This letter is being sent to notify you of new legislation that has passed which is effective January 1, 2009 and impacts facilities without full time dietitians that employ dietetic services supervisors.

Currently a dietetic services supervisor must complete at least one of the following educational requirements: 

• A baccalaureate degree with a major in food or nutrition, dietetics or food management and one year in the dietetic service of a licensed health facility.
• A graduate of a dietetic technician training program approved by the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
• A graduate of the dietetic assistant training program approved by the ADA.
• A graduate of a state approved program that provides 90 or more hours of classroom instruction in dietetic service supervision. s received training experience in food service supervision and management in the military that is the equivalent to any of the above.

Effective January 1, 2009, these additional educational options may be considered: 

• A graduate of a dietetic technician training program approved by the ADA, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education, or registered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
• A graduate of a dietetic services training program approved by the Dietary Managers Association (DMA) and is a certified dietary manager credentialed by the Certifying Board of the DMA, maintains their certification and has at least six hours of in-service training on the specific California dietary service requirements contained in California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 22 prior to taking on full-time duties as a dietetic services supervisor at the health facility.
• A graduate of a college degree program with major studies in food/nutrition, dietetics, food management, culinary arts, or hotel and restaurant services and is a certified dietary manager credentialed by the Certifying Board of the DMA, maintains their certification and has received at least six hours of in-service training on the specific California dietary service requirements contained in CCR Title 22 prior to taking on full-time duties as a dietetic services supervisor at the health facility. 
• A graduate of a state approved program that provides 90 hours or more of combined classroom instruction and instructor led interactive web based instruction in dietetic service.

The Department may also grant program flexibility requests to the health facility for individuals who have at least five years experience prior to January 1, 2009 as a dietetic services supervisor in a health facility, as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 1250 (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), or (k). This approval allows the dietetic services supervisor to continue to work for 18 months so long as they are enrolled in a program that meets the educational requirements. The department may extend the flexibility request for an additional six months if the facility demonstrates that the coursework could not be completed within the original 18 months. Flexibility requests would need to be submitted to the District Office no later than
December 31, 2009.

If you have questions regarding this issue, please contact Patty Pasquarella, M.S., R.D., Chief, Nutrition Consultant at (916) 552-8689.

Sincerely,

Original Signed by Kathleen Billingsley, R.N.

Kathleen Billingsley, R.N.
Deputy Director