[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 205 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55142-55146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28060]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Consumer Service

7 CFR Part 247

RIN 0584-AC60


Commodity Supplemental Food Program--Caseload Assignment

AGENCY: Food and Consumer Service, USDA.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: This direct final rule amends provisions of the Commodity 
Supplemental Food Program Regulations to provide for the allocation of 
a single caseload to State agencies each year, instead of the 
allocation of two separate caseloads, one for women, infants, and 
children, and one for the elderly. This rule will permit State 
agencies, and the local agencies with which they have signed 
agreements, to utilize this single caseload to serve low-income women, 
infants, and children and elderly populations as needed, provided they 
give priority in service to women, infants, and children over the 
elderly. This rule will also streamline and simplify program management 
at the State and local level.

DATES: This rule will become effective on December 8, 1997, unless the 
Department receives written adverse comments or notices of intent to 
submit adverse comments postmarked on or before November 24, 1997. If 
adverse comments within the scope of this rulemaking are received, the 
Department will publish timely notification of withdrawal of this rule 
in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Lillie Ragan, Assistant Branch 
Chief, Household Programs Branch, Food Distribution Division, Food and 
Consumer Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Park Office Center, 
Room 502, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302-1594. Comments 
in response to this rule may be inspected at 3101 Park Center Drive, 
Room 502, Alexandria, Virginia during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. 
to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lillie Ragan at the above address or 
telephone (703) 305-2662.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    This direct final rule has been determined to be not significant 
for purposes of Executive Order 12866, and, therefore, has not been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This action has been reviewed with regard to the requirements of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612). The Administrator of 
the Food and Consumer Service (FCS) has certified that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. While procedures in this rulemaking will affect State and 
local agencies that administer the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, 
any economic effect will not be significant.

Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, FCS 
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
may result in expenditures to State, local, or tribal governments, in 
the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
one year. When such a statement is needed for a rule, section 205 of 
the UMRA generally requires FCS to identify and consider a reasonable 
number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the least costly, more 
cost-effective or lease burdensome alternative that achieves the 
objectives of the rule.
    This rule contains no Federal mandates (under the regulatory 
provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for State, local, and tribal 
governments or the private sector of $100 million or more in any one 
year. Thus, this direct final rule is not subject to the requirements 
of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.

Executive Order 12372

    This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under 10.565, and is subject to the provisions of Executive 
Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with State 
and local officials (7 CFR part 3015, Subpart V and final rule-related 
notices published at 48 FR 29114, June 24, 1983 and 49 FR 22676, May 
31, 1984).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule reflects no new information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507). The 
existing recordkeeping and reporting requirements for 7 CFR part 247, 
which were approved by OMB under control number 0584-0293, will not 
change as a result of this final rule.

Executive Order 12988

    This direct final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 
12988, Civil Justice Reform. This rule is intended to have preemptive 
effect with respect to any State or local laws, regulations, or 
policies which conflict with its provisions or which would otherwise 
impede its full implementation. This rule is not intended to have 
retroactive effect unless so specified in the EFFECTIVE DATE section of 
the preamble. There are no administrative procedures which must be 
exhausted prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of this 
rule or the application of its provisions.

Background

    The primary purpose of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program 
(CSFP) is to provide nutritious commodities and nutrition education to 
low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and 
children up to the age of six, to help meet their dietary needs at a 
critical life stage of growth and development. This has been the 
program's basic goal since the initiation of a ``supplemental food 
program'' for pregnant and breastfeeding women and infants in 1968, 
utilizing funds appropriated for child feeding programs, and its 
subsequent designation as the ``Commodity Supplemental Food Program'' 
in the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (Pub. L. 95-113), which added 
sections 4 and 5 to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 
(Pub. L. 93-86). However, legislation expanded the eligible population 
in 1981 and 1982 to include elderly persons under a pilot project. With 
the passage of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Pub. L. 99-198) authority 
to provide program benefits to the low-income elderly was extended to 
all State agencies that had resources remaining after providing 
benefits to all eligible applicant women, infants, and children. Thus, 
while women, infants, and children retained priority in service, the 
elderly were established as a second eligible population group in the 
program. This requirement is found

