To start off a new school year, it’s important to upload a Direct Certification list to establish statuses for students who should be classified as a free eligibility.
The Direct Certification Process is set up and performed in MCS Franklin.
Establish DC Priority
Sometimes, there are exceptions to a Direct Certification status, such as when a family declines benefits or there are special circumstances.
From MCS Franklin, navigate to Admin & Maintenance > System Settings. Select the Direct Certification tab to configure DC Priorities.
Override What It Does School Type Overrides the DC Free status with the School Type status. e.g. Disaster Relief will take precedence over DC status Decline Benefits Overrides the DC Free status when benefits have been declined. Free Special Circumstances Overrides the DC Free status with one of the free Special Circumstances/user-defined special circumstances except for SS: Declining Benefits. Declining benefits will always override DC Free. Reduced/Paying Special Circumstances Overrides the DC Free status with one of the reduced/paying Special Circumstances/user-defined special circumstances except for SS: Declining Benefits. Declining benefits will always override DC Free. Override What It Does School Type Overrides the DC Reduced status with the School Type status. e.g. Disaster Relief will take precedence over DC status Decline Benefits Overrides the DC Reduced status when benefits have been declined. Free Special Circumstances Overrides the DC Reduced status with one of the free Special Circumstances/user-defined special circumstances except for SS: Declining Benefits. Declining benefits will always override DC Free. Reduced Special Circumstances Overrides the DC Reduced status with one of the reduced Special Circumstances/user-defined special circumstances except for SS: Declining Benefits. Declining benefits will always override DC Free. Paying Special Circumstances Overrides the DC Reduced status with one of the paying Special Circumstances/user-defined special circumstances except for SS: Declining Benefits. Declining benefits will always override DC Free. Free Application Overrides the DC Reduced status if a "Free Application" status exists. Temporary Free Status Overrides the DC Reduced status if a "Temporary Free Status" exists. Queue DC Letters - Select this option to queue Direct Certification Approval Letters at time of approval.
Enable Multi-Child DC Letters - Groups all children residing in a Direct Certification household into one household letter versus separate letters for each child.
Require DC Source - If enabled, the system will require a DC Source when importing the DC File and when manually editing a student record as Direct Certification.
State Match Field - Use the drop-down menu to select the field to be used for a State DC Match (Student Number (Exact), Student Number (Numeric), SIS Data (Exact), SIS Data (Numeric), Student SSN, SIS Key).
Free DC Overrides - Place a checkmark in the box to determine when to override Free DC statuses.
Reduced DC Overrides - Place a checkmark in the box to determine when to override Reduced DC statuses.