and schools is required under Section 305 of the HHFKA. Section 305 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 states that “States, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, schools, institutions, facilities, and contractors participating in programs authorized under this Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) shall cooperate with officials and contractors acting on behalf of the Secretary, in the conduct of evaluations and studies under those Acts.”

Send comments regarding this burden estimate (2 hours) or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Service
Office of Policy Support
3101 Park Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22302
Attn: Holly Figueroa

If you have any questions about completing this survey, please email [email protected] or call toll-free at 844.503.7045.

We thank you for your cooperation and participation in this very important study.

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Back (Button)

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Before starting the survey please fill in the requested contact information below. If the information below is prefilled, please review and update the information as necessary.

Please fill in the contact information for the Child Nutrition Director below:

First Name:

Last Name:

Street Address 1:

Street Address 2:

City:

State:

Zip:

Phone Number: Ext.

Email:

If you are not the Child Nutrition Director please fill out your name and contact information:

First Name:

Last Name:

Title:

Street Address 1:

Street Address 2:

City:

State:

Zip:

Phone Number: Ext.

Email:

The first few questions are about public SFAs and schools in your State operating under Provision 2 and Provision 3 in the 2017-2018 school year. The questions will ask separately about those operating NSLP only, SBP only, and both NSLP and SBP. When providing counts of schools, you may group schools together as you would for administrative reporting. For example, you may group two schools with a shared cafeteria.

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.1 Please provide the number of public SFAs and schools in your State that are operating NSLP only under Provision 2 and Provision 3.

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

	PROVISION 2	PROVISION 3
a. SFAs
b. Schools

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.2 Please provide the number of public SFAs and schools in your State that are operating SBP only under Provision 2 and Provision 3.

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

	PROVISION 2	PROVISION 3
a. SFAs
b. Schools

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.3 Please provide the number of public SFAs and schools in your State that are operating both NSLP and SBP under Provision 2 and Provision 3.

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

	PROVISION 2	PROVISION 3
a. SFAs
b. Schools

1.4 How many public SFAs and schools in your State are operating under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)?

CNOPS-II Year 2

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

	CEP
a. SFAs
b. Schools

The next few questions are about public charter schools and residential child care institutions (RCCIs) in your State. Public charter schools are those sponsored by a public school district. RCCIs are any distinct part of a public or non-profit private institution which maintains children in residence, operates principally for the care of children, and if private, is licensed by the State or local government to provide residential childcare services under the appropriate licensing code.

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.5 Does your State have any public charter schools? Public charter schools are charter schools sponsored by public school district.

 Yes 1

 No 2 SKIP TO 1.10

1.6 How many public charter schools are currently operating in your State?

CNOPS-II Year 2

Public Charter Schools

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.7 How many of the [FILLNUMBER FROM 1.8] public charter schools currently participate in NSLP program only?

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

Public Charter Schools participating in NSLP only

1.8 How many of the [FILLNUMBER FROM 1.8] public charter schools currently participate in SBP program only?

CNOPS-II Year 2

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

Public Charter Schools participating in SBP only

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.9 How many of the [FILLNUMBER FROM 1.8] public charter schools currently participate in both NSLP and SBP programs?

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

Public Charter Schools participating in both NSLP and SBP

CNOPS-II Year 2

1.10 How many residential child care institutions (RCCIs) in your State currently participate in the NSLP and/or SBP programs?

RCCIs are any distinct part of a public or non-profit private institution which maintains children in residence, operates principally for the care of children, and, if private, is licensed by the State or local government to provide residential childcare services under the appropriate licensing code. Please include RCCIs with and without schools on location.

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

RCCIs participating in NSLP and/or SBP

The following questions are about subsidies and resources your State provides to SFAs. Most questions concern SY 2017-18 but a few concern totals from SY 2016-17.

2.1 Does your State provide subsidies for breakfasts to SFAs in school year (SY) 2017-2018?

CNOPS-II Year 2

 Yes 1

 No 2 SKIP TO 2.5

2.2 Which of the following subsidies does your State provide to SFAs for breakfasts?

CNOPS-II Year 2

select ALL THAT APPLY

 Per-meal reimbursement 1

 Annual lump sum 2

 Supplement to cover specific costs 3

 Amount based on a percentage of low-income students 4

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

NEW

2.3 Please explain how your State determines subsidies for breakfast (for example, 2 cents per breakfast served):

(STRING)

