Direct Certification
Direct Certification Training v2.0
Agenda
• Background
• Schedule
• Access
• Results
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FAQs
Direct Certification Training v2.0
Background
•
Direct Certification is the federally mandated process through which
school-age recipients of Food Stamps and CalWORKs benefits are
certified as eligible for free school meals without further application.
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The CALPADS provides the pupil data used for the Direct Certification
matching process.
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The Direct Certification process uses
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Student ‘s name
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Student ‘s addresses
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Student’s date of birth
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Student’s Gender
(as reported by the LEA in the CALPADS) to match student’s information
against state program data.
Nutrition Services Division Management Bulletin
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Direct Certification Schedule
The CALPADS Direct Certification process occurs once a month.
Generally, the CALPADS student data will be pulled from CALPADS
on the second of each month, (The DC data is pulled after business
hours or next following business day if it falls on a weekend or
holiday). A Direct Certification notification will be posted on the
CALPADS Portal when the results are available
Calpads Flash#29 has more information on Direct Certification
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Direct Certification Access
•
The LEA Administrator must assign the Direct Certification
role to the appropriate staff
•
LEA users are with Direct Certification Roles are able to
view student(s) direct certification status online or can
request an extract file containing the direct certification
results.
•
The match reflects CALPADS data pulled on the second
date of each month and (Flash #29)
No additional file are submitted for Direct Certification
process.
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Direct Certification Results
1.Log into CALPADS and navigate to the Admin menu
2.Select View Direct Certification Status
3.Manage results displayed by updating the filter options
and clicking on the Apply Filters button
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Direct Certification Results
The CALPADS Direct Certification results contain a Certification Status code for each active student
record within your LEA. The Certification Status codes returned are defined as follows:
“C” = “Certified” – Student record was certified during the Direct Certification matching process.
“N” = “Not Certified” – Student record was not certified during the Direct Certification matching
process.
“A” = “Invalid address” – Student record’s address information was not recognized as a valid
United States Postal Service (USPS) address by the Direct Certification address conversion
process. This student record did not process through the Direct Certification matching process.
During the final CALPADS Direct Certification testing, the matching process identified approximately
10% of the student records statewide contain missing address information in the student information
records in CALPADS. Other invalid addresses may be due to incorrect or invalid street information,
state designation, or zip code. Please view or extract your direct certification records by selecting the
records with a Certification Status = “A” to identify those SSID enrollments needing attention .
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Retrieve Results
Request Extract
1. Log into CALPADS and navigate to the Reports menu
2. Select Extracts
3. Select Direct Certification link under the Request CALPADS Files
section
4. Specify additional filters if desired
• LEA: request an extract for an LEA
• School: request an extract for a single school. If left blank,
extract will include all schools in the LEA
• Certification Status code: request an extract for a specific
Certification Status Code (e.g. C - Certified)
• Student Certified Since: request an extract for students
certified since a specified date
5. Type a name to Identify your Extract file in Extract File Name
6. Select Request File
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Retrieve Results
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
Retrieve Results
1. Log into CALPADS and navigate to the Reports menu
2. Select Extracts
3. Select Direct Certification link under the Retrieve
CALPADS Files section
• District level is default
• School level extracts are optional
4. Select Download button next to the requested extract
file line.
5. Click Save and choose a location to store the file.
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Direct Certification Training v1.1
Retrieve Results
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
CALPADS Support
Converting an Extract CSV file to Excel Columns
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Launch Microsoft Excel
Locate the Data menu
Select Import External Data
Click on From Text
Locate and select your Extract (.cvs or .txt) file
Click the open option
Select Original data type as Delimited
Select the Delimiter type as “^”(most command)
Select all Data and choose to format data as Text
Verify the targeted location for the Data.
Click Finish.
Demo
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
CALPADS Support
Frequent Asked Questions about download extract:
• Extract only show a few students as “C” but no student listed as “N” or “A” ?
The Admin can check the status of the Direct Certification file in CALPADS by clicking on the Admin menu
and selecting Manage Direct Certification.
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
CALPADS Support
Frequent Asked Questions about download extract:
Is there a way to get help correcting student addresses?
Student Address help can be found at http://csis.fcmat.org
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Direct Certification Training v2.0
CALPADS Support
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Support Documents
– CALPADS Extract Specifications
– CALPADS Documentation
– Direct Certification
– Rules and Regulations
– Using CALPADS For the Direct Certification Process
– Postal Addressing Standards
– United States Department of Agriculture
– CalFresh County Contact for Direct Certification
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General Support
– http://www2.cde.ca.gov/CALPADSHELP/default.aspx
– Calpads-support@cde.ca.gov
– 916-325-9210
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Direct Certification Training v2.0