WIC ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION

Eligibility Determination

Women, Infants and Children (WIC) serves infants, children up to 5 years, pregnant women, breast-feeding women, and women in the first 6 months after giving birth. You may also be eligible for WIC if you had a recent miscarriage.  Participants must meet liberal income guidelines or participate in  Medicaid, Food Stamps, or Work and Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency / Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (WAGES/TANF).  Applicants are required to show current proof of income, identity, and address.

Food Assistance

WIC provides eligible participants with checks for supplemental nutritious food.  Women and children receive checks for milk, cheese, eggs, fruit or vegetable juice, iron-fortified cereal, and beans or peanut butter.  Women who exclusively breast-feed also receive carrots and tuna.  Non-breast feeding infants receive iron-fortified formula.

Income eligibility:

You will automatically qualify income-wise if you participate in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid or Food Stamps.  If you are employed, the gross income(before taxes and deductions) level of your household must fall below 185% of the poverty level.  Please refer to WIC Income Guidelines for levels of income based on household size*.

*For a pregnant woman, each unborn infant counts as 1 extra family member.

Documenting Eligibility:

When you come to your WIC appointment, you will be asked to bring the following as documentation of eligibility:

Proof of identification:
Federal regulations require that all applicants provide the WIC Program with valid proof of identification for both the caretaker and the applicant. Some examples of acceptable identification are as follows:

• Baptismal certificate
• Birth certificate
• Applicant's school ID or record, recent
• Foster child placement letter/notice
• ID card for health, social services, or work
• Infant hospital records (for example, crib card, discharge papers)
• Immigration record
• Immunization record
• Marriage license
• Medical Records
• Military ID, U.S.
• Passport, U.S.
• Paycheck/stub with name
• Photo ID card, official
• Supplemental Security Income letter in applicant or client's name
• Unemployment documents in applicant or client's name
• Voter registration card

Proof of residency:
All applicants must provide documentation that they currently reside in the state of Florida.  Some examples of valid proof of residency are as follows:

• Proof of eligibility from another assistance program
• Utility bill-electric or phone bill
• Bank Statement
• Client's school record, recent
• Driver's license
• Foster child placement letter/notice
• Housing, rent/mortgage agreement
• Paycheck/stub with name and address
• Photo ID card, official
• Property tax receipt, W-2 form for previous year
• Unemployment documents in applicant's or client's name
• Voter registration card

Physical Presence:
Federal regulations require that all applicants or clients seeking or continuing participation in the WIC program must be physically present, except in certain limited situations, at each certification.

Proof of Income:
All applicants or clients applying for WIC must provide proof of income eligibility.  As stated above if applicant/client is eligible and currently enrolled in Medicaid, Food Stamps or WAGES/TANF they automatically qualify for WIC.  If applicant/client is not enrolled currently in any of these programs they must provide WIC with written documentation of the total household/family income.

Income is determined by compiling the total gross income before deductions for income taxes, employee's social security taxes, insurance premiums, bonds, etc.  It also includes any money received or withdrawn from any source, including savings.  WIC regulations do not permit a household's gross income to be reduced for hardships, or any obligations that the family may have.

Non-discrimination statement:
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TTY) WIC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

For more information visit the Florida Department of Health WIC web site.

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