CNOPS-II Year 2

2.4 What was the total dollar amount of subsidies given to all SFAs in your State for breakfast during SY 2016-2017?

.00 dollar amount of subsidies

2.5 Does your State provide subsidies for lunches to SFAs in SY 2017-2018?

CNOPS-II Year 2

 Yes 1

 No 2 SKIP TO 2.9

2.6 Which of the following subsidies does your State provide to SFAs for lunches?

CNOPS-II Year 2

select ALL THAT APPLY

 Per-meal reimbursement 1

 Annual lump sum 2

 Supplement to cover specific costs 3

 Amount based on a percentage of low-income students 4

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

NEW

2.7 Please explain how your State determines subsidies for lunches (for example, 2 cents per lunch served):

(STRING)

2.8 What was the total dollar amount of subsidies given to all SFAs in your State for lunches during SY 2016-2017?

CNOPS-II Year 2

.00 dollar amount of subsidies

CNOPS-II Year 2

2.9 Does your State provide financial or personnel support to SFAs for any of the following school food service operations in SY 2017-18?

	Select one per row
	YES	NO
a. Preparation of reimbursable meals	1 	2 
b. Preparation of non-reimbursable meals	1 	2 
c. Equipment	1 	2 
d. Preparing claims	1 	2 
e. Storage	1 	2 
f. Contracted services	1 	2 
g. Overhead/indirect costs	1 	2 
h. Other (Specify)	1 	2 
(STRING (NUM))

All SFAs operating NSLP and/or SBP must have a meal charge policy to address situations where children not certified to receive free meals do not have money to cover the cost of the meal at the time of the meal service. Some States have developed a State-level meal charge policy to be implemented by all SFAs operating the NSLP and SBP throughout the State.

NEW

2.10 Does your State have a meal charge policy that must be implemented statewide by all SFAs operating NSLP and/or SBP?

 Yes 1

 No 2 SKIP TO 2.12

2.11 What type of meal charge policy components are currently in place at the State level in your State?

NEW

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

 Students unable to pay are allowed to charge regular, reimbursable meals 1

 Students unable to pay receive an alternate meal (e.g., a cheese sandwich) 2

 Students unable to pay have a limit to the number of meals they can charge 3

• Students unable to pay are denied a meal 4

 Households are encouraged to apply for free or reduced price school meals when their student is unable to pay 5

 Households are notified of low or negative balances (e.g., phone calls, text messages, and/or notes sent home) 6

 Outside funding sources (e.g., community donations) are provided to pay for meals or debt when students incur meal charges 7

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

2.12 Does your State offer technical assistance to SFAs to help SFAs manage unpaid meal charges?

NEW

 Yes 1

• No 2 SKIP TO SECTION 3

2.13 Where does your State gather technical assistance information related to unpaid meal charges to share with SFAs?

NEW

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

 FNS Policy guidance 1

 Best practices resources developed by FNS 2

 Best practices resources developed by your State 3

 Best practices resources developed by other States 4

 Best practices resources developed by other institutions (for example, the School Nutrition Association) 5

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

2.14 What methods does your State agency use to provide technical assistance related to unpaid meal charges?

NEW

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

 Online documents and resources 1

 Handbooks / guides 2

 In person presentations 3

 Webinar presentations 4

 Phone or email communications 5

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

The Buy American provision requires SFAs to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodities or products. A domestic commodity or product is defined as an agricultural commodity that is produced in the United States and a food product that is processed in the United States substantially using agricultural commodities produced in the United States.

NEW

3.1 Does your State have its own Buy American requirements in addition to the federal requirements?

 Yes 1

 No 2 SKIP TO 3.3

3.2 What components are described in your State’s Buy American policy?

NEW

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

 Buy American provision requirement to procure domestic commodities or products 1

 Definition of a domestic commodity or product 2

 Criteria for SFAs to receive exceptions to the Buy American provision 3

 Requirement for SFAs to document the Buy American provision in all procurement solicitations and/or contracts 4

 Requirement for SFAs to document the Buy American provision in all procurement procedures and/or document prototypes 5

 Encouragement for SFAs to procure domestic foods from local, regional, small, women-owned, and/or minority-owned businesses 6

 Encouragement for SFAs to order USDA Foods 7

 State procurement reviews to ensure SFA compliance with the Buy American provision 8

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

NEW

3.3 Does your State provide guidance to SFAs on the following policy components?

	Select one per row
	YES	NO	NOT APPLICABLE
a. Buy American provision requirement to procure domestic commodities or products	1 	2 	NA 
b. Definition of a domestic commodity or product	1 	2 	NA 
c. Criteria for SFAs to receive exceptions to the Buy American provision	1 	2 	NA 
d. Requirement for SFAs to document the Buy American provision in all procurement solicitations and/or contracts	1 	2 	NA 
e. Requirement for SFAs to document the Buy American provision in all procurement procedures and/or document prototypes	1 	2 	NA 
f. Encouragement for SFAs to procure domestic foods from local, regional, small, women-owned, and/or minority-owned businesses	1 	2 	NA 
g. Encouragement for SFAs to order USDA Foods	1 	2 	NA 
h. State procurement reviews to ensure SFA compliance with the Buy American provision	1 	2 	NA 
i. Other (Specify)	1 	2 	NA 

