The person who handled your Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) paperwork just left. Your next claim is still due, your CACFP records and data still have to be reachable, and your state login still has to work. Start there, not with the job posting.
The First 48 Hours: A Practical Handover Plan
- Locate the records and confirm someone on site can open them.
- Notify your state agency and submit your management plan update.
- Reassign system access so you can still file a claim.
This 48-hour plan is our practical recommendation, not a regulatory deadline. Arrange trained coverage immediately for meal service, records, and the next claim while you plan the replacement. The Texas requirements below apply to contracting entities; if your center participates through a sponsor, contact the sponsor about the updates it handles.
Step #1 — Locate the Records, Paper and Electronic
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) requires that program records be kept at the primary business office listed on your application, that they be available during normal business hours, and that someone from your organization be able to meet a reviewer there with no more than four hours’ notice (CACFP Handbook, Section 2250). That requirement doesn’t care whether your records are paper or digital. It cares whether you can produce them.
Electronic records are allowed, with conditions. If staff complete meal count and attendance records electronically at the point of service, TDA requires that you can (Form H1535 instructions):
- Capture the signature and date securely for the site representative
- Print the form on demand, so records stay available for review
- Plan for technical difficulties such as system failures
A password only your departed employee knew is a technical difficulty.
Run the check on both halves:
- Paper: can someone on site open the binder and the filing cabinet tomorrow morning?
- Electronic: can a current employee log in, pull last month’s records, and print them today?
- In between: if staff filled out forms by hand and someone keyed the data into a spreadsheet or database, TDA still requires the original signed form on file. Find those.
Records must be kept for three years from the end of the program year, and longer if an audit finding, claim, or litigation is still open. This covers closed months too.
Step #2 — Notify Your State Agency
Your management plan lists (Section 2220):
- Names and functions of your officers, agents, consultants, volunteers, and employees
- Program staffing assigned to program management and monitoring
TDA requires changes to your application or management plan to be submitted “as they occur,” and the plan can only be amended with TDA’s approval (Sections 2290 and 2293).
Section 2293 requires updates as changes occur. TDA also states the consequence: if you fail to request changes in advance, your claims for reimbursement may be delayed or negatively affected.
If the person who left was one of your “principals” — leadership rather than kitchen staff — TDA also requires updated information for the incoming principal (Section 2730):
- A government-issued photo ID
- Proof of residential mailing address
Step #3 — Reassign System Access
Confirm who is currently authorized to use TX-UNPS and your other program systems. Use TDA’s current access procedures to remove the departed employee and request access for the appropriate current staff member. Do not share or reuse the departed employee’s credentials.
What to do this week:
- Stop using the departed employee’s login.
- Call your state agency and ask for the current user access form.
- Get access issued in a current employee’s name.
This step quietly blocks everything else, including submitting the claim.
The Handover Checklist: Functions to Reassign
TDA expects documented, qualified staff for each program function (Section 2221.2). Write down where the records live and who owns each one now:
- Directing and managing the program
- Training staff and sites
- Determining eligibility for participants
- Managing finances
- Meal counts, menus, and attendance records
- Purchasing and procurement
- Maintaining records, audit-ready
- Civil rights requirements
- Preparing and submitting claims
Budget and Staff Amendments: What Triggers One
Check how the staffing change affects your approved budget; a departure alone does not establish the amount of a budget change. TDA requires amendments for changes including these examples (Section 2230):
| Change to your budget | Amendment required |
|---|---|
| A single line item increases or decreases by at least 10% | Yes |
| A new line item is added | Yes |
| Money moves from one approved line item to another | Yes |
Calculate the actual change to each affected budget line. Two rules govern the timing:
- No retroactive amendments. TDA won’t approve them.
- Approval before spending. All budgeted costs require prior approval.
If the departing employee split hours between food service and other duties, make sure the replacement’s time and labor records reflect the work actually performed and your approved allocation method.
Hiring the Replacement: Two Checks Before Day One
1. Disqualified List Verification
TDA requires organizations to check both USDA’s National Disqualified List and the Texas Excluded SFSP List at three points (Section 2710):
- Before hiring employees for management positions or program activities
- Before signing site or provider agreements
- Periodically afterward, in case someone is added
Section 2100 also requires sponsors to verify staff, contractors, and affiliates before program involvement.
Do not assume a listing has ended just because seven years have passed. Verify current status before assigning program responsibilities. See what an NDL listing means and how removal works.
2. Documented Qualifications
TDA requires that a staff member’s actual qualifications align with the qualifications required at the time of hire. Hiring a capable person is the easy half. Writing down why they’re qualified is the half that gets skipped. Keep three things on file:
- The functions you assigned them
- The qualifications those functions call for
- The evidence: prior experience, certificates, or training records
Training the New Person, and Proving You Did
TDA requires staff training before assigned program duties and annually thereafter (CACFP Handbook, Sections 4511 and 4513). Keep the training date, attendees, and topics covered, and document your training procedures.
Train the replacement before they begin those duties, and use a trained backup while the handover is underway. Use the existing CACFP staff training guide to plan and document the training.
Handover Checklist
- Records located and reachable; applicable retention periods and exceptions checked
- Management plan updated; new principal information submitted if leadership changed
- System access reassigned in a current employee’s name
- Required budget changes approved before new spending; labor records reflect reassigned duties
- Disqualified list checks completed before the offer
- Training completed before assigned duties, with date, attendees, and topics on file
Build a Backup Plan for the Next Handover
TDA already requires your written program procedures to identify who is responsible for each task by position — and a “backup” staff member for it (Section 2221). Our recommendation is to make that backup assignment usable in daily operations.
Three moves:
- Add a second name to every task that has only one.
- Tell that person they’re the backup.
- Write down the sponsor split, if a sponsor handles part of your program, so the next person inherits a map instead of a guess.
Need help keeping claims moving after a staffing change?
If your organization holds its own CACFP agreement and needs help reviewing existing records or preparing claims after a handover, CACFP Solutions’ specialists can help identify missing information and organize the monthly workflow. Review ongoing CACFP claims support for the current service scope.
Keep the original records. Do not invent or recreate meal counts from attendance or memory to fill gaps. If required claim documentation is missing, ask your sponsor or state agency how to handle the affected meals.
Texas sources and related guidance
- TDA CACFP Handbook: Section 2000 covers staffing, budgets, amendments, and eligibility checks; Section 4500 covers training and records, including retention exceptions.
- Point-of-service meal counts: the practical workflow
- Evaluate the division of duties with your sponsor