Direct certification is a process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free or reduced meals without the need for household applications.
The Wordware Free and Reduced module has an easy way to apply the direct certification status to students who qualify. To use this tool, log in to the Wordware District Site>Free and Reduced tab>Direct Certification.
Click on the blue Generic Certification link.
Detailed instructions for using the direct certification tool will appear; click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to close out of the instructions and proceed to the direct certification tool.
Enter the Effective Date. This is the date on the Direct Certification file you received from the state.
Begin typing the student name (either first name or last name) or the Student ID. Results will populate as you type. When you see the student, click on their name to add them to the list.
Continue to search for and add students to the list.
When all students are listed, enter the State Code for each student. The State Code will come directly from the file you received from the state. Some code examples are SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), FA (Food Assistance), MFREE (Medicaid free), MRED (Medicaid reduced) and FOS (foster). Type the code for each student in the State Code box.
If you have multiple codes on the file, it is helpful to enter the students by code. For example, enter all students with a SNAP code. Next, enter all students with a MFREE code, etc. This will save you time by utilizing the auto-fill feature.
For foster students, check the box in the Foster Child column.
For states who directly certify students based on Medicaid Reduced (MRED) you will need to check the box in the Reduced Status column.
When all students have a State Code entered and the appropriate check-boxes selected (if necessary) click the "Process" button.
You will be asked to confirm this action. Click the "OK" button.
Statistics will appear showing the number of students who were successfully updated.
The student's new statuses will now be reflected in the Family Dashboard, as seen here:
A log of each Direct Certification can be found in the Wordware District Site>Free and Reduced tab>Logs.
All Direct Certification runs are logged in chronological order.
Clicking on a log will give you more details about that particular Direct Certification run. This report can be opened in the browser or downloaded in CSV.
A sample log is shown here:
After completing the Direct Certification, your letters can be run from the District Site>Free and Reduced tab>Timeline. Click on the link for the current date>Direct Certification.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: When entering State Codes, it is important that you enter them the same way for the entire year. Codes are case sensitive. For example, the software will consider codes of SNAP, snap or Snap to be three different codes and they will be counted separately in your reports. We recommend entering them exactly as they are on your state file to avoid this issue.