[[Page 55143]]

in section 5(g) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1983 
(7U.S.C. 612c note).
    The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and 
Children (WIC) also provides benefits (in the form of food vouchers) to 
pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants and children, 
with modest differences in categorical eligibility requirements from 
CSFP. In WIC, women are eligible up to six months postpartum, compared 
to 12 months in CSFP; and children are eligible up to five years of age 
in WIC, and up to six years in CSFP. WIC participation increased 
significantly during the period 1988-1996, from 3.6 million to 
approximately 7.2 million--an average increase of 450,000 per year. The 
increased scope of the WIC Program contributed to a decline in 
participation of women, infants, and children in CSFP, as persons 
eligible for both programs may only participate in one of them. From 
1993 to 1996, participation of women, infants, and children in CSFP 
declined by 40 percent, while elderly participation in that period 
increased by 35.4 percent. By fiscal year 1996, elderly participation 
in CSFP averaged 219,281 per month, or 61.5 percent of total program 
participation.
    Resources are allocated to participating State agencies in CSFP in 
the form of caseload, which is the monthly average number of 
participants a State agency is authorized to serve over a specified 12-
month period (the caseload cycle). State agencies' caseload allocations 
each year are based on program participation from the previous year, 
and requests to expand the program. In implementing the authority to 
serve elderly pursuant to the Food Security Act of 1985, the Department 
provided, through program regulations, for the assignment of an elderly 
caseload to State agencies, separate from the assignment of the women, 
infants, and children caseload. While State agencies may not serve more 
elderly persons than their assigned elderly caseload level, they may 
request a conversion of caseload slots for women, infants, and children 
that are unutilized during the caseload cycle to service for the 
elderly, if State agencies have more elderly applicants seeking program 
benefits. As evidence that the conversion request will not restrict the 
participation of women, infants and children, State agencies may 
include evidence of outreach efforts conducted by the State and/or 
local agency to promote and facilitate service to eligible women, 
infants, and children in the service area. To further ensure that this 
priority group is adequately served, current regulations do not permit 
submission of caseload conversion requests until 90 days after the 
assignment of caseload.
    Allocation of separate caseloads for the two population groups 
served in CSFP, and the caseload conversion requirement, serve the 
purpose of protecting program resources for women, infants, and 
children, while allowing unused resources to be redirected for use by 
the elderly. However, with the decline in participation of women, 
infants, and children, and the increased participation of the elderly 
in CSFP, the caseload restrictions, and caseload conversion 
requirement, have become obstacles to the efficient use of program 
resources to serve States' needy populations. Until caseload conversion 
requests can be made, and acted upon, caseload slots allocated to State 
agencies for women, infants, and children may remain unused. State and 
local agencies need more flexibility in caseload management to allow 
them to fill caseload slots throughout the caseload cycle.
    In order to provide State agencies with greater flexibility in 
caseload management, this direct final rule amends regulatory 
requirements in part 247 to assign participating State agencies a 
single caseload, instead of separate women-infants-children, and 
elderly, caseloads. Local agencies within States may serve women, 
infants, and children, and the elderly, on a first-come, first-served 
basis, up to the single caseload limit assigned to them by the State 
agency, but must continue to meet the priority requirements in 
Sec. 247.7(b)(2)--i.e., if eligible women, infants, and children are 
waiting to be served, the next available caseload slots must be 
utilized to serve them.
    The Department will continue to transform all funds available for 
CSFP commodity purchases each year into caseload, and to allocate all 
available caseload among the State agencies. Procedures for 
establishing total available caseload are not governed by legislation 
or regulations and will be modified only to the minor extent necessary 
to reflect the shift from two caseloads to one. In accordance with 
sections 5(a) and (1) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 
1973, the Department will make 20 percent of the annual appropriation 
and 20 percent of any unspent food funds carried over from the previous 
year available to State agencies in the form of administrative funds. 
The Department will convert remaining funds to caseload based on 
estimates of the percentage of total participation to be accounted for 
by each subgroup--e.g., pregnant and breastfeeding women, the elderly--
and projections of the average cost of foods to be taken by 
participants in each subgroup. These data will be used to compute a 
single, blended average cost of food per participant per year, and that 
cost will be divided into available food funds to yield total CSFP 
caseload.
    The amendments to the regulatory requirements addressing caseload 
assignment and the State plan of operation are discussed in more detail 
below. The Department invites comments only on the regulatory 
amendments in this rulemaking, which establish a single caseload for 
the program, and not on any other sections of program regulations. The 
Department considers the regulatory amendments in this direct final 
rule to be noncontroversial and unlikely to elicit adverse comments. In 
order for the Department to issue CSFP caseload by the December 1, 1997 
deadline, as required by Sec. 247.10(a), this rule will be effective on 
December 8, 1997, rather than on a date conforming with the 60-day time 
period generally provided to effectuate direct final rules.

