CACFP Compliance Checklist for Childcare Centers

How to Use This Checklist

Work through this checklist daily, weekly, and monthly. Keep a printed copy at each meal service site and in your administrative files. Items marked with a star (★) are the ones auditors check first — they are the highest-risk areas for findings.

Daily Checklist

Complete these tasks at each meal service (breakfast, AM snack, lunch, PM snack, supper where applicable).

Before the Meal

• Current menu is posted and matches today’s planned meal components
• All required meal components are available for the meal pattern and age group served
• Meal count sheet for today is prepared and available at the serving area
• Staff responsible for the meal count has been identified (this should not be the same person serving food)

During the Meal (Point-of-Service Count) ★

• Meal count is taken while children are seated and actively eating — not before, not after
• Count is recorded by classroom/age group, broken down as required by your state agency
• Each age group is counted separately: infant, toddler, preschool, school-age (as applicable)
• Only children who received all required meal components are counted
• Count is physically written on the form at the table — not recalled from memory later
• A second staff member witnessed or co-signed the count (required by some state agencies — verify your requirement)

After the Meal

• Menu as served matches the posted menu. If any substitution was made, document it on the menu form with the reason
• Infants: breast milk or formula and solid foods are documented separately per infant feeding records
• Meal count form is complete, signed, and filed in the daily records folder
• Any absent children removed from the count — do not count children who were not present ★

Weekly Checklist

Complete at the end of each week, before submitting any attendance or claim data.

Income Eligibility Verification ★

• Review all income eligibility forms for children who attended this week
• Check expiration dates — standard forms expire 12 months from the date they are effective
• Identify any families whose forms expire within the next 30 days; send renewal requests
• Children with expired or missing eligibility forms should be classified as Tier 2 unless your state agency has a grace period policy (check with your sponsor)
• New enrollees: eligibility form collected and filed before or at first meal claimed

Claim Reconciliation

• Total meal counts for the week align with attendance records for the same days
• No day shows more meals claimed than children enrolled in that age group
• Days with lower-than-usual counts have a documented reason (holiday, illness outbreak, scheduled closure)
• Meal counts are stored in a location that can be produced within 5 minutes if an auditor calls

Menu Review

• Menus for the week are retained in the monthly records folder
• Any substitutions made during the week are documented on the original menu form
• Menus meet the current CACFP meal pattern requirements for each age group served (portion sizes, required components)

Monthly Checklist

Complete before submitting your monthly claim.

Claim Preparation ★

• Monthly meal count totals are compiled from daily count sheets — do not rely on estimates
• Total counts reconcile to attendance records: if the attendance record shows 15 children on a given day, meal counts for that day should not exceed 15 for that age group
• Absence days: review your state’s allowable absence billing policy for CACFP (this is separate from subsidy billing). Most CACFP programs do not claim meals for absent children
• Infants: infant feeding records are complete for each day
• Claim is submitted before your state agency’s monthly deadline ★ (late submissions may be disallowed)

Records Filed for the Month

• All daily meal count sheets filed in monthly folder
• All menus (as planned and as served) filed in monthly folder
• Income eligibility forms for all enrolled children are current and accessible
• Attendance records for the month match the enrollment count used in the claim

Financial Reconciliation

• Claimed amount is compared to actual reimbursement received when the payment posts
• Discrepancies between expected and actual reimbursement are identified and the state agency is contacted if needed
• Reimbursement is recorded in your financial records as CACFP income

Annual Review Preparation Checklist

Administrative reviews can happen with short notice. Keep your records organized so you can respond within 24 hours.

Records Organization ★

• Prior 12 months of daily meal count sheets are filed in chronological order, organized by month
• Menus for all 12 months are retained and match the records for the same period
• Income eligibility forms are current for all enrolled Tier 1 children
• Children whose eligibility tier changed during the year have updated forms showing the effective dates
• Enrollment records match the children included in CACFP claims (no children claimed who were not enrolled)

Documentation Readiness Test

Run this test quarterly — before the annual review, not during it:

• Pick a random week from 3 months ago
• Pull the daily meal count sheets for that week in under 5 minutes
• Confirm the menus for that week are filed and accessible
• Confirm that all children counted that week have valid income eligibility forms dated before the week
• Confirm that meal counts for that week do not exceed attendance records for the same days

If you fail any of these tests, fix the filing system now.

Site Preparation

• Current CACFP participation materials are posted (your state agency provides these)
• Staff who conduct meal counts can explain the point-of-service counting process
• You can identify the staff member responsible for CACFP recordkeeping

Common Violations Checklist

Use this list as a self-audit. Check each item to confirm you are not at risk.

Meal Count Violations ★

• Meal counts are never filled in from memory, from a roster, or at the end of the day — only at point of service
• Counts for children who left before the meal ended are not included
• Meal counts do not include children who were absent for any part of the day if they were not present during that specific meal
• Staff who count meals are trained on point-of-service requirements, not just shown the form

Menu Violations

• Menus reflect what was actually served, not the planned menu. If the kitchen substituted applesauce for peaches, the menu record shows applesauce
• All required meal components are present for every claimed meal (e.g., a snack cannot be claimed if only one component was served when two are required)
• Beverages that do not meet CACFP requirements (sweetened drinks, flavored milk for ages 6+ where not allowed) are not served at claimed meals

Eligibility Violations ★

• No children are classified as Tier 1 (higher reimbursement rate) without a valid, current income eligibility form on file
• Eligibility forms are not extended beyond their 12-month effective period without re-collection
• Eligibility forms are retained even after a child leaves the program — do not destroy records when children disenroll

Administrative Violations

• Claims are not submitted for months in which the center was not approved to participate
• New sites were added to the CACFP agreement before meals were served at those sites, not after
• Staff turnover has not left a gap — there is always a qualified person responsible for CACFP recordkeeping

Record Retention Summary

If an audit is ongoing or a finding has been issued, retain all related records until the matter is fully resolved, regardless of the above timelines.