Reimbursement Process
In Illinois, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is administered by the Illinois State Board of Education and funded by USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) for cash reimbursement to licensed and license-exempt day care home providers for serving nutritious meals and snacks to children in their care.
All sponsor organizations provide the exact same rate of reimbursement.
Effective July 1, 2023, this chart indicates the rate of reimbursement for day care home providers:
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | |
| Breakfast | $1.65 | $0.59 |
| Lunch / Supper | $3.12 | $1.88 |
| Snacks | $0.93 | $0.25 |
Day care home providers can qualify for Tier 1 rates based on residential school boundaries, census data, or household income. The Illinois Child Care Bureau office (ICCB) makes school and/or census determination based on information supplied by the Illinois State Board of Education as well as household income provided by the day care home provider. Eligible providers may also apply to claim residential children through age 12 by completing a Household Eligibility Application. If approved, residential children may be claimed on CACFP as long as at least one non-residential day care child is claimed for reimbursement. If a provider does not qualify based on the above criteria, Tier II rates are assigned.
Depending on the child’s schedule, a day care home provider may claim a maximum of 2 main meals and 1 snack or 2 snacks and 1 main meal per child per day. See Claim Your Menus for information on requirements for claiming reimbursement.
The ICCB processes provider menus and submits a monthly claim for reimbursement to the Illinois State Board of Education. When funds are received electronically from the Illinois State Board of Education, the ICCB can send a direct deposit to your bank account (checking or savings). Direct deposit is safe, efficient, and it’s fast. If needed, the ICCB will write a paper check and mail it to your day care home via the US Post Office. Go green and use direct deposit!
Annual Civil Rights training is a program requirement. It is the responsibility of the day care home provider to inform parents/guardians to file complaints appropriately. If someone feels they have been treated differently and their Civil Rights have been violated, they may want to file a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture. A day care home provider should never discourage individuals from filing a complaint and must provide the complainant with the information to do so.