1. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS TRAINING
Good morning! and welcome to the Professional Standards Training webinar. My name is Kate Sheppard and I will be presenting this training module with Erlisa Levin. The webinar will cover the summary of the professional standards final rule as it applies to the Child Nutrition Programs. If at any time during the presentation you have a question, please feel free to type them in and we will address your concerns at the end of the webinar. If you experience technical difficulties and must log off during the webinar, please note that this training is being recorded and will be posted in SNEARS under the training tab.
In addition, please do not forget to complete the survey via survey monkey that was sent by . Your input and feedback are important to us! If you did not receive it, an will be sent one hour after this webinar is finished to all registrants with the survey link. Please take a few minutes to complete.
So let’s begin.
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
DIVISION OF FOOD AND NUTRITION

2. Why Professional Standards?
To ensure that new school nutrition program directors have the knowledge and skills to manage the program
To ensure school nutrition personnel have the training and tools they need to create nutritious, safe, and enjoyable school meals
To assist LEAs with hiring, training, and retraining qualified school nutrition staff
Let’s begin with discussing the goals of the final rule.
They are to ensure that new school nutrition program directors have the knowledge and skills to manage the program.
To ensure school nutrition personnel have the training and tools they need to create nutritious, safe, and enjoyable school meals
and to assist LEAs with hiring, training, and retraining qualified school nutrition staff.

3. Key Points Implementation for SY 2015-2016 began July 1, 2015
Establishes hiring standards for new State and local program directors
Hiring standards are based on 3 LEA size categories
Requires annual job-specific training hours for all LEA personnel
Applies to anyone receiving federal funds including LEAs receiving vended meals
What are the key points of this new rule?
This rule went into effect July 1, 2015.
It establishes hiring standards for new State and local program directors.
These hiring standards are based on 3 LEA size categories, which we will discuss in more detail.
It also requires annual job-specific training hours for all personnel.
Please keep in mind that all of these regulations we are discussing apply to everyone receiving federal funds- public and non public schools including LEAs receiving vended meals.

4. Hiring Standards for NEW LEA Directors
Hiring standards are based on 3 LEA size categories:
2,499 or less student enrollment
2,500-9,999 student enrollment
10,000 or more student enrollment
Directors in their positions prior to July 1, 2015 may continue in their existing positions without having to meet new hiring standards
Directors hired after July 1, 2015 must meet the new hiring standards
Current directors moving to a larger size LEA are required to meet the new hiring standards for that size LEA
Now lets review the hiring standards for NEW LEA Directors. Please keep in mind these hiring standards are for anyone hired after July 1, 2015.
The hiring standards are based on 3 LEA size categories:
Less than 2500 students
2,500-under 10,000 students
10,000 or more students
The LEA size can be determined using the student enrollment only for the schools that participate in school nutrition programs and the LEA size includes all schools listed on your Schedule A.
Directors in their positions prior to July 1, 2015 may continue in their existing positions without having to meet new hiring standards
Directors hired after July 1, 2015 must meet the new hiring standards
Current directors moving to a larger size LEA are required to meet the new hiring standards for that size LEA
An existing director can apply to a similar position in any LEA of the same or smaller size category without having to meet the hiring standards for new directors. Again, a current director that wishes to move to a position at a larger size LEA is required to meet the new hiring standards for that LEA size.
If a director is responsible for multiple LEAs, he or she would be required to comply with the hiring standards for the total enrollment of the LEAs. For example, if there are 3 LEAs with 4,000 students for a total of 12,000 students, he or she must comply with the 10,000 or more category.

5. Food Safety
Program Directors in ALL LEAs must have 8 hours of food safety training every 5 years
NEW Program Directors must have 8 hours of food safety training within 5 years prior to the starting date, OR completed within 30 calendar days of the starting date
Must be renewed every 5 years
ServSafe
Food safety is a critical aspect of the food service operation that could affect thousands of students if there are problems.
Program directors in all LEAs must have 8 hours of food safety training every 5 years
NEW program directors must have 8 hours of food safety training within 5 years prior to their starting date OR completed within 30 calendar days of their starting date
Having additional staff trained in food safety is also encouraged.