3.4 What methods are used to share guidance on your State’s Buy American policy with SFAs?

NEW

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

 Online documents and resources 1

 Handbooks / guides 2

 In person presentations 3

 Webinar presentations 4

 Phone or email communications 5

• None - State does not provide guidance to SFAs on Buy American policy 6

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

3.5 Does your State agency ensure SFA compliance with the Buy American provision?

NEW

 Yes 1

 No 2

 Don’t know 3

NEW

3.6 How does your State agency ensure SFA compliance with the Buy American provision? For each compliance review activity, please indicate the type of review your State uses to check compliance.

	Select all that apply per row
Compliance review activity	DURING ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW	DURING PROCUREMENT REVIEW	DURING OTHER REVIEW	COMPLIANCE NOT CHECKED
a. Check that SFAs are purchasing domestic commodities/products	1 	2 	3 	4 
b. Check that contract solicitations contain Buy American language	1 	2 	3 	4 
c. Check that contracts contain Buy American language	1 	2 	3 	4 
d. Check that supplier invoices or receipts show that solicited domestic commodities/products were provided by the contractor	1 	2 	3 	4 
e. Look at food product labels in SFA storage facilities	1 	2 	3 	4 
f. Other (Specify)	1 	2 	3 	4 

SFAs may make exceptions to the Buy American provision when the use of domestic commodities or products is not practical. That is, domestic foods are in inadequate supply, low quality, or significantly higher in cost than non-domestic commodities or products.

3.7 Does your State require SFAs to document the use of exceptions to the Buy American Provision? By documenting exceptions, we mean tracking the use of exceptions and maintaining supporting documents to justify their use when purchasing non-domestic agricultural commodities and food products.

NEW

 Yes 1

 No 2

 Don’t Know 3

NEW

3.8 Are SFAs required to document (that is, track and maintain supporting documents for) any of the following types of information to show why an exception to the federal Buy American provision is used?

	Select one per row
	YES	NO
a. The domestic commodity or product is in inadequate supply	1 	2 
b. The domestic commodity or product is low quality	1 	2 
c. The domestic commodity or product is substantially higher in cost than the non-domestic commodity or product counterpart	1 	2 
d. Alternative domestic commodity or product options were researched and considered	1 	2 
e. The domestic commodity or product availability or pricing was verified using a third-party verification (for example, the Agricultural Marketing Service report)	1 	2 
f Other (Specify)	1 	2 

NEW

3.9 Does your State provide SFAs with guidance and/or a reporting template for documenting exceptions to the Buy American provision?

	Select one per row
	YES	NO
a. Our State provides SFAs with guidance	1 	2 
b. Our State provides SFAs with a reporting template	1 	2 

SFAs may apply the geographic preference option when procuring foods. That is, they may apply a local preference in procuring unprocessed or minimally processed agricultural products that are locally grown or raised. SFAs may define local food purchasing as they choose. “Local” may be defined as the same city/county, within a mileage radius, within a day’s drive, within the State, or within the region. SFAs may purchase local foods from local farmers, ranchers, dairies, fishermen, food processors, and distributors. The geographic preference may vary across products (i.e., 50 miles for apples, 100 miles for potatoes, and within the county for dairy).

3.10 Do any SFAs in your State apply geographic preference when making local food purchases?

NEW

 Yes 1

 No 2

 Don’t know 3

NEW

3.11 Regardless of whether or not SFAs in your State apply geographic preference, does your State agency provide reimbursement to SFAs for local food purchasing?

 Yes 1

 No 2

 Don’t know 3

NEW

3.12 How many SFAs did your State reimburse for local food purchases in SY 2017-18?

(NUM)

NEW

3.13 For each of the following topic areas, does your State agency provide training to SFAs on local food purchasing?

	SELECT ONE RESPONSE PER ROW
	YES	NO
a. Types of local food sources	1 	2 
b. How to find local foods	1 	2 
c. Procuring local foods	1 	2 
d. Local food purchasing policy	1 	2 
e Other topics related to local food purchasing (Specify)	1 	2 

NEW

3.14 Did SFAs in your State experience any of the following challenges related to local food purchasing?

	Select one per row
	YES	NO
a. Limited food availability	1 	2 
b. Transportation and/or delivery barriers	1 	2 
c. Low student demand for local foods	1 	2 
d. Inadequate facilities for storing local foods	1 	2 
e. Limited capacity for local food preparation	1 	2 
f. Difficulty incorporating local foods into the menu	1 	2 
g. High cost of local foods	1 	2 
h. Understanding local food purchasing and contracting	1 	2 
i. Not enough staff time to develop local food purchasing arrangements	1 	2 
j. Other (Specify)	1 	2 
(STRING (NUM))

