Answers to Frequently Asked Direct Certification Questions

WHEN CAN IT BE DONE?

  • The Direct Certification/Exempt Utility is done after you have imported students from your student information database into Meals Plus. Be sure to include students’ Social Security numbers in the Meals Plus import if possible.

    • We recommend that you run it at the beginning of the school year, before you start processing applications. You can re-run it later if you receive an updated Direct Cert file or if you want to check for additional matches for students who have moved into your district.
    • Direct Certified and Exempt students can be imported during verification; however, if a student in the DC file was selected for verification, they will not be updated.  A list will be provided of any students not updated because they were selected for verification.

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HOW DOES IT MATCH STUDENTS?

The matching method is a ranking system based user-defined confidence levels.

  • SSNand Student Id are both possible matching methods.

    • If a SSN in the Direct Cert/Exempt file matches a Meals Plus Student’s SSN:
      • A new Direct Certified/Exempt application will be created if the student does not have an application on file, using the student data that is on file in Meals Plus.
      • It will first look at the MP student record for the Parent name and address. If the MP student record does not have this information it will look at the Direct Cert/Exempt file. If no parent information is available, it will be handled as an Unmatched Application.
      • If the student already has an application on file but is not Direct Certified (DC) or Exempt, it will be updated to DC status.

  • Please see detailed explanation of user-defined ranking below.

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WHAT NEEDS TO BE IN THE DIRECT CERT/EXEMPT FILE?

  • Enter as much information as possible for positive matches.

    • Student Social Security numbers,OR
    • Student IDs are required.
    • A case number field is optional for Direct Certification students.

    • DOB (Date of Birth or Birth Date) may also be imported. The format must be YYYYMMDD.

      • If the DOB field is formatted incorrectly, a message will display: ‘Invalid Birth Date format. The correct format is YYYYMMDD.’

 

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WHAT DO I DO WHEN A STUDENT IS ON AN APPLICATION MARKED AS INCOMPLETE AND COMES IN ON A DIRECT CERTIFICATION IMPORT?

  • If a student is on an incomplete application and is also marked as Direct Certification, you must review the application and manually uncheck the incomplete application box if necessary.