COORDINATED REVIEW EFFORT
Coordinated Review Effort (CRE)
Public Schools
COORDINATED REVIEW EFFORT
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A federally mandated accountability review of the
National School Lunch Program
Conducted every 5 years in public schools, private
schools and residential child care institutions
A standard review form is used
CRE COMPONENTS
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Coordinated Review Effort (CRE) is a two part
process which includes critical and general
areas.
A WVDE state agency addendum is added to the
general areas of review.
The SFA and a designated number of schools are
reviewed.
CRE REVIEW
School selection based upon criteria stated in
federal regulations
 Selected from October claim (due by November
10th)
 Schools will be announced the morning of the
entrance conference. At least two schools will be
reviewed on Day 1 while the LEA prepares
applications for Day 2.
 Superintendent and food service director notified
of review details about 4 weeks prior to the
review
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OVERVIEW OF CRE PROCESS
Entrance conference
 School Food Authority (SFA) review
 School level reviews
 Exit conference
 Report to Superintendent, School Board
President and Food Service Director
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SFA AND SCHOOL REVIEWS
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Critical areas
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General areas
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State addendum
CRITICAL AREAS OF NON-COMPLIANCE
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Eligibility: free & red. price application
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Accurate counting and claiming
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Direct Certification
Benefit Issuance
Updating eligibility
Day of review and review period
Meal pattern compliance
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Day of review and review period
NON-COMPLIANCE IN CRITICAL
AREAS
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Requires corrective action by SFA (system -wide)
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Requires recovery of funds
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When fiscal action for the initial review and follow-up
review(s) does not exceed $600.00, regulations allow a
waiver
May warrant a follow-up review
Sponsor has the right to appeal any recovery of
funds resulting from a CRE review
FOLLOW-UP CRE:
Free and Reduced Price Meal Applications
 5% or greater error rate
 Counting and Claiming
 system as implemented does not yield accurate
count (day of review and review period)
 Meal Pattern
 non-reimbursable meals claimed for
reimbursement and/or the required food items
not available to all students (review day and
review period)
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SFA: GENERAL AREAS
System for consolidating the claim
 Monitoring responsibilities
 Reporting and record keeping
 Civil Rights
 Benefit issuance
 Verification
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SFA: STATE ADDENDUM
Internal accounting
 Billing and collections
 Audit compliance
 Systems management
 Annual Report
 Procurement
 Inventories
 Staffing
 Policies (including Wellness Policy)
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SCHOOL: GENERAL AREAS
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Free and reduced price process
Policy statement implemented as approved
 System Prevent overt identification
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Verification completed according to Regulations
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Letters of potential reduction in benefits sent to
households as required
SCHOOL: GENERAL AREAS
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Meal Patterns
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Portion sizes meet the meal pattern
Variety low-fat/Non-fat fluid milk available
Offer vs. serve implemented correctly
Bread/grains servings meet requirements
Servings of fruits & vegetables meet requirements
SCHOOL: GENERAL AREAS
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Reporting and record keeping: records
maintained for 3 years + year of operation
Civil rights: poster, non-discrimination statement
included on program materials, i.e., school
handbooks, menus
Special dietary needs
SCHOOL: STATE ADDENDUM
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Point of Service
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Does system identify non-reimbursable meals.
2nd meals served to students
 Meals served to program adults, non-program adults,
teachers, visitors.
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Daily Summary Reports Maintained
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Meal service counts and cash collections
SCHOOL: STATE ADDENDUM
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Cash management
Receipts for cash received
 Reconciliation with bank statement
 Bank reconciliation reflect two signatures
 Dual signatures on checks
 Petty cash ( how documented/verified)
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Internal controls
Proper segregation of duties
 Edit checks completed ( signed & dated)
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SCHOOL: STATE ADDENDUM
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Option B
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1 bread/grains offered daily (7/11)
5 b/g servings contain 33% whole grain
Offer 1cup / 1 ¼ cup fruits, vegetables daily
Offer ¼c – ½c FRESH fruits/veg. 5 times/wk
Offer ¼c - ½c dried beans, dried peas, or lentils weekly
Limit sugar, fat, salt in food preparation
SCHOOL: STATE ADDENDUM
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Competitive food sales
Food safety/ HACCP Plans
Production records
CN labels, nutrition fact info, local recipes
Drinking water available in dining area
Adequate time for meal
Dining area and admin. practices encourage
participation
Pregnant & lactating students
A la carte sales (only fluid milk may be sold in dining
area during breakfast/lunch periods) (federal regulation)
School and community involvement in nutrition policies
and practices
GENERAL AREAS OF NON-COMPLIANCE
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Requires corrective action; however,
noncompliance does not warrant a follow-up
review or recovery of funds.
COMMON CRE PROBLEMS
Application, benefit issuance, and direct
certification errors
 Verification problems – timeframe, status change,
documentation, notify household of verification
outcome
 Manual meal count input errors
 Daily summary reports not updated
 Receipting of cash collected daily
 Cash collected on line (potential for overt
identification)
 Segregation of duties
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COMMON CRE PROBLEMS
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Monitoring – recommend using OCN form
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document follow-up visits
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Not enough time to eat
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Competitive food sales
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Minimal nutritional value
Direct competition in cafeteria
Non-compliance w/ Policy 4321.1
Non-reimbursable meals
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Inadequate monitoring of food bars
Failure to document accurately
COMMON CRE PROBLEMS
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School negotiated snack and beverage contracts
SFA written response to corrective action timeframes (within 30 days of receipt of written CRE
report)
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Five whole grain servings per week
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Current health department inspection (2)
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Collection of outstanding bill payments
COMMON CRE PROBLEMS
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Complete/standardized local recipes
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Documenting CCPs and SOPs
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Maintaining temperature logs
KEYS FOR A SUCCESSFUL REVIEW
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Train school staff so they know what to expect
Be prepared: review this information and
organize materials needed for the CRE (school
and SFA checklists, review forms, etc.)
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Relax!
WE’RE COUNTING ON YOU
To serve the children of WV