Caseload Assignment

    Section 247.10 of the current regulations describes the procedures 
for assigning caseload to State agencies each year, the procedures and 
restrictions for requesting caseload conversion, and the use of elderly 
caseload to serve women, infants, and children. The transition to a 
single caseload assignment in this final rule requires the revision of 
paragraph (a)(2) of this section, which addresses the specific order 
and manner in which caseload assignments are made, and the removal of 
paragraphs (a)(3), (a)(4), and (a)(5) of this section, which address 
caseload conversion--not necessary in a single caseload system--and the 
use of elderly caseload slots. As part of the amendment of paragraph 
(a)(2), the method for assigning caseload to State agencies requesting 
expansion of service to women, infants, and children is revised. The 
present assignment of expansion caseload to State agencies based on 
their capacity to serve their categorically eligible women, infants, 
and children in WIC and CSFP is overly complicated, and no longer 
necessary, as the expansion of the WIC Program has resulted in a much 
more extensive coverage of the target population. Furthermore, reliable 
data on this capacity are no longer available. Hence, the Department is 
revising this method to bring it into conformance with the means of 
addressing expansion requests for the elderly.

[[Page 55144]]

    Additionally, all references to caseload cycles beginning on 
specific dates are removed, since these cycles have long since passed.
    In assigning caseload, the Department will continue to attach a 
higher priority to requests to expand service for women, infants, and 
children over requests to expand service for the elderly. Although 
State agencies will always be allocated caseload that is not designated 
for use by a particular population group, if they request expansion 
caseload to serve additional women, infants, and children, they will be 
expected to promote and facilitate use of such caseload for the 
intended purpose, for example, by assigning the caseload to areas where 
women, infants, and children are underserved by the WIC Program, and by 
intensifying outreach efforts to this population group in areas where 
the additional caseload is assigned. In States which currently do not 
operate the program, requests for initiation of program service to 
women, infants, and children will likewise be considered ahead of 
requests to initiate service to the elderly.
    Below, the primary features of each of the steps in the current 
order of caseload assignment, as delineated in Sec. 247.10(a)(2), are 
described, together with any changes that this rulemaking makes to that 
step. As at present, caseload assignment will proceed through as many 
of the steps in the process as available resources permit.
    Under paragraph (a)(2)(i), State agencies receive caseload for the 
three elderly pilot projects in Detroit, New Orleans, and Des Moines, 
equal to December 1985 levels. This remains unchanged.
    Under paragraph (a)(2)(ii), currently participating State agencies 
receive caseload, first for women, infants, and children, and then for 
elderly persons, based on participation in one of three time periods in 
the previous year, but not to exceed the caseload allocations for each 
of these two groups in the preceding caseload cycle. This step is 
revised to assign to currently participating State agencies a single 
caseload based on total participation of women, infants, and children, 
and the elderly in one of the three time periods in the previous year, 
but not to exceed total caseload assigned to State agencies in the 
preceding caseload cycle. As at present, State agencies entering their 
second caseload cycle of program service will receive caseload equal to 
the level assigned for their first cycle of program service, and not in 
accordance with first-year participation levels. However, the 
distinction between women, infants, and children, and elderly caseload 
will cease to be made.
    Under paragraph (a)(2)(iii), requests from currently participating 
State agencies for expansion caseload for women, infants, and children 
are considered. As delineated in paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(A), a State's 
participation level for this group must equal 90 percent of assigned 
