Reimbursement Tiering in the CACFP: Summary Report to Congress on the Family Child Care Homes Legislative Changes Study

by William Hamilton, Nancy Burstein, and Mary Kay Crepinsek

The introduction of tiered reimbursement rates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) concentrated program benefits more intensely on low-income children, as intended. Tiering reduced the number of family child care homes participating in the program, but did not alter the number or nutritional quality of meals offered by participating providers. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 mandated the tiered reimbursement structure and called for a study of its effects on program participation and on meals offered to children. Data were collected during the spring and summer of 1999 from nationally representative samples of participating family child care homes, their sponsors, and the parents of the children they served. This report summarizes the results of the study.

Keywords: Meal reimbursement tiering, Child and Adult Care Food Program, CACFP, child care, childcare, child nutrition programs, welfare reform, nutrition, Food and Nutrition Service, FNS

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Introduction
• Tiering’s Effects on Program Targeting
• Tiering’s Effect on the Number of CACFP Family Child Care Homes
• Tiering’s Effect on Nutritional Aspects of CACFP Tier 2 Meals
• Tiering’s Effect on Provider Operations
• Tiering’s Effect on CACFP Sponsors
• Abstract, Contents
• Tiering’s Effect on the Number of Licensed Child Care Homes
• Conclusion
• References