6. Hiring Standards: 2,499 students or less
Bachelor’s degree with specific major OR
Associate’s degree with specific major and at least 1 year of relevant experience
High school diploma (or GED) and 3 years of relevant experience
The hiring standards for LEAs with less than 2500 students includes a wide range of options from a HS diploma plus experience to a Bachelors degree
These include a Bachelor’s degree with a specific major, such as food and nutrition, food service management, dietetics, family & consumer sciences, nutrition education, culinary arts, business or a related field OR
Associate’s degree with a specific major and at least 1 year of relevant experience OR
High school diploma (or GED) and 3 years of relevant experience
“Relevant experience” means previous work experience in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, as well as experience in other child nutrition programs if gained from working in a school. This will indicate the applicant’s familiarity with USDA’s school nutrition program.
Experience gained from working in a school food service operation outside of USDA’s school nutrition program could count. However, the rationale for hiring decisions must be well-supported and documented.

7. Hiring Standards: 2,500 – 9,999 students
Bachelor’s degree with specific major OR
Bachelor’s degree with any academic major and at least 2 years of relevant experience
Associate’s degree with specific major and at least 2 years of experience
The next category is LEAs with between 2500 and less than 10,000 students. Again, keep in mind this refers to the entire school enrollment.
As you can see, the Bigger the size of the LEA, more experience that is required

8. Hiring Standards: 10,000 or more students
Bachelor’s degree with specific major OR
Bachelor’s degree with any academic major and at least 5 years experience in management of programs
The last category is an LEA with 10,000 or more students
The hiring standards for this category are a bachelors degree with a specific major OR
A bachelors degree with any academic major and at least 5 years experience in management of programs
The emphasis on higher education is intended for new directors to have the knowledge and skills necessary to manage complex food service operations

9. Specific Major
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent educational experience with academic major or concentration in food and nutrition, food service management, dietetics, family and consumer sciences, nutrition education, culinary arts, business or a related field
Associates degree includes all of the above and at least one year of relevant school nutrition program experience.
As previously stated, the necessary requirement for hiring standards is a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent educational experience with academic major or concentration in food and nutrition, food service management, dietetics, family and consumer sciences, nutrition education, culinary arts, business or a related field
Associates degree with a specific major includes all of the above and at least one year of relevant school nutrition program experience

10. Training Training needs are determined based on an individual’s job
Must be job-specific and intended to help employees perform their duties well
Focus on job duties not job titles
Job duties and job titles may differ from district to district
It is the LEA’s responsibility to provide and pay for training for all staff
Now lets discuss training.
Training needs are determined based on an individual’s job
It Must be job-specific and intended to help employees perform their duties well
When determining training needs, Focus on the job duties not job titles
Job duties and job titles may differ from district to district
It is the LEAs responsibility to provide and pay for training for all staff.

11. Program Director
Program Director is the individual(s) who plans, administers, implements, monitors, and evaluates all aspects of the school nutrition program
Could be divided into one or more positions
A sample job description template for this title is listed in SNEARS under the professional standards tab
Each LEA must have a person designated as the “director”
We will now discuss each position. Let’s begin by reviewing the Program Director. The Program Director is the individual or individuals who plans, administers, implements, monitors, and evaluates all aspects of the school nutrition program.
Program director duties generally include sanitation, food safety, and employee safety; nutrition and menu planning; food production; facility layout and design and equipment selection; procurement; financial management and recordkeeping; program accountability; marketing; customer service; nutrition education, general management; personnel management; and computer technology.
In some LEAs, these responsibilities are divided into several positions. In these situations, only the person hired to perform the majority of the program director duties must meet the hiring standards and training standards of the program director.
A sample job description template for this title is listed in SNEARS under the professional standards tab. This is not a one size- fits all so you will need to determine what is appropriate for your district.
Each LEA must designate a person as the director.

