Day Care Homes

An organized nonresidential child care program for children enrolled in a private home, licensed or registered by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or by an alternate licensing authority. Daycare homes must operate under the sponsorship of a contracting entity.

Eligibility Guidelines

A Daycare home must be located in the provider’s private residence, the residence of another person, or a rented or unoccupied private residence. As a result, daycare homes that are located in commercial properties, for example, churches, schools, and corporations, are ineligible to participate in the CACFP.

The maximum number of meals providers may serve per child per day are:

Two meals and one snack; or
One meal and two snacks.

Providers are limited to one private residence when participating in the CACFP.

Provider – A person who provides care for children in a daycare home.

While some providers have incorporated or formed limited liability corporations (LLCs), a corporation may not participate as a daycare home in the CACFP, therefore to participate in the CACFP, the provider must comply with these requirements:

Each home must be operated by a different provider.
The provider, not the corporation or LLC, must enter into the Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s)) with Strengthen Our Nation.

HHSC allows licensed daycare homes to provide the “operation name” on the license. This name can be the name of the corporation, LLC, or the name of the provider. If the license is not issued in the name of the provider, the provider must submit, with the license, a copy of the HHSC print screen that displays the Administrator/Director's Name. This must be the person(s) named on the Agreement. See the example of the HHSC print screen.

In cases where more than one provider operates from a single home, all providers who are licensed at the same residence must care for different children and must participate under the sponsorship of Strengthen Our Nation.

Providers must submit all information and documentation to Strengthen Our Nation by the 20th day of the month for the request to be effective for that same month.

If the information and/or documentation submitted by the provider is incorrect or incomplete, TDA will return the incomplete information and request incomplete documentation before approval.

Submitting incomplete or incorrect information or documentation may result in the effective date being a month or months after the initial submission, so Strengthen Our Nation recommends documents are submitted as early in the month as possible to allow for corrections to be made during the same month.

PLEASE NOTE:

Providers disqualified or excluded from participation in a Child Nutrition Program may not participate in the CACFP.
Providers that lose their license/registration may not be claimed or participate in the CACFP.

Open Enrollment

When can you sign up with Strengthen Our Nation?

Current providers may select a new sponsor, without prior approval from TDA, between June 1 and September 30 of each program year. Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) signed during the open enrollment period are effective October 1 of the following program year.

A new provider can sign a Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) with a CE at any time during the program year.

If the Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) is signed between June 1 and September 30, the provider may choose another CE before the end of the open enrollment period to be effective October 1 of the following program year.

If a provider signs an application and Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) with more than one CE during open enrollment, the Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) that was signed earliest by both the sponsor representative and the provider(s) is legally binding. Once a provider has selected Strengthen Our Nation as their sponsor, the provider may not transfer to another CE without prior approval from TDA.

Under no condition may a provider participate under the sponsorship of two CEs during a given month.

Additional Information

PLEASE NOTE:

Strengthen Our Nation can not and will not obtain a newly signed Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) during the open enrollment period from existing providers in an attempt to prevent the providers from transferring to another sponsor during open enrollment.

A newly signed Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) signed by Strengthen Our Nation and an existing provider will not be considered as “signed earliest by both the sponsor representative and the provider” if the provider signs with another sponsor during the open enrollment period.

NOTE:

A daycare home may terminate its Permanent Agreement Between Contracting Organization and Child Care Site with Strengthen Our Nation and apply to participate directly with TDA at any time during the year.

Transfers

Prior to open enrollment, Strengthen Our Nation cannot recruit nor enter into a Permanent Agreement Between Sponsoring Organization and Day Care Home Provider(s) for the next program year with providers who are currently participating in the CACFP.

Providers who can document good cause for transferring may, with prior approval from TDA, enter into an agreement with Strengthen Our Nation at any time during the program year.

If a provider wants to transfer, he or she must:

Request in writing, and receive, prior approval for the transfer.
- Email request to:
  - Community.Ops@TexasAgriculture.gov
Demonstrate good cause for the transfer request.
Submit a letter to his/her current CE stating the intention to terminate the agreement and the effective date of termination.

"Good cause" for transferring from the sponsorship of one CE to another during the Program year is limited to the following conditions:

A CE denies a daycare home access to the Program.
A CE reduces the level of benefit a daycare home receives under the Program,
- For example:
  - The CE will not allow providers to claim suppers or weekend meals because the CE does not want to monitor those meal services.
The daycare home moves out of the CEs service area.
Any other good cause as determined by TDA.

***It is the provider's responsibility to demonstrate that such a condition exists.***

Example of a Good Cause Transfer:

A site moved to an area where the current sponsor does not provide service.