Participant Programs Overview: Effective January 2023

In order to take a meal count, a sponsor, site, meal and participant all need to be eligible for the same program. The article below is about adding a program to a participant.

This new feature will be available in January 2023.

• Current customers: this new feature will be available in January 2023. Current customers will NOT have to take any action in Participant Info once the new features are released.
• New customers: participants will be defaulted into the appropriate Participant Program for each site.
• Family Day Care Homes, Emergency Shelters and Adult Day Care Programs will have CACFP Standard as the default Participant Program
• Afterschool Programs will have ARAM as the default Participant Program
• Child Care Center will have:
• CACFP Standard as the default if that Program Type is in Site Details
• CACFP Preschool as the default if that Program Type is in Site Details

There are two times when you may need to change a Participant Program:

1. The participant has declined the CACFP or is a staff member.
2. The participant is in a child care center that has to file separate claims for school age and non-school age children. The child was entered with Preschool Participant Program as a default and should be switched to School Age Participant Program.

To change a participant program:

• Click on Participants & Rosters from the main dashboard
• Select the participant's name
• Scroll down to Participant Programs
• Change the Program in the dropdown
• Click "Save"

Children in child care centers that operate both a traditional CACFP program and also a Head Start and/or At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program may need to have a participant assigned to more than one program. For example, a child is enrolled in CACFP Standard and they also participate in the At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program.

To add a participant program:

• Click on Participant & Rosters from the main dashboard
• Select the participant's name
• Scroll down to Participant Programs
• Click the orange "Add Program" button
• Select the Program and enter the first day the child was eligible for Head Start or ARAM and leave the end date blank
• Click "Save"

If you have a participant that is no longer participating in a program, you can add an end date for that program. Examples include:

• A child who has transitioned from preschool to school age and is no longer eligible for Head Start
• A child who begins bringing their own meals and "declines" the CACFP.

To end a Participant Program:

• Click on Participant & Rosters from the main dashboard
• Select the participant's name
• Scroll down to Participant Programs
• Enter the last day the participant was eligible for that program
  
• Click "Save"

Important Note: You do NOT have add an end date at the end of each school year for each participant in the At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program and Head Start. It is better to instead add an end date to the ARAM and/or Head Start Program in Site Details. You can learn more in our article about Site Programs.