Step 2 - Head of Household

This is where you enter the information for the person who signed the application.

Select an option from the Special Verification Status section to exclude an application from verification, or to mark an application for manual verification. You must have security rights to update this section.
If you selected students from your Meals Plus database, the first student’s parent information will be filled in for you, but you can make changes. This will not update the parent information that is in POS.
Enter a name in the Last/First text fields.
- If you enter a name that already exists as a head of household, you will get a message but it will allow a duplicate name.

NOTE:For Income applications, USDA requires that an adult household member must sign the form and list the last four digits of their Social Security Number, or indicate that they do not have a SSN. Applications that are missing any required information should not be processed.

If only four digits are entered, it will be automatically formatted as the last four digits, with X as the first five digits. If you enter a nine-digit Household SSN has already been used, you will get a warning message but it will allow the duplicate.

Select either the date the application was signed or the date it is processed in the App Date field. This is based on local policy but should be consistent.
Enter the address in the three text fields provided for entering the Head of Household Address.
- This is used for notification letters. For consistency, we recommend that you always put the city, state and zip code in the third field.
Enter the home and work phone numbers in the appropriate Phone text fields, if available.
Enter an email address in the Email text field. This will allows administration to correspond with parents via email.
- When sending STU letters, the letter(s) it will send to first valid email if there are multiple students on the application.
- This is does not update the parent/guardian email address anywhere else in Meals Plus.

Select the language to be used for letters from the Language dropdown list. If you skip this field, it defaults to English.
Release Info is used to indicate if a family has given permission to release information to outside agencies. The Release Categories are set up in the Control File.
- Check ALL if the family has given permission for information to be released to all agencies listed on the application form.
- Click Partial if they have agreed to some but not all release categories. You will get a screen where you can check the categories that apply.
- It will default to None if nothing is changed.

Select an option from the Special Verification Status section to exclude an application from verification, or to mark an application for manual verification. You must have security rights to update this section.
- Manual verification would be verification for cause that is not part of random or focused sampling. It would be handled entirely outside the program.
  - Using this screen simply marks the application as Manual Verification so it will not get picked again in focused or random verification.
  - Manual verifications must be handled individually. The program does not print letters for manual verification. You can use the Notes section to document what is done.
  - This does not count as part of random or focused sampling. Use the Manage Application screen (not the verification programs) to make any necessary changes.
- Exclude will prevent an application from being selected as part of the random or focused selection process.
  - This feature is rarely used. An example would be to prevent a family from being re-selected if they were verified successfully last year.
  - Use the Notes section (under Manage Application) to document the reason for exclusion.
  - This is not the same as being as being exempt from verification, which automatically applies to Direct Certified and Homeless/ Migrant/ Runaway applications.
- Clear is used if you need to remove an M or X that was entered by mistake.

Enter the head of household’s income in the Income text field and select the frequency from the dropdown list.
Click if you want to go back to review the previous screens.
Click to continue to the HouseholdMembers screen.
For more instructions, continue to the Step 3 - Household Members screen.

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Student Eligibility, revised 7/2018