caseload for any of three time periods in the previous year in order 
for the State to be considered for expansion caseload. If the State 
meets this criterion, expansion caseload is assigned based on the 
State's capacity to serve its categorically eligible women, infants, 
and children in WIC and CSFP, and in an amount that will increase the 
number of this population served in the State to a specific level, as 
delineated in paragraphs (a)(2)(iii) (B) and (C). First, this 
rulemaking revises paragraph (iii) to add a new sentence stating that 
expansion requests to increase service to women, infants, and children 
will receive priority over expansion requests to increase service to 
the elderly, in accordance with program priorities established in 
Sec. 247.7(b)(2). Second, a revised Sec. 247.10(a)(2)(iii)(A) addresses 
expansion requests for either women, infants, and children, or the 
elderly, utilizing the 90 percent participation requirement for both 
populations together. Finally, paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(B) is revised to 
address expansion requests for service to women, infants, and children 
in the same manner as presently utilized for fulfilling expansion 
requests for the elderly: i.e., each State agency requesting expansion 
caseload for women, infants, and children will receive an equal share 
of the available caseload, or the amount that FCS determines the State 
agency needs and can effectively manage, whichever is less. A new 
paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(C) addresses the distribution of caseload for 
expanded service to the elderly, which is unchanged from the present 
procedure, as currently described in paragraph (a)(2)(iv)(B).
    Under paragraph (a)(2)(iv), requests from currently participating 
State agencies to initiate or expand service to the elderly are 
considered. As delineated in paragraph (a)(2)(iv)(A), a State's 
participation level for this group must equal 90 percent of assigned 
caseload for any of three time periods in the previous year, in order 
to be considered for expansion caseload. If State agencies meet this 
criterion, expansion caseload is assigned in equal amounts to State 
agencies, or in amounts that FCS determines that State agencies need 
and can effectively manage, whichever is less, as delineated in 
paragraph (a)(2)(iv)(B). Paragraph (a)(2)(iv)(C) states that, if State 
agencies' shares exceed their approved requests, the excess amount is 
redistributed among State agencies whose allocations did not meet their 
approved requests. This rulemaking removes paragraph (a)(2)(iv), since 
the revised paragraph (a)(2)(iii) establishes uniform procedures which 
cover expansion requests for the elderly, as well as women, infants, 
and children.
    Under paragraph (a)(2)(v), requests from State agencies to initiate 
service to women, infants, and children (i.e., those States not 
presently participating in CSFP), are considered, and caseload 
assigned. Paragraph (a)(2)(v)(A) utilizes the same means of determining 
a State agencies' capacity to serve its potentially eligible women, 
infants, and children, and for assigning caseload based on this 
determination, as described in paragraphs (a)(2)(iii) (B) and (C). 
State agencies may not request to serve the elderly in their initial 
year of service; if they wish to serve the elderly, they must wait for 
the following caseload cycle, as described in paragraph (a)(4) of this 
section, which, as previously mentioned, is removed. This rulemaking 
redesignates paragraph (a)(2)(v) as (a)(2)(iv), and revises it to 
address requests to initiate service to elderly persons, as well as 
women, infants, and children. A new sentence is added stating that 
requests to initiate service to women, infants, and children shall 
receive priority over requests to initiate service to the elderly, in 
accordance with program priorities established in Sec. 247.7(b)(2). 
Section 247.10(a)(2)(v)(A) is revised to utilize the same means of 
caseload assignment described above in revised paragraphs (a)(2)(iii) 
(B) and (C).
    Subparagraph (B) is removed. State agencies are no longer 
restricted to serving only women, infants, and children in their first 
year of operations.
    Section 247.24, which refers to temporary caseload assignment 
procedures that were applied to a previous caseload cycle, is removed, 
as these procedures are no longer relevant.

