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At a Glance
The Georgia WIC Program is the nation's seventh largest Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The Food and Nutrition Service administers the program at the federal level and provides funds to state agencies for program implementation and administration. At the state level, the Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health, WIC Branch administers the program.
WIC has provided nutrition education and supplemental foods to low income families for thirty years. In federal fiscal Year (FFY) 2007, the Georgia WIC Program provided benefits to
approximately 424,232 individuals.
Children are the largest category of WIC participant types. In FFY 2007,
194,487 children,
92,253
infants, 47,240 prenatals,
32,884 breastfeeding and
57,368 non-breastfeeding
women received monthly benefits through the Georgia WIC Program. The
Georgia WIC Program contributes approximated $301 million to the state's
economy; $165.6 million in food million in food, $78 million in formula rebate,
and $58 million in administrative funds.
In Georgia, WIC services are provided through eighteen health districts and two contract agencies. Services are provided
through eighteen health districts and two contract agencies. Services are
provided at over 275 health clinics including: 16 hospitals, 5 Military Base Clinics,
4 Division of Family and Children Services (DFACS) offices and via in-home certifications. Currently, there are over
1600 authorized food retailers that participate in the WIC food delivery system.
Program Objectives
- Interpret federal regulations and develop policies and procedures for program implementation, operation and monitoring.
- Provide technical assistance and training to assure that local agencies have appropriate guidance and skills for efficient operation of local clinic sites and monitoring of retail grocery vendors.
- Develop and evaluate guidelines for recruiting, training, retaining and monitoring retail grocery vendors to assure that an appropriate number of vendors are available and accessible for voucher redemption and food prices of vendors are reasonable.
- Provide technical support in the development and maintenance of an up-to-date computerized system for collecting, analyzing and retrieving WIC information, and an automated voucher system.
- Design and monitor food packages to ensure availability of food supplements for participants.
- Provide guidance to support financial management and compliance for an efficient, cost-effective operation.
- Educate the general public, and private and public organizations about the availability of and eligibility for WIC benefits.
- Develop a working relationship with other health and social service providers to ensure access to WIC services for individuals with special needs.
- Maximize program resources by assessing programmatic compliance and investigating high risk indicators to minimize fraud and abuse within the program.
Services
The Georgia WIC program has taken a holistic approach to serve the WIC
participants with the following goals: increasing prenatal and postpartum
healthy behaviors, increasing breastfeeding, identifying challenging nutritional
risk factors, referring participants to other health care services, increasing
retention of all WIC eligible participants, establishing effective external
partnerships to provide comprehensive service capacity, and utilizing technology
to streamline administrative service delivery.
WIC provides these services: Nutrition assessment, health screening, medical history, body measurement (weight and height), hemoglobin check, nutrition education, breast-feeding support and education, and vouchers for
healthy foods.
Eligibility
WIC serves women and children in families with income at or below 185 percent of the federally defined poverty level who are at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Participant categories consist of the following: pregnant, postpartum and breast-feeding women, and infants and children up to their fifth birthday.
To apply WIC services, contact either the State WIC Branch or your local health department.
Frequently Asked Questions 
Other related sites
NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
In accordance with Federal law and USDA policy, this institution is prohibited from discrimination 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 DC 20250 -9410 or call (800) 795-3272 or (202) 720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer
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