Division of Community Health Promotion

Bureau of WIC Program Services

WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. This program provides nutrition education and counseling; breastfeeding promotion and support; health care and social service referrals including referrals for immunizations; and supplemental nutritious foods to low and moderate income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and children. WIC services are offered at county health departments, many community/migrant health centers and at some Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). The Bureau of WIC and Nutrition Services develops policies, rules and procedures for state and local operations; plans, implements and maintains the WIC information system; provides technical assistance and training to local agencies; conducts on-site monitoring and develops educational materials. The Bureau of WIC and Nutrition Services also manages the food grant; assists in the recruitment of nutritionists; secures federal approval for equipment purchases; authorizes, trains, monitors and sanctions participating retail grocery stores; administers contracts for infant formula rebates and banking services; and develops the required federal/state plan, procedures manual and other required reports.

The WIC program focuses on the prevention of nutrition-related health problems by providing supplemental nutritious foods; nutrition education; breastfeeding promotion and support; and referrals to other health and social services agencies. The program serves low to moderate income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children less than five years of age.

• Supplemental Foods: WIC provides foods rich in protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. These are key nutrients that are deficient in the diets of the WIC target population. Food checks, redeemable at WIC approved grocery stores, are given to participants on a monthly or bimonthly basis. The checks identify the type, brand, and amount of food a participant is allowed to purchase.
• Nutrition Education: Nutrition education is available to all adult WIC participants and, whenever possible, to child participants and other family members. The goals of nutrition education are to promote the optimal use of the WIC supplemental foods and other nutritious foods and to teach the relationship between proper nutrition and good health.
• Breastfeeding Promotion and Support: Breastfeeding is the best method of infant feeding and nurturing. All WIC agencies have trained personnel who are ready to assist mothers with breastfeeding instruction and support. Iron-fortified infant formula is made available to mothers who choose not to breastfeed their infants.
• Referrals for Health Care and Social Services: WIC works closely with other service providers by receiving referrals from private and public health care providers and referring WIC participants to health and social services, as needed.

The WIC target population consists of pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children less than five years of age. Eligibility is based on both income and nutrition risk. Income eligibility is set at 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. Nutrition risk eligibility criteria include, but are not limited to, anemia, factors associated with high risk pregnancy, nutrition related medical conditions, or inadequate growth patterns.

WIC saves public and private health care dollars. In Florida, $1.77 was saved in associated Medicaid costs for every dollar spent to serve a pregnant woman in WIC. Studies have shown that participation in the Florida WIC Program by pregnant women before 30 weeks gestation prevented 191 very low birth weight Medicaid births, with a corresponding savings of $2.3 million in Florida's Medicaid costs. WIC has also been associated with reducing the rate of anemia among participating children by 16 percent and improving their growth and immunization rates.

• Early Intervention: Federal Investments Like WIC Can Produce Savings, April 1992.
• Very Low Birthweight Among Medicaid Newborns in Five States: The Effects of Prenatal WIC Participation, September 1992.
• Savings in Medicaid Costs for Newborns and Their Mothers from Prenatal Participation in the WIC Program, October 1990.
• The Nutrition Intervention Project for Underweight Pregnant Women, Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 7, Number 5, September/October 1988.
• WIC Participation and Pregnancy Outcome, APHA Journal, Vol. 77, July 1987.
• WIC Supplemental Feeding During the Interpregnancy Interval: 1987.
• North Carolina Study on Prenatal Care: 1986.
• National WIC Evaluation: 1985.

Bureau of WIC Program Services website