Food Program Anniversaries in January

5 years: McKenzie Klein 

20 years: Jill Thompson, Deborah Luckason  

30 Years: Tammy Smith 

We applaud your commitment to serving nutritious meals and snacks to the children in your care!  

Components and Crediting 

Ask the Food Program

Question: 

I was deducted for “No Enrollment on file.” The child was enrolled, and the parent and I did the re-enrollment. Why was I deducted?  

Answer: 

This is a great question, and providers lose a lot of money on their claims for this reason.  

Children subject to re-enrollment in a calendar month turn yellow in cacfp.Net on the 2nd of that month. Timely re-enrollment must be completed – i.e., signed by the parent and submitted – on or before the 6th of the month. If that does not occur, the meals and snacks served to the children(ren) in that month will be disallowed for No Enrollment on File. For example: A Child Enrollment Form was signed by the parent on Jan. 20, 2025. The child’s name will appear with an asterisk behind it and turn yellow in CACFP.Net on Feb. 2, 2026. Re-enrollment must be completed on or before Feb. 6, 2026, to be timely and allow the meals and snacks served to that child in January to be reimbursed. 

Reminders: 

• The Child Enrollment (CE) Form drafted by the provider will go to the parent’s email address listed on the form. The provider’s email address may NOT be used. 
• The parent will need the PIN at the top of the email to access and update the CE information: 

•  Food Program recommends selecting all meals and snacks for which the provider is authorized, and Schedule May Vary on all children’s enrollments: 

• Review the completed Child Enrollment information. If you notice an error, contact the Food Program right away to prevent further deductions to your claim. Common errors occur when parents select ‘I am a regulated child care provider, and this is my child’ misunderstanding what that means, or Special Diet when none exists.  

• Special Needs applies to children aged 13 or older with a condition that significantly interferes with daily life. When documented – by the provider and parent and the child’s physician or authorized school personnel – and approved by the Food Program, children may continue to participate on CACFP on and after their 13th birthday, rather than ‘aging out’ of Food Program participation.  



Be sure to keep copies of completed enrollment forms for review during Home Visits by your Area Coordinator or representatives of DPI or USDA.  

Recipes to Try! 

• Try this recipe for breakfast hash from Get Fresh!, an initiative of the Chickasaw Nation.
• Leftover turkey? Try Turkey and Cucumber Sandwich from USDA MyPlate. 

CACFP Portion Sizes for Children and Infants 

How much fruit or vegetable should be served at lunch or dinner to a 3-year-old? Look here for answers to your portion size questions: 

• https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/community-nutrition/pdf/cacfp_child_meal_pattern.pdf 
• https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/community-nutrition/pdf/cacfp_infant_meal_pattern.pdf 

Grain Ounce Equivalents  

Wondering how many fish-shaped crackers to serve to each child at snack? This resource lists commonly served grain products and their recommended serving sizes.  

Monitoring and Oversight

Apply for the Higher Tier Anytime   

Has your household grown larger? Has your household income decreased? Do you now receive a qualifying service such as Food Share? If so, you may qualify to receive the higher Tier 1 rates. You also may qualify to claim the residential children living in your home, if applicable. Applications and federal income guidelines are found in this resource under Financial. 

WECA’s Policy on Provider Suspension from Wisconsin Shares 

• If a provider is suspended from the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy payment system, WECA will suspend that provider from Food Program participation effective the date of the Shares suspension, until the provider communicates to WECA what their intention is regarding the Shares suspension (i.e., to stay open and appeal suspension, or to close the family child care program). 
• WECA will drop a provider who intends to close and not appeal or fails to communicate with WECA within seven working days of the suspension. 
• If the provider states they intend to stay open and provide care for the children even though they are not guaranteed payment for the care of those children or has private pay children and remains regulated, WECA will closely monitor that provider. WECA may request that a copy of state attendance records be sent with the monthly claim to ensure the claim is valid. Additional requirements such as monthly parent signatures on attendance records also may be required. 

DPI Translated Forms  

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has many Family Child Care forms available in Spanish and Hmong on its site. 

Download Your 2025 Food Program Earnings 

Log into CACFP.Net. Under Claim Reports, you will see Checks: 

Populate the dates. For the calendar year payments, select the dates as shown here: 

Click Display Report. 

You will see a Summary of the payments for each month and by meal or snack claimed. 



Note: The Food Program funding originates from USDA, a federal agency. 

Holiday Closures  

WECA offices will be closed from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1, 2026. Regular hours and operations resume on Jan. 2, 2026. Contact your Area Coordinator if you need assistance during this time. 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program.

Any Questions: Call 608-240-9880 or visit our website.

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