State Plan of Operation

    In accordance with Sec. 247.5, before the beginning of the fiscal 
year, State agencies submit to FCS a plan describing the means by which 
the program will be operated and administered. Included in the 
information that State agencies must submit, which is detailed in this 
section, are caseload conversion requests, plans for caseload 
utilization, outreach activities, and documentation of data supporting 
requests to serve the elderly. Revisions to the regulatory

[[Page 55145]]

requirements for the submission of this information in the State plan 
are described below.
    Currently, under Sec. 247.5, State agency requests to convert 
unfilled women, infants, and children caseload slots to serve the 
elderly are made during the fiscal year as an amendment to the State 
plan, and must include documentation supporting the need for elderly 
service in the proposed service area, and assurances that caseload 
conversion may be accomplished without restricting service to women, 
infants, and children in the service area. The assignment of a single 
caseload to State agencies, in this rule, makes caseload conversion, 
and the attendant documentation, unnecessary. Hence, language in the 
introductory text of Sec. 247.5, and paragraph (a)(16) of that section 
addressing caseload conversion, its timing, scope, and attendant 
documentation, are removed.
    Section 247.5(a)(4), which addresses a description of plans for 
conducting outreach to reach maximum caseload, is amended to define the 
objective of outreach activities as ensuring that women, infants, 
children, and elderly persons are aware of program benefits, without 
the present language referring to reaching maximum caseload. Since, by 
this rulemaking, caseload may be utilized to serve either population 
group, it is important to specify the two population groups that should 
be targeted in outreach activities. In addition, although reaching 
maximum caseload is an objective that this rulemaking is designed to 
help State agencies achieve, it is not a regulatory requirement, as 
current language implies.
    Section 247.5(a)(15) currently requires that State agencies wishing 
to serve the elderly provide documentation, as part of the State plan, 
describing the extent of need for elderly service in the proposed 
service area. Since this rule is intended to provide State agencies 
with the flexibility to utilize a single assigned caseload to serve 
their needy elderly without the need to request caseload conversion or 
provide attendant documentation, this section is amended to require 
such documentation only of State agencies wishing to initiate service 
to the elderly, or requesting expansion caseload to serve the elderly. 
Additionally, paragraph (a)(15)(i) is revised to remove the requirement 
that demographic statistics be included as part of the supporting 
documentation. Lastly, the language in paragraph (a)(15)(ii) concerning 
descriptions of how a State agency will meet the needs of homebound 
elderly is clarified, without changing its meaning.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 247

    Agricultural commodities, Food assistance programs, Infants and 
children, Maternal and child health, Public assistance programs, 
nutrition, women, aged.

    Accordingly, 7 CFR Part 247 is amended as follows.

PART 247--COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM

    1. The authority citation for part 247 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Sec. 5, Pub.L. 93-86, 87 Stat. 249, as added by sec. 
1304(b)(2), Pub.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 980 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); sec. 
1335, Pub.L. 97-98, 95 Stat. 1293 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); sec. 209, 
Pub.L. 98-8, 97 Stat. 35 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); sec. 2(8), Pub.L. 98-
92, 97 Stat. 611 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); sec. 1562, Pub.L. 99-198, 99 
Stat. 1590 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); sec. 101(k), Pub.L. 100-202; sec. 
1771(a), Pub.L 101-624, 101 Stat. 3806 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); sec. 
402(a), Pub.L. 104-127, 110 Stat. 1028 (7 U.S.C. 612c note).

