Nutrition programs get program integrity upgrade

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/fgc.30174
• Published date: 19 April 2018
• Date: 19 April 2018

Access this content and more online! Go to federalgrantsandcontracts.com/createaccount and log in with your subs ref#, shown on the mailing label.

www.federalgrantsandcontracts.com © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com

Nutrition programs get

program integrity upgrade

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s)

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has announced

an enhanced focus on program integrity that

will include renewed attention on transparency,

payment accuracy, fraud and waste prevention,

and improved quality control.

“Where protection of taxpayer dollars is

concerned—the job is never done,” said Acting

Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Food,

Nutrition and Consumer Services Brandon

Lipps in a statement. “Today we are renewing

our commitment to ensuring that our nutrition

programs are run as effectively and efciently

as possible, increasing program integrity while

maintaining the nutrition safety net for those truly

in need.”

Acting Deputy Under Secretary Lipps

announced his intention to create a new position

of chief integrity ofcer (CIO) to manage oversight,

improvements and overall integrity strategy,

USDA said. The CIO will be located at the Ofce

of the Administrator at FNS and be tasked with

overseeing integrity initiatives in all 15 FNS

federal feeding programs.

In addition, DOE said FNS has initiated

an independent, third-party review of its

integrity efforts across the agency’s nutrition

programs which will support the identication of

improvements to the process currently in place, as

well as explore the implementation of promising

practices across government and the private sector.

FNS administers the nutrition assistance

programs, including the National School Lunch

and School Breakfast programs; the Child and

Adult Care Food Program; the Summer Food

Service Program; the Special Supplemental

Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and

Children; and the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program, which together comprise

America’s nutrition safety net.

To learn more, visit https://www.fns.usda.

gov/. ■

Grants alerts

Foster Performing Arts in Schools Program

(DOS)

Scope: The State Department’s U.S. Embassy in

Kabul, Afghanistan, seeks applications for the Foster

Performing Arts in Schools Program to provide

access to the performing arts for young audiences

to share Afghanistan’s rich cultural heritage with

young audiences, inform youth of their legal rights,

teach lessons of tolerance and amplify the voices of

marginalized groups.

Deadline: June 4, 2018.

Funds: $200,000 total for up to three awards. The

maximum project period is three years.

Eligibility: All types of applicants, except for individuals.

Areas: DOS said the successful applicants will: identify

an annual cohort of 10 to 15 partner schools with an

interest in supporting access to the performing arts

for young audiences. Beneficiaries should be primarily

children under age 16; develop between five and 10

distinct performances addressing a range of educational

themes for young audiences; coordinate with the

Ministry of Education on planned project activities,

selection of schools to benefit from the performances,

etc.; deliver five to 10 distinct performances per school,

per year; and present a clear plan for a minimum of

two to four annual focus groups per partner institution

with small numbers of students to determine how key

messages are being assimilated and to inform the

recipient how to continually improve the program.

➜ www.grants.gov; FON# SCAKAB-18-AW-004-

SCA-04022018

Undergraduate Scholarships Outside

Afghanistan — Afghan Students Program (DOS)

Scope: The State Department’s U.S. Embassy

in Kabul, Afghanistan, seeks applications for the

Undergraduate Scholarships Outside Afghanistan for

Afghan Students Program to provide undergraduate

degrees to Afghan students, primarily women, at

universities located in the Middle East, Central Asia,

the Indian subcontinent or the East Asia-Pacific region.

Vol. 42, No. 10 April 19, 2018

(more)