WIC Program

1
WIC Program

• Coordinator of the Floyd County WIC Program
• Krista Comer, MS, RD, CD

2
What does WIC stand for?

• WWomen
• IInfants
• CChildren

3
What is WIC?

• WIC is a Federal grant program (each year
  Congress specifies how much money the program
  receives)
• WIC is a supplemental nutrition program
• WIC is a source for screenings and referrals

4
Who could be eligible?

• Pregnant women (through the remainder of the
  current pregnancy up to 6 weeks after delivery)
• Breastfeeding women (up until the infant is one
  year of age)
• Postpartum women who are not breastfeeding (up
  until the infant is 6 months of age)
• Infants (up until they are one year old)
• Children ( up until they are 5 years old)

5
How is eligibility determined?

• Each participant must qualify both nutritionally
  as well as financially.
• They are screened according to their income.
• They visit with a CPA (Certified Professional
  Authority) to determine nutritional needs.

6
Interesting Information

• Of all infants born in the United States, WIC
  serves 45.
• As of 2008, the average monthly food cost per
  person was 39.03.
• There are 2,000 local agencies in 10,000 clinic
  sites, 50 State health departments, 34 Indian
  Tribal Organizations, the District of Columbia,
  and 5 territories (Northern Mariana, American
  Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

7
How does WIC work?

• Clients are given an appointment time
• They bring proofs to the appointment
• Proof of income, residency, identification on
  parent and child, and WIC id folder
• Proofs are screened by Clerks and entered into
  the database
• If qualify financially, they are seen by the CPA
• They are asked a series of questions which is
  also entered into the database

8
How WIC works continued

• Ht/Wt/Hgb
• Risk factors are identified by CPA
• Educated nutritionally
• Checks printed and explained
• Given packet and scheduled for next appointment

9
VENA

• Value
• Enhanced
• Nutrition
• Assessment

10
What is VENA?

• Developed in collaboration with the Food and
  Nutrition Service (FNS) and the National WIC
  Association (NWA)
• It is a program designed to improve the
  assessment process during a WIC visit and
  individualize the information

11
Pre- and Post- VENA

• Pre
• Quality of assessment is inconsistent across WIC
  agencies
• Use of diet histories
• Assessment information not always used
  effectively
• Primary function is nutrition risk id
• No presumed dietary risk criterion
• Tendency to focus on deficiency findings
• Not always consistent with participant-centered
  nutrition

• Post
• FNS provides policy for quality nutrition
  assessment
• No longer use diet histories
• Enhances nutrition assessment
• Continues to identify nutrition risk
  (individualized)
• Inclusion of presumed dietary risk criterion
• Positive approach based on desired health goals
  rather than deficiencies
• Complements participant-centered nutrition

12
Risk Factors

• Series of numbers to help CPAs identify
  nutritional and medical needs
• Different ones to apply to each category of
  individuals
• Educational materials provided to increase
  awareness of risk factors

13
GOAL

• To become more client centered instead of trying
  to determine eligibility
• To have more conversations with clients and open
  lines of communication
• To individualize each visit to meet that persons
  needs nutritionally, educationally and physically
  (tailoring the food package)

14
New WIC Food Package

• In September of 2009, WIC started providing more
  variety to their clients.
• The amounts of the foods changed some.
• The types of foods still depends on the client
  type (i.e. prenatal, breastfeeding, postpartum,
  child, infant)

15
Foods Available

• Milk/Cheese
• Eggs
• Dried Beans/Canned Beans/Peanut Butter
• Juice
• Cereal
• Infant cereal
• Baby food
• Carrots
• Tuna, Pink Salmon, Sardines
• Formula
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• Whole grain products (bread, tortillas, rice)

16
How much is provided?

• Milk/Cheese 4-6 gallons/month
• Eggs 1 dozen/month
• Dried Beans/Peanut Butter 1 lb/18 oz jar
• Juice 2-3 units

17
How much continued..

• Cereal 36 oz/month
• Infant cereal 24 oz/month after 6 months of
  age
• Baby food 32-64 jars fruits vegetables 31
  jars meats

18
How much continued..

• Tuna, Pink Salmon, Sardines 30 oz/month if
  exclusively breastfeeding
• Formula approximately 910 oz/month (31 cans
  of concentrate or 9 cans of powder)

19
Why these foods?

• All of the foods selected are monitored and have
  to meet certain nutritional standards
• All food groups are represented in the food
  packages
• Calcium, iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and fiber are
  some of the main benefits to the clients

20
Checks

• Participants are given a folder with the names of
  the participants on it, the parents signature,
  and up to 2 proxies who have to sign in order to
  use the checks
• Each food item is printed on the checks and the
  quantity
• Could have up to 4 checks a month per participant

21
What else does WIC provide?

• WIC not only provides food, but also nutrition
  education
• It also provides referrals to other agencies
• It provides networking possibilities for clients

22
Budget

• Each year, I write a Grant to be approved by the
  USDA and State WIC
• I am given an amount of money according to my
  clinics caseload and then I have to figure how
  to distribute it
• That amount has to include personnel, supplies,
  printing, telephone, postage, breastfeeding
  incentives, travel and rent.

23
Budget continued.

• Each month, I send a report to the State office
  accounting for the money used that month.
• Each participant falls into a priority according
  to their nutritional and medical need. If budget
  cuts occur, they could be dropped from the
  program (starting with the least at risk)

24
Any Questions??
25
References

• www.fns.usda.gov/wic
• www.nal.usda.gov/wic
• Indiana State Department of Health
• Pamphlet
• Training