The following questions ask about your State’s role in supporting farm to school among SFAs and schools in your State. Farm to school activities generally promote efforts to connect schools with local or regional farms in order to increase the availability of local or regional foods in child nutrition programs and develop related educational programming. These activities include, but are not limited to:

• Serving local foods: Local or regional foods are purchased, promoted, and served in the cafeteria or as a snack or taste-test, including foods from an edible garden

• Education: Students participate in educational and experiential activities related to agriculture, food, health, or nutrition in their school curriculum

• School gardens: Students engage in hands-on learning through gardening

NEW

4.1 Did your State agency (or other agencies in your State) conduct any of the following farm to school activities in SY 2017-2018?

	Select one per row
ACTIVITY	YES	NO
a. Implement policies that require or encourage SFAs and/or schools to purchase local foods	1 	2 
b. Financially support health, wellness, or other programming that promotes farm to school activities	1 	2 
c. Develop state-level task forces, councils, or working groups that research, assess, or implement farm to school programs and/or provide farm to school guidance to schools	1 	2 
d. Create websites, databases, or directories that share information and promote farm to school efforts	1 	2 
e. Create websites, databases or directories that list local agriculture producers	1 	2 
f. Host gatherings or conferences devoted to farm to school	1 	2 
g. Conduct marketing or promotion of farm to school	1 	2 
h. Other (Specify)	1 	2 
(STRING (NUM))

4.2 Did your State agency (or other agencies in your State) offer training related to farm to school activities for SFAs or schools in SY 2017-18?

NEW

 Yes 1

 No 0 SKIP TO 4.4

NEW

4.3 Which of the following training topics did your State offer to SFAs or schools in SY 2017-2018?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

 Integration of farm to school into wellness policies and practices 1

 Integration of farm to school into curriculum 2

 Engaging partners, including producers and parents, in Farm to School 3

 Farm to school planning 4

• Small and micro purchases 5

• Local food procurement 6

 Identifying local producers 7

 Local food meal preparation and serving strategies 8

 Benefits of local foods 9

 Local food promotion and marketing strategies 10

 Geographic preference 11

 Other (Specify) 99

Specify (STRING (NUM))

The following questions are about State employees in your State agency (or other agencies in your State) who work on farm to school activities with various child nutrition programs in SY 2017-2018. Please obtain staff information from other agencies that work on farm to school as needed.

NEW

4.4 Did your State have any staff that worked on farm to school activities in any capacity in SY 2017-2018?

 Yes 1

 No 0 SKIP TO 4.7

NEW

4.5 How many new State-level farm to school staff position(s), if any, were created in SY 2017-2018? Include full- and part-time positions.

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

POSITIONS

The next few questions are about dedicated farm to school staff employed in your State (or State agency) that worked on farm to school in SY 2017-2018. An example of this kind of dedicated staff member could be a farm to school coordinator or program manager. Include dedicated farm to school staff regardless of whether their position is full-time or part-time.

NEW

4.6 How many dedicated farm to school staff were employed in SY 2017-2018? Please respond separately with the numbers of full-time and part-time staff.

IF NONE, PLEASE ENTER 0.

# OF FULL-TIME STAFF	# OF PART-TIME STAFF

The following questions are about State funding for farm to school activities in SFAs and/or schools in your State in SY 2017-2018.

4.7 Did your State agency budget include funding for any farm to school activities in SY 2017-2018?

NEW

 Yes 1

 No 0

NEW

4.8 How much funding did your State agency budget for farm to school activities in SY 2017-2018?

	DOLLARS OF FUNDING	PERCENT OF TOTAL STATE AGENCY BUDGET
TOTAL STATE FARM TO SCHOOL FUNDING

NEW

4.8a Where did the farm to school funds come from? For example; State administrative expense (SAE) funds, State administrative funds (SAF), grants, reimbursements specifically for local food purchases, etc.

(STRING (NUM))

NEW

4.9 How many schools received additional reimbursements from your State to purchase local foods in SY 2017-2018? If no schools received additional reimbursements, please enter 0.

SCHOOLS REIMBURSED

(RANGE NUMBER RANGE)

IF 4.9 = 0, SKIP TO NEXT SECTION

NEW

4.10 What is the additional reimbursement rate that schools receive from your State to purchase local foods in SY 2017-2018?

CENTS PER MEAL

(RANGE NUMBER RANGE)

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