    2. In Sec. 247.5:
    a. The fifth, sixth, and seventh sentences of the introductory text 
of paragraph (a) are removed;
    b. Paragraphs (a)(4) and (a)(15) are revised;
    c. Paragraph (a)(16) is removed.
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec. 247.5  State agency plan of program operation and administration.

    (a) * * *
    (4) A description of any plans for conducting outreach to ensure 
that all women, infants, and children, and elderly persons are aware of 
program benefits.
* * * * *
    (15) If a State agency wishes to initiate service to the elderly, 
or request expansion caseload to serve the elderly, a description of 
plans for providing program benefits to elderly persons within the 
State during the caseload cycle. Such description shall include--
    (i) An identification of the elderly population to be served, 
including documentation of the extent of need in the proposed service 
area; and
    (ii) A description of the means by which the State agency will meet 
the needs of the homebound elderly.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 247.10:
    a. Paragraph (a)(2) is revised;
    b. Paragraphs (a)(3), (a)(4), and (a)(5) are removed.
    The revision reads as follows:


Sec. 247.10.  Caseload assignment and administrative funding.

    (a) * * *
    (2) To the extent that funds are available, FCS shall assign 
caseload to State agencies in the following order.
    (i) State agencies for the three elderly feeding projects in 
Detroit, New Orleans, and Des Moines shall be assigned caseload equal 
to the level of participation for each project in December 1985.
    (ii) Currently participating State agencies, except those entering 
their second cycle of program service, shall receive caseload in 
amounts equal to the greatest of their total participation of women, 
infants, and children, and elderly persons (except for caseload equal 
to the December 1985 level of participation at the three elderly 
feeding projects) during September, or monthly average participation 
for the period July through September, or for the prior fiscal year; 
provided, however, that a State agency shall not receive caseload under 
this paragraph in excess of caseload assigned for the preceding 
caseload cycle. State agencies entering their second caseload cycle of 
program service shall receive caseload equal to the caseload level 
assigned for their first cycle of program service.
    (iii) Requests from currently participating State agencies to 
expand service to women, infants, and children, and the elderly, shall 
be addressed in the following manner. Expansion requests to increase 
service to women, infants, and children shall receive priority over 
expansion requests to increase service to the elderly.
    (A) State agencies shall be eligible to receive expansion caseload 
only if, during the preceding September, the period July through 
September, or the prior fiscal year, their monthly average 
participation equaled at least 90 percent of their assigned caseload 
level for the preceding caseload cycle.
    (B) State agencies requesting expansion caseload to increase 
service to women, infants, and children shall be assigned the lesser of 
an equal share of available caseload or the amount of expansion 
caseload FCS has determined that the State agency needs and can 
effectively manage. If any State agencies' shares exceed their approved 
requests, the excess caseload shall be divided equally among State 
agencies whose approved requests exceed their shares.
    (C) State agencies requesting expansion caseload to increase 
service to the elderly shall be assigned the lesser of an equal share 
of available caseload or the amount of expansion caseload FCS has 
determined that the State agency needs and can effectively manage. If 
any State agencies' shares exceed their approved requests, the

[[Page 55146]]

excess caseload shall be divided equally among State agencies whose 
approved requests exceed their shares.
    (iv) Requests from State agencies to initiate program service for 
women, infants, and children, and the elderly shall be addressed in the 
following manner. Requests to initiate service to women, infants, and 
children shall receive priority over requests to initiate service to 
the elderly.
    (A) State agencies with approved State plans incorporating requests 
for program initiation to provide service to women, infants, and 
children shall be assigned caseload in the same manner described in 
paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(B) of this section.
    (B) State agencies with approved State plans incorporating requests 
for program initiation to provide service to the elderly shall be 
assigned caseload in the same manner described in paragraph 
(a)(2)(iii)(C) of this section.
* * * * *


Sec. 247.24  [Removed]

    4. Section 247.24 is removed.

    Dated: October 15, 1997.
Yvette S. Jackson,
Acting Administrator, Food and Consumer Service.
[FR Doc. 97-28060 Filed 10-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U