Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program Expands Access for Children

Under the policy of direct certification for free school meals, school districts certify for free meals those enrolled students who are in households getting food stamps or welfare, based on information shared by state food stamp and welfare agencies. Students in these eligible households are automatically approved for free meals without having to complete the application process. This paper examines the impacts of direct certification on students' likelihood of becoming certified for free meals, using data from a national survey of school food service directors as well as state-level administrative data on program participation. The key finding is that direct certification leads to a statistically significant increase in the number of children getting free school meals. More generally, this finding highlights a promising approach for improving access to means-tested programs without compromising program integrity.