Over the past month, the CCFP Roundtable convened the Remote Visit Protocol Workgroup made up of Roundtable Members to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and protocols involved in off-site reviews based on the COVID-19: Child Nutrition Response #39 (Nationwide Waiver of Onsite Monitoring Requirements for Sponsors in the Child and Adult Care Food Program). The goal of the Workgroup is to ensure clarity and agreement between local CACFP Program Operators (Program Operators), CACFP Sponsoring Organizations (Sponsors), and the California Department of Education (CDE) about the processes put in place while operating under aforementioned Nationwide Waivers.
Our recommendations (click letter for more details) include:
Establish simple and clear definitions of offsite reviews.
Allow CACFP Sponsors to use an anticipatory timeframe for unannounced visits with local Program Operators.
Establish clear and fair protocols for obtaining signatures on monitoring forms during the pandemic.
Do not make changes to current documentation form requirements for Remote visits.
Our diverse workgroup – which included representatives from all components of CACFP – put a significant amount of thought and work into crafting these simple and straightforward recommendations. We vetted them with national partners to ensure their broad application and comprehensiveness.
In addition, the Roundtable is working on a detailed best practice guide and will be conducting trainings on best practices for Remote Visits for the CACFP community.
Communities of Practice. The Roundtable witnessed great value in bringing together a small group of CACFP community members to discuss the issues related to Remote Visits and work together towards a common goal. We want to grow these kinds of small group opportunities to collectively learn, share, and problem solve with our Roundtable community.
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.
Is there an issue or topic you would like to explore and share with your CACFP peers?
Questions? elyse@ccfproundtable.org