The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is a federally funded program that provides nutritious USDA foods to eligible low-income seniors at no cost. Through CSFP, the USDA supports state agencies in improving the health of seniors by supplementing their diets with nutritious food packages.
This article will explore the customizable settings in Link2Feed that can be adjusted to align with State Requirements for CSFP.
- For detailed information on standard program settings applicable to your CSFP program, please refer to this guide.
- To modify any of the settings mentioned in this article, you must be logged in as a Network Admin at the Network level.
- Looking for more information on how these settings appear in the CSFP tab? Click here for a detailed explanation.
- To support your intake workers in recording visits effectively, we’ve also included resource documents at the bottom of this article to help guide them through the process.
This article covers the following topics:
- Operational Options
- State-Specific Options
- Income Guidelines
- Signature Options
- Race/Ethnicity Tracking Options
Operational Options
Within this section, you will find options to set automatic status changes based on monthly attendance and location visited, restrict enrollment to certain user levels, and set requirements on valid ethnicity.
- Automatic CSFP Location Change: If the client visits an agency different from the official location listed on their CSFP tab, the system will automatically update that official location to that agency just visited.
- Automatic Status Suspended: Enable the overnight task to automatically change the CSFP status to Suspended based on "when they miss two consecutive calendar months and have never been suspended"
- Automatic Status Waitlist: Enable the overnight task to automatically change the CSFP status to Waitlist based on "when they miss two consecutive calendar months and have had the Suspended status before"
- Automatic Status Inactive: Enable the overnight task to automatically change the CSFP status to Inactive based on "when no visit has been recorded in the last six months"
- Restrict Enrollment: Only users with the Network Manager role or above can make changes to the CSFP tab of a client's profile.
- Require Valid Ethnicity: Requires a valid ethnicity for CSFP.
State-Specific Options
Within state-specific options, you will be able to specify any applicable states as well as set various settings on a state-by-state basis.
CSFP Options
Upon adding a state, you'll notice that the settings are organized into distinct sections, with CSFP Options being the first.
Within the CSFP Options section, you'll find the following configurable settings for each state, allowing you to tailor your implementation to meet specific requirements and needs:
| Setting name | Description |
| Denied Status | Allows you to track denied CSFP status. |
| Auto-Populate CSFP ID with Link2Feed Client ID | Completes CSFP ID field with the client's Link2Feed client ID number. |
| Inactive Statuses | Provides the ability to track reasons for CSFP Inactive status. |
| Allow Other Signatory | Allows a signatory other than those listed on the CSFP tab to sign for a CSFP visit. |
| Show Notes Popup on Suspended Status | Displays a notes popup when client is in Suspended status. |
| CSFP Screening | Tracks the CSFP screening feature for all sites that have a CSFP program. |
| CSFP Screening Eligible Script |
Only appears when CSFP screening is selected. Script displayed when a client is eligible through CSFP screening. |
| CSFP Screening Ineligible Script |
Only appears when CSFP screening is selected. Script displayed when a client is ineligible through CSFP screening. |
| CSFP Screening Requirements |
Only appears when CSFP screening is selected. Shows a list of options of fields to be displayed when the CSFP screening feature is enabled: Last Name, First Name, Date of Birth, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, County, State, Zip Code, Household Size, Household Social Program, Household Monthly Income, Proxy, Certification, Eligible Script, Ineligible Script. |
| Certification/Recertification Disclaimer | Track disclaimer for CSFP Client Certification/Recertification. |
| Recertification Extension | This feature extends the client's next recertification date by the duration of the current recertification period. For instance, if the recertification period is 12 months and their recertification is extended, they will not need to recertify for an additional 12 months. |
| Worker Certification/Recertification | Track disclaimer for CSFP Worker Certification/Recertification. |
| Proof of Address | Track "Proof of Address" field on the CSFP tab. |
| Proof of Age | Track "Proof of Age" field on the CSFP tab. |
| Proof of Income | Track "Proof of Income" field on the CSFP tab. |
| Recertification Periods |
Allows you to configure and track multiple recertification options and choose for them to be within a certain amount of months, on the first of a specific month, or both.
|
| Proxy Document | Checkbox to indicate the site has client's paper proxy form on file. |
| Notification Letter | Track "Notification Letter" field on the CSFP tab. |
| Notification Letter Date | Display the calendar widget on the CSFP tab of when the notification letter was sent out. |
| Caretaker | Track the name(s) of caretaker(s) on the CSFP tab who are allowed to sign for that client's CSFP visit. |
| Recertification Yes/No | Track "Yes/No" in the recertification disclaimer to confirm the client agrees. |
| Check-In |
Track CSFP Check-In Feature. Check-ins enable you to schedule informal reminders during the off-years between CSFP recertification periods. Although recertification occurs every 3 years for CSFP, these informal check-ins are still mandatory. Once enabled, a pop-up notification will appear 30 days prior to the scheduled date, prompting you to connect with CSFP clients.
|
| Caseload | The target number of CSFP cases for this service in this state. |
| Caseloads by Agency | Clicking on this option will allow you to break down your network caseload by the agency. |
| Double Distribution | Allow organization to record a visit for both this month and the next one in entry |
| CSFP Household Social Program Eligibility | Social programs that qualify the client for CSFP as well. With this enabled, you'll get another field to insert household social programs used for CSFP eligibility |
Income Guidelines
This section allows you to enter the maximum monthly income amount per household size this can be updated as needed from within the Network program settings.
Signature Options
You can add a signature option if required and format your disclaimer within this section. You will also have the ability to choose your preferred allowed eSignature styles for the program here on a state-by-state basis.
Race/Ethnicity Tracking Options
As of September 12th 2024, Link2Feed improved the ability to track and report race and ethnicity data for your clients. Historically, Link2Feed included a single question for this purpose. However, to ensure compliance with the requirements of several US states and to better align with TEFAP and CSFP client applications, we have now separated race and ethnicity into two distinct questions.
Separate Questions for Race and Ethnicity
This update allows for more accurate data collection and reporting, ensuring compliance with state and federal guidelines.
- Improved Reporting: Enhanced data accuracy will aid in better resource allocation and program improvement.
How to enable this change
If you are looking to update your settings to reflect Race/Ethnicity questions, you can follow these steps:
- At the Network level, or Regional level dependent on your structure you will navigate to Administration, then select Fields.
- Go to the Personal section and find the Race/Ethnicity option.
- Switch this setting to either On or On Optional(If implementing regionally)
- Save Changes.
Here is a video walkthrough of the setup process:
Disabling undisclosed race/ethnicity
If you would like to remove the options for Didn't Ask, Don't Know and Prefer not to answer within the race/ethnicity question you can follow these steps:
- Select Administration then Settings.
- Locate the Intake Options section.
- Find the option for Undisclosed Race/Ethnicity and set this to Off. Doing so will disable the Didn't Ask, Don't Know and Prefer not to answer options.
- Save changes.
We understand that change can take time. Therefore, we have included an email template at the bottom of this guide you can use at your own convenience to inform your agencies about this change. Additionally, we have provided a guide that explains why the change has taken place, should you decide to implement it.