12. Program Manager
Program Manager is responsible for the management of the day-to-day food service
The director or manager must examine the job duties of their staff to determine what job specific training their staff would need
Next, is the Program Manager. The Program Manager is responsible for the management of the day-to-day food service operations.
The director or manager must examine the job duties of their staff to determine what job specific training their staff would need
For example, if the school nutrition program director duties are performed by the program manager, then the manager would be responsible for meeting the training standards for the program director.

13. Program Staff
Program Staff are involved in the operation of the food service for a participating school but do not have managerial responsibilities
Staff includes individuals that have an impact on the safety of school meals
Finally, Program Staff are involved in the operation of the food service for a participating school but do not have managerial responsibilities
Program staff would generally include individuals such as cooks, cashiers, and others who are involved in the preparation and service of school meals. This also may include individuals that are involved in other programs operations such as meal counting and claiming.
The support staff are those that may have an impact on the safety of school meals.
This final rule does not extend to volunteers, temporary, acting, or substitute staff.
Again, the director and manager will need to closely examine the job duties of staff to determine what job-specific training they need to perform their jobs effectively and in compliance with program regulations.
Training standards are job-specific but ambitious staff persons may take training that prepares them to assume managerial duties in the future.
At this time I will turn over the presentation to Erlisa who will continue discussing training standards.

14. Training Hours Effective July 1, 2015 Position
Professional Standards Required Annual Training Hours for SY
Professional Standards Required Annual Training Hours for SY
Directors
8 CEUs
12 CEUs
Managers
6 CEUs
10 CEUs
Staff/Employees
4 CEUs
Part-time staff (< 20 hours)
The chart on the screen shows the current training hours required for each position. As you can see, The Professional standards are being phased in; therefore reduced numbers of annual training hours are required for the first year of implementation School Year
If someone does more than one or all jobs, they must meet the training standard for the highest position.
Keep in mind, staff working on program activities 20 hours or more per week must complete 4 hours of annual training this year (6 next SY)and staff working less than 20 hours per week must complete 4 hours of annual training.
Training received between April 1 and June 30, 2015 (3 months prior to July 1, 2015) will count toward the School Year training requirements for directors, managers, and staff.
Effective July 1, 2015

15. Training Units
1 Continuing education unit(CEU)= 1 hour of training for professional standards
You may have seen different forms of training time, but we are accepting all forms - CEUs Professional Development (PD), Professional Standards (PS) and all training units must equal an hour. An hour is an hour.

16. Training Time
Training activities must be a minimum of 15 minutes or more
4- 15 minute activities = 1 CEU hour
No minimum amount of training by topic
Excess training hours may be carried over to an immediately previous or subsequent school year
Training is job specific and will depend on the duties of the individual. All training must be job-related. Training needs are assessed by an employee in consultation with their manager and/or director.
Training activities must be a minimum of 15 minutes or more
4- 15 minute activities = 1 CEU hour
Minimum training by topic is not required; any individual can gain hours from a variety of the training topics.
Excess training hours may be carried over to an immediately previous or subsequent school year. For example, if a staff member is required to complete 6 hours of training and completes 10 hours, the extra 4 hours can carry over to the next year.
Time spent in miscellaneous activities where information, materials, or equipment relative to the core training topics is provided or displayed may count toward no more than 2 hours of annual training. State agency reviewers will need to see some documentation to ensure that the developmental activity was completed and that annual training standards were met.

17. Key Learning Areas
All training must fit into one of the following categories:
Nutrition(1000)
Operations(2000)
Administration(3000)
Communications & Marketing(4000)
The Professional Standards Learning Objectives are a resource for school nutrition employees and trainers. The four Key Learning Areas are Nutrition, Operations, Administration and Communications/Marketing. Each Key Area has several Key Topics and specific training subjects with objectives that will assist those who are planning or taking training.
For example, within Operations, some key topics are food production, purchasing, procurement, receiving and storage, food safety, and HACCP.
Within Administration, key topics include human resources, financial management, program management, and free and reduced priced meal benefits.
The key areas and key topics are posted in SNEARS for your reference. These training areas are fairly broad. This is to help you train within those guidelines, but ensure that the training is relevant to the person’s job.
It is up to the director or manager to determine which trainings are appropriate for each employee.

