Participation in the Women Infants and Children program has plummeted by 25 percent this decade, reaching the point that only 3 out of 5 eligible people apply for the supplemental food and health care support. In a report issued today, the anti-hunger Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) spelled out dozens of ways that government agencies, grocers, schools and nutrition activists could remove barriers and maximize enrollment for low-income pregnant women, new mothers and their offspring up to age 5.
The report, based on a multi-year study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, coincides with work in Congress to overhaul USDA child nutrition programs, headlined by school lunch, that cost $30 billion a year. WIC is estimated to serve an average of 6.6 million people monthly and cost a total of $6.2 billion this year. In 2010, during the slow recovery from economic recession, enrollment peaked at 9.2 million people after a quarter-century of growth.
“Barriers at the national, state and local levels have contributed to this decline,” said FRAC. Its director of nutrition policy, Geri Henchy, said during a webinar that participation rates are highest for infants, with a lower rate for women and the lowest rate, 41 percent, for children ages 1-4. “There are many opportunities for action,” said Henchy. Better diets for children are associated with improved health and educational outcomes.
The report said barriers include misconceptions about eligibility, the cost of traveling to a WIC clinic to apply for benefits and the periodic appointments to continue them, language skills, long waiting times at the clinic, lost wages, dissatisfaction with food provided by WIC and difficulty in redeeming benefits at food stores.
FRAC organized its recommendations in 10 areas, from outreach and technology to special efforts to keep children in WIC after age 1. Many of the suggestions involve digital communication and fewer required visits to WIC offices, as well as mobile offices to reduce the distance that WIC participants must travel for an appointment. For families with children ages 1-4, “the WIC process…should be streamlined by reducing the number of times parents must bring their children to WIC appointments,” said the report, which suggested a one-year certification of eligibility for children.
At a Senate hearing on child nutrition last month, USDA official Brandon Lipps said a number of factors were involved in the decline in WIC enrollment. The strong economy may have reduced the need for assistance, he said, but there could be obstacles as well that work against keeping children enrolled as they grow older. The USDA has said flat or declining birth rate are a reason for the decline in WIC numbers.
Trump administration consideration of stricter rules for immigrants are a factor, health providers told Politico last fall. They said immigrants, including those in the country legally, dropped out of WIC because of the prospect that use of government services would become grounds for denying residency. Over the weekend, Reuters said a draft regulation at the Justice Department would dramatically expand the category of people who could be subject to deportation as a “public charge” to include legal permanent residents.
“WIC is a powerful tool that is essential to building a culture of health for mothers and young children in communities across the country,” said Jamie Bussell of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.