Technology Automates Free Meals at Michigan Schools

Eligible school children are now ensured of receiving their free meals at school thanks to technology and the sharing of data between state agencies. The Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) worked in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Department of Human Services to make it happen.

The implementation of direct certification enables the sharing of data between the Department of Human Services and Department of Education so that now there is an automated mechanism for certifying school-aged children of families that are eligible for food stamps to ensure they get free meals at school.

"This is a perfect example of the power of sharing data across state government," said Ken Theis, Director of MDIT and CIO for the State of Michigan . "By warehousing data and sharing it across government, we are able to improve service and reduce errors...in this case, to the benefit of the many children who qualify for free school meals."
Many Michigan school children do not get registered for the free school meals program because the proper paperwork is not returned to the school. This data match automatically identifies students whose families receive food benefits, which qualifies them for the free school meals program.
"The primary goal is to get all eligible students into the free school meals program," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. "Health and nutrition are key components to learning and we want to knock down any obstacles that limit access to children receiving nutritious meals at school."

The data match automatically registered 363,039 Michigan school children for the free school meals program this school year.

"With nearly 500,000 children living in poverty, this technology means many of them will not be hungry at school," said Ismael Ahmed, director of the Michigan Department of Human Services. "No child chooses to live in poverty. This is an important, tangible improvement for children."

MDIT is expanding the use of technology and the power of data sharing to bring greater efficiency in other areas of state government as well. For example, MDIT has used advanced analytics to enhance fraud detection, implementing new technology to detect fraud in the state's child day care, food assistance, and cash assistance programs. MDIT has also aided the Department of Community Health (DCH) in the integration of 27 separate health related agency data sources into a single, integrated environment, giving DCH the ability to conduct advanced health care analysis that has resulted in annual financial benefits and savings.
"We will see more and more of this type of data sharing as we move ahead," added Theis. "It's a win for everyone.