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Guides to Attendance & Meal Counts

Last Update il y a 7 mois

Guide to Attendance using Daily/"Present" Guide to Attendance Using In/Out Times Guide to Attendance by Headcount Guide to Meal Counts by Name Guide to Meal Counts by Headcount

Guide to Attendance Using In/Out Times

What is time in/time out attendance?

Time In/Time Out attendance means that each participant has an arrival time and departure time entered into the system. This method of attendance provides the most rigorous cross-checks but can be cumbersome and duplicative. The most common method for attendance is daily/"present" attendance.

How do I enter time in and time out for participants?

  • You will start by clicking the button on your main site dashboard.
  • Depending on your configuration, your button might look like any of those below:
  • Choose the roster from the dropdown or choose "Select" to see all participants
  • Change the date if needed
  • Enter the arrival or departure time using one of the methods below
    • Method 1: Click the button for "Use Typical Times"
      • No "Use Typical Times" box? You might be using an entry screen that doesn't allow for this feature, the participant is missing a schedule or your sponsor does not have this feature enabled.
    • Method 2: Use the Hour and Minute dropdown menus to select the time
      • No dropdowns? That means that your sponsor has restricted the time entries to the current time.
    • Method 3: Type the time into the box using hh:mm am/pm format
      • Can't type in the box? That means that your sponsor has restricted the time entries to the current time.
  • Method 4: Click the "Now" button
  • Remember to click save


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When can I enter Time In/Time Out Attendance?

That depends on your sponsor settings. Sponsors can restrict users to the following time frames:

  • By midnight of each day
  • By a certain day of the week
  • By a certain day in the calendar month (for the month prior)

In addition, attendance cannot be taken if you have already submitted your claim to your sponsor for the month or if there is a closure or holiday entered.


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There is a participant missing from the attendance list. What is wrong?

If a participant is not on the screen, check the following:

  1. You are looking at the correct roster for that participant. If you aren't sure which roster a participant is on, choose "Select" from the roster dropdown to see all participants.
  2. Make sure the roster that the participant is on is active.
  3. Check the start date for the participant. We won't show a participant on the meal count screen if
    • the meal date is before the participant start date or
    • the participant is inactive on the meal date


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What if a child arrives in the morning, leaves for school and then comes back in the afternoon?

That's what the blue plus button is for! Click the button and another row of arrival and departure times will be displayed.

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  • Entering Multiple In/Out Times

What happens if I forget to add a time out?

That depends on your sponsor settings. A few things might happen:

  • The meals get paid as normal, even without a Time Out
  • The meals get disallowed if they are missing a Time Out
  • The Time Out is automatically filled with the facility closure time

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How do the Time In and Time Out impact the meal count screen?

We use the Time In and Time Out to determine which participants should be listed on the meal count screen. For example, if a participant Time In is after the breakfast meal service is over, their name won't be listed on the meal count screen for breakfast.

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What happens if I take a meal count and then add or edit a Time In or Time Out that shows a participant wasn't there for the meal. Will My Food Program catch that mistake?

We sure do! The error that gets triggered is called Participant Not in Attendance During Meal Time


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Is there a certain amount of time that a participant needs to be present in order for a meal to be payable?

That depends on the sponsor settings. Some states require that the participant be in attendance for at least 15 minutes of the meal service for the meal to be eligible for reimbursement.


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What is a "Note to Sponsor"?

A "note to sponsor" is a text box where centers, sites and providers can enter information about the day that cannot be recorded elsewhere. My Food Program has specific places to record:

  • Facility closure
  • Scheduled field trip
  • School release or summer day
  • A child eating a meal outside of their typical schedule
  • Food temperatures
  • Food delivery information


If you have information outside of these, then you can type them in a box for "Notes to Sponsor". You might not see this box, depending on your sponsor settings.


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