Names of all household members; Amount, source, and frequency of current income for each household member; Signature of an adult household member (an electronic signature is acceptable for web-based applications); and Last four digits of the Social Security Number of the household’s primary wage earner or another household member, or an indication that no adult household member has a Social Security Number. Indication of No Income On a paper application, any income field left blank is a positive indication of no income; therefore, paper applications with blank income fields are to be processed as complete. The adult household member’s signature certifies that there is no income to report. In an online application, if income fields are submitted with blank responses, these also are processed as complete. Income Conversions For the purposes of certification of eligibility for free and reduced price meals or free milk based on household income, the household must provide their current income. The amount of income must be based on the most recent information available, which may be income: For the current month; Projected for the month in which the application is filled out; or For the prior to application. If current income is not a reflection of the amount of income that will be available to the household over the course of the school year, the household should contact the LEA for assistance. Households may have income from a variety of sources and may be paid on different schedules. For example, the household may receive paychecks on a weekly basis and child support on a monthly basis. In other cases, for seasonal workers or those who are self-employed, annual income reporting may be the preferred income frequency as households may only be paid once or a few times per year. The LEA will determine the amount and frequency of income available during the school year for such households, and households can report income on an annual basis. For more information, see: SP 19-2017: Reporting Annual Income on School Meal Applications, Depending on a household’s specific circumstances, an income conversion may or may not be required. No Income Conversion Required: If a household has only one source of income, or if all sources are received in the same frequency, the LEA takes the sum of all income sources and compares the household’s total income to the IEGs. For example, if a household of three only reported receiving a monthly Social Security
Names of all household members; Amount, source, and frequency of current income for each household member; Signature of an adult household member (an electronic signature is acceptable for web-based applications); and Last four digits of the Social Security Number of the household’s primary wage earner or another household member, or an indication that no adult household member has a Social Security Number. Indication of No Income On a paper application, any income field left blank is a positive indication of no income; therefore, paper applications with blank income fields are to be processed as complete. The adult household member’s signature certifies that there is no income to report. In an online application, if income fields are submitted with blank responses, these also are processed as complete. Income Conversions For the purposes of certification of eligibility for free and reduced price meals or free milk based on household income, the household must provide their current income. The amount of income must be based on the most recent information available, which may be income: For the current month; Projected for the month in which the application is filled out; or For the prior to application. If current income is not a reflection of the amount of income that will be available to the household over the course of the school year, the household should contact the LEA for assistance. Households may have income from a variety of sources and may be paid on different schedules. For example, the household may receive paychecks on a weekly basis and child support on a monthly basis. In other cases, for seasonal workers or those who are self-employed, annual income reporting may be the preferred income frequency as households may only be paid once or a few times per year. The LEA will determine the amount and frequency of income available during the school year for such households, and households can report income on an annual basis. For more information, see: SP 19-2017: Reporting Annual Income on School Meal Applications, Depending on a household’s specific circumstances, an income conversion may or may not be required. No Income Conversion Required: If a household has only one source of income, or if all sources are received in the same frequency, the LEA takes the sum of all income sources and compares the household’s total income to the IEGs. For example, if a household of three only reported receiving a monthly Social Security
Step_1_Eligibility_Manual_pgs_22-73.docx