Opportunity Information: Apply for DCI17
USDA_FNS_DCI-FY 2017 (Opportunity Number DCI17) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) that focuses on improving "direct certification" for free school meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is the process that allows children to be approved automatically for free school meals when they are in households receiving SNAP benefits, without requiring families to fill out and return a separate school meal application. In practice, this is usually done by securely matching data from school enrollment records with SNAP eligibility records held by State public assistance agencies. The goal is to make access to free meals faster and more accurate, while reducing paperwork for families and administrative burden for schools.
The opportunity is rooted in several federal laws that built and strengthened direct certification requirements over time. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required local educational agencies to have direct certification systems in place by school year 2008-2009. The 2008 Farm Bill then required FNS to evaluate how well States and localities were doing and to report annually to Congress on State progress, using calculated direct certification rates. These rates compare an estimate of the number of school-age SNAP participants (ages 5-17) to the number of children from SNAP households who were actually directly certified for free meals. FNS has published these results in annual Reports to Congress on Direct Certification, and the notice highlights that the national calculated rate reached 91 percent in SY 2014-2015, up from 87 percent in SY 2013-2014, showing improvement but also leaving room to close remaining gaps.
Funding for the Direct Certification Improvement Grants comes from an appropriations directive that set aside money specifically to help States with the lowest direct certification rates improve their performance. Congress, through Section 749(h) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-80), required FNS to issue grants to State agencies that administer NSLP and have comparatively low rates of directly certifying eligible children. The central purpose of the FY 2017 competition is to support State agency planning and implementation projects that raise direct certification rates and help States reach and maintain the direct certification benchmarks required under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA).
Eligible applicants are State governments, specifically the State agencies responsible for administering the National School Lunch Program. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which typically means FNS expects substantial involvement during the project period, such as ongoing coordination, technical guidance, and oversight rather than a hands-off grant. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of up to $1,000,000 per award and anticipates around 20 awards, indicating a program designed to fund multiple States with targeted improvement efforts rather than one large national project.
The funding is intended to pay for practical, capacity-building work that removes barriers to accurate and timely data matching. Examples of supported activities include technology improvements (such as upgrading data systems, automating matching processes, improving data quality, or strengthening secure data transfers), providing technical assistance to local educational agencies (helping school districts refine procedures, troubleshoot matching issues, and improve follow-up processes), and implementing new or revised direct certification systems at the State or local level (including redesigning workflows, changing how matches are conducted, or expanding and refining matching strategies). Taken together, the program is meant to help States modernize the infrastructure and processes that connect SNAP participation to school meal eligibility, so more eligible children are certified automatically and fewer families are missed due to system limitations, timing issues, or inconsistent data.
Key administrative details from the notice include the funding activity area (Food and Nutrition), CFDA number 10.579, and the timeline shown in the posting (created August 15, 2017, with an original closing date of February 15, 2019). Overall, USDA_FNS_DCI-FY 2017 is best understood as a performance-focused improvement grant: it targets States that need to raise their direct certification rates and provides resources to build better data matching, stronger local implementation, and more reliable systems so eligible children can receive free school meals automatically and consistently.Apply for DCI17
- The Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "USDA_FNS_DCI-FY 2017" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.579.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 15, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 15, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is USDA_FNS_DCI-FY 2017 (Opportunity Number DCI17)?
USDA_FNS_DCI-FY 2017 (Opportunity Number DCI17) is a discretionary grant program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). It funds projects that improve direct certification for free school meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
What is the main goal of this grant program?
The program aims to increase the accuracy and speed of direct certification so more eligible children are automatically approved for free school meals. It also aims to reduce paperwork for families and reduce administrative burden for schools and State agencies.
What is "direct certification" in the context of school meals?
Direct certification is the process that allows children to be automatically approved for free school meals when they are in households receiving SNAP benefits, without requiring families to complete and return a separate school meal application.
How does direct certification typically work in practice?
Direct certification is typically carried out by securely matching data from school enrollment records with SNAP eligibility records maintained by State public assistance agencies.
Which federal program is being supported through improved direct certification?
The improvements supported by this opportunity focus on direct certification for free school meals within the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
Why is USDA FNS offering Direct Certification Improvement Grants?
Funding is set aside to help States with comparatively low direct certification rates improve their performance. The FY 2017 competition is designed to support State planning and implementation projects that raise direct certification rates and help States meet and maintain direct certification benchmarks required under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA).
What laws or policies are referenced as the foundation for this opportunity?
The notice describes how direct certification requirements were built over time through multiple federal actions, including the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, the 2008 Farm Bill, and appropriations direction in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-80). The opportunity also references benchmarks under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA).
What did the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 require?
It required local educational agencies to have direct certification systems in place by school year 2008-2009.
What did the 2008 Farm Bill add related to direct certification?
It required FNS to evaluate State and local performance and to report annually to Congress on State progress using calculated direct certification rates.
What are "calculated direct certification rates"?
Calculated direct certification rates compare an estimate of the number of school-age SNAP participants (ages 5-17) to the number of children from SNAP households who were actually directly certified for free meals.
What national progress does the notice mention about calculated direct certification rates?
The notice highlights that the national calculated direct certification rate reached 91 percent in school year 2014-2015, up from 87 percent in school year 2013-2014. This indicates improvement while still leaving room to close remaining gaps.
Where does the funding authority for these grants come from?
The notice states that Congress required FNS to issue grants to certain State agencies through Section 749(h) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-80), setting aside funds to help States with comparatively low direct certification rates.
Who is eligible to apply for DCI17?
Eligible applicants are State governments, specifically the State agencies responsible for administering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
Are local educational agencies (school districts) eligible to apply directly?
The opportunity lists eligible applicants as State agencies that administer NSLP. While the grant may support technical assistance to local educational agencies, the applicant eligibility described is at the State level.
What type of award is used for this opportunity?
Awards are made as cooperative agreements, meaning FNS expects substantial involvement during the project period, such as ongoing coordination, technical guidance, and oversight.
How much funding is available per award?
The notice lists an award ceiling of up to $1,000,000 per award.
How many awards does the program expect to make?
The opportunity anticipates around 20 awards.
What kinds of projects or activities can the funding support?
The funding is intended for practical, capacity-building work to remove barriers to accurate and timely data matching. Examples listed include technology improvements, technical assistance to local educational agencies, and implementing new or revised direct certification systems at the State or local level.
What are examples of technology improvements that may be supported?
Examples include upgrading data systems, automating matching processes, improving data quality, and strengthening secure data transfers used for matching school enrollment records with SNAP eligibility records.
What does "technical assistance to local educational agencies" mean in this grant?
It can include helping school districts refine direct certification procedures, troubleshoot matching issues, and improve follow-up processes so eligible children are more consistently and accurately certified automatically.
What does it mean to implement a "new or revised direct certification system"?
The notice describes efforts such as redesigning workflows, changing how matches are conducted, and expanding or refining matching strategies at the State or local level.
What barriers is the program trying to address?
The notice emphasizes addressing system limitations, timing issues, and inconsistent data that can prevent eligible children from being matched and directly certified.
What is the funding activity area for this opportunity?
The funding activity area is Food and Nutrition.
What is the CFDA number for this program?
The CFDA number listed is 10.579.
When was this opportunity posting created, and what closing date is shown?
The posting indicates it was created on August 15, 2017, and it shows an original closing date of February 15, 2019.
How should this grant be understood at a high level?
This is a performance-focused improvement grant aimed at helping States raise direct certification rates by modernizing data matching infrastructure, strengthening implementation practices, and improving reliability so eligible children receive free school meals automatically and consistently.
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