18. Professional Standards: FSMC
FSMC must provide documentation showing the training hours and topics completed by the employees to the LEA.
All employees of the LEA with a FSMC will be required to comply with training standards based on their job duties
Any directors hired by the FSMC on or after July 1, 2015 must meet the new hiring standards
FSMC must provide documentation showing the training hours and topics completed by the employees to the LEA.
All employees of the LEA with a FSMC will be required to comply with training standards based on their job duties
Any directors hired for the school by the FSMC on or after July 1, 2015 must meet the new hiring standards for School Year

19. Track it!
So now that you completed trainings, how are you going to document and track it?
The new rule discusses the issue of responsibility for the maintenance of records at length. We understand that sorting through who is responsible for maintaining records may be challenging at first, and suggest that you peruse through different tracking tools and use one that is easy for your district to use and track. This will help in the long run when you are logging in the different seminars, trainings, quick steps trainings that you provide and participate in all year long.

20. Tracking Training All training must be tracked
The USDA training tracking tool is available at
SNA Tracking Tool is available at
Create your own excel document with the required information
There are several different tracking tools available for your use. The USDA tool, SNA tool, or your own creation that must include all the same information.
We will monitor CONTENT not the format of the tracking tool this year.
Whichever tool you use you must ensure the appropriate information is included and tracked. This includes the employee name, employer/school, training title, topic/objectives, training source, dates and total training hours.

21. Tracking Training
Ensure any trainings you attend, in person or webinars, are documented using agendas and or sign in sheets you may get at a conference.
You may or may not receive certificates of completion. If you do, please keep on hand.
The more detailed the better! Remember, if you cannot prove to us you attended, it did not happen.
This is just an example you may receive from an recently attended training.

22. Administrative Review
The off-site questionnaire has 12 questions that deal with the professional standards compliance in your LEAs
A list of employees and their job descriptions, along with their trainings for the current year, will be reviewed
The tracking tool will need to be up-to-date and provided during the AR
We will monitor your compliance with the professional standards during an administrative review. As part of the general program compliance portion of the administrative review process, we will examine records that document completion of applicable hiring and continuing educations/training requirements. Technical assistance is the first course of action and we will work with LEAs that face unique challenges.

23. Resources Institute of Child Nutrition Online and in-person trainings
Online and in-person trainings
State agency live or pre-recorded webinars
SNEARS training tab
ServSafe
There are many resources and types of training available including the institute of child nutrition, formerly called NFSMI, online and in-person trainings through the USDA or SNA or state agency live or pre-recorded webinars, just to name a few.
These are all things that can count towards your training hours.

24. More Resources
This is a screen shot of the professional standards tab available through the USDA website, it has many free trainings available to you and your staff and we highly recommend you taking full advantage of these webinars.
The trainings are broken up based on the 4 key learning areas for ease of use.

25. More Resources
Also, we have an entire section in SNEARS dedicated to Professional Standards for your use.

26. Thank you for attending the webinar!
This webinar will count toward 1 hour of professional standards training:
Key Area- Administration
Learning Topic- Human Resources & Staff Training
Topic Code – 3420 Policies & Procedures
Department of Agriculture
School Nutrition Programs
Thank you for attending this webinar. We hope that is has been informative and helped ease any confusion or concerns. This webinar will count toward 1 hour of professional standards training so be sure to log this in whichever tracking tool your district is using!

27. Q & A’s
Please send any additional questions to Erlisa or Kate at: OR
We will now begin the Question and answer portion of the training. Please send any additional questions to Erlisa or Kate at the addresses listed on your screen.