The Appellant, Cindy Holt, filed an appeal from a determination that her child care home is seriously deficient for the reasons specified herein. Cindy Holt runs a child daycare home in Pleasant Hill, Polk County, Iowa, and has been a participant in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). When the initial notice of serious deficiency was sent to Ms. Holt on April 28, 2016, she held a category B child care license, indicating that she was the sole person on the registration.
On June 7, 2016, Ms. Holt's registration changed to category C-2, indicating that she had a co-provider of child care. Her co-provider was her daughter, Amanda Holt. However, none of the notices discussed herein were sent to Amanda Holt. Accordingly, Amanda Holt cannot be disqualified at this point under the CACFP. Because no notice of any adverse action was ever provided to Amanda Holt, she has nothing to appeal; Amanda Holt is dismissed as an appellant. CACFP is a federal program that provides reimbursement for meals and snacks provided by providers to children in daycare homes and centers. The program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Iowa Department of Education's Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services (State Agency).
The participation of providers in CACFP is supervised by a sponsor, in this case Community, Family & Youth Services. To participate in CACFP in Iowa, the provider must possess a certification of registration from the Iowa Department of Human Services, and must sign an agreement that provides for the terms and conditions of program participation. A CACFP provider, such as Ms. Holt, is required to keep contemporaneous (daily) detailed, accurate records of the attendance of the children in care and meals/snacks served to each individual child in the care of the provider. 7 CFR ? 226.16(d)(4)(i). The sponsor must give a daycare home that does not adhere to these requirements notice of any deficiency and the opportunity to take corrective action. 7 CFR ? 226.16(l)(3).
On April 28, 2016, Community, Family & Youth Services sent a Serious Deficiency Notice to Ms. Holt, citing the submission of false claims for reimbursement of meals and snacks served to children in April, 2016. (Exhibit A) Specifically, the sponsor found that Ms. Holt was submitting claims for meals or snacks that she had not actually served to children. Ms. Holt was given the opportunity to correct the deficiency. More troubling, however, was the fact that Ms. Secor Parker of the State Agency received a call on August 3, 2016 from a parent who used Ms. Holt's daycare. The parent reported that the parent was told by Ms. Holt to report false times on the in/out documentation, and that although the parent was providing all of the food for the parent's child, Ms. Holt was claiming meals/snacks served to the child. This was consistent with what other parents told Ms. Kirkman when she called the parents. That is, the parents admitted putting down more time than their children were actually in Ms. Holt's care, and that they did so at the director of Ms. Holt.
CACFP is funded by public monies; therefore, a provider is required to be accountable to the public for how s/he operates. When such accountability is lacking, the public trust is gone, and the sponsor is required to take appropriate action. Put another way, the sponsor has a duty, no matter how unpleasant at times that duty may be, to hold its providers accountable on behalf of the public.It is appropriate in this case to order the termination of Cindy Holt from the Child and Adult Care Food Program and place her name on the National disqualified list.
For the foregoing reasons, the termination of Cindy Holt from the Child and Adult Care Food Program and placement of her name on the National disqualified list is hereby ordered.