{"id":5916,"date":"2023-02-22T01:09:18","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T01:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/?p=5916"},"modified":"2023-02-22T01:09:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T01:09:18","slug":"ohio-students-to-qualify-for-free-reduced-price-meals-through-medicaid-application","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/22\/ohio-students-to-qualify-for-free-reduced-price-meals-through-medicaid-application\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Students to qualify for free, reduced-price meals through Medicaid Application"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A program beginning next school year will increase student access to nutritious meals and ease the burden of paperwork and financial strain on families. Ohio is one of 14 states selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to participate in the\u00a0Direct Certification with Medicaid Demonstration Project<\/em>. Ohio\u2019s participation, which starts in the 2023-2024 school year, will allow households that receive Medicaid to automatically qualify for free or reduced-price school meals for their school-age children.<\/p>\n

Direct certification with Medicaid uses existing data to certify children for free or reduced-price meals without an additional application. This program will ensure more students receive the benefit of a school meal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a critical connection between meeting a student\u2019s basic needs and their success in the classroom,\u201d said Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction Stephanie Siddens. \u201cThe Ohio Department of Education is thrilled to offer direct certification through the Medicaid application. This program will remove barriers for families and allow more of our most vulnerable students to eat healthy meals at school so they can focus on learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNutritious meals are an integral part of each instructional day for students. Direct certification works to ensure children in need aren\u2019t mistakenly left behind,\u201d said FNS Midwest Regional Administrator, Dr. Vista Suarez Fletcher. \u201cIt means less paperwork for families and fewer school meal applications for school districts to process and verify.\u201d<\/p>\n

Direct Certification with Medicaid<\/a>\u00a0began in 2012 with seven states. In the 2023-2024 school year, 39 states will use Medicaid data to qualify students for free and reduced-price lunches. The Ohio Department of Education estimates that,\u00a0as of October 2022, 677,688 children qualify for free or reduced meals.\u00a0For many years, Ohio has been directly certifying students for free meals if their household received SNAP benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A program beginning next school year will increase student access to nutritious meals and ease the burden of paperwork and financial strain on families. Ohio is one of 14 states selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to participate in the\u00a0Direct Certification with Medicaid Demonstration Project. Ohio\u2019s participation, which starts in the 2023-2024 school year,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[130],"class_list":["post-5916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ohio"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t