Overview
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children, commonly known as the WIC
program, serves to safeguard the health of low-income
women, infants, and children younger than 5 who are at nutritional
risk. WIC is based on the premise that, during critical
periods of child growth and development, early intervention—supplementing diets with nutritious foods, offering nutrition education and counseling at WIC clinics,
and providing screening and referrals to other health, welfare,
and social services—can help prevent medical and
developmental problems.
As the third largest food and nutrition assistance
program, WIC serves over 8 million participants per
month, including almost half of all infants born in
the United States. Federal program costs exceeded $5
billion in fiscal 2006.
ERS’s Food Assistance and Nutrition Research
Program (FANRP) conducts and funds studies and evaluations
of
the WIC program and other USDA domestic food and nutrition assistance
programs, such as the Food Stamp Program and child nutrition
programs. FANRP supports extramural research primarily
through:
More overview…
Features
Recent Trends and Economic
Issues in the WIC Infant Formula Rebate Program—Over half of all infant
formula sold in the United States is purchased through
the WIC program. Typically, WIC State agencies obtain
substantial discounts in the form of rebates from infant
formula manufacturers for each can of formula purchased
through the program. This analysis suggests that retail
markup of infant formula accounts for most of the cost
to WIC; however, both retail and net wholesale prices
increased between 1998 and 2006. These increases coincide
with the introduction of higher priced supplemented infant
formulas. Conditions may change after the market adjusts
to these new formulas.
Nutrient Adequacy of Children
Participating in WIC—WIC
food packages were initially designed to include foods
rich in nutrients often lacking in the diets of low-income
participants. This brief summarizes two recent ERS-sponsored
studies that provide new assessments of the nutrient
intakes of WIC children, income-eligible children not
participating in the program, and children ineligible
for the program.
Recommended Readings
The WIC Program: Background,
Trends, and Issues—This
report presents comprehensive background information
on the WIC program—operations,
history, program trends, and the characteristics of the
population served. Issues related to program outcomes
and administration are also examined.
See
all recommended readings…
Recent Research Developments
Revisions to the WIC Food Package: Interim Rule—The Food and Nutrition Service published an interim final rule on December 6, 2007, revising the WIC food packages to include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The revisions align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, reflecting recommendations from the Institute of Medicine's report, "WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change." State agencies must implement the provisions no later than August 5, 2009.
World
Health Organization Releases New Growth Curves for
Breastfed Infants—More than 30 Child
Growth Standards charts for infants and children up to
age 5 have been developed and are available from the
World
Health Organization website. These charts show for
the first time how children should grow, rather than simply
describing how children grow.
Also included are new standards for Body Mass Index (BMI)
and six key motor development milestones—such as sitting,
standing, and walking—linking physical growth and motor
development. ERS funded data collection for the U.S., as
part of the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study. The
Department of Health and Human Services, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, and other key health decisionmakers
will determine whether the new Child Growth Standards
and charts will be officially adopted in the U.S.
ERS WIC Data
Linkages Extranet—ERS has established
an extranet site to facilitate the sharing of knowledge
on State-level linkages of WIC data to vital records,
Medicaid, and other program information. The site is
designed to identify current and potential benefits,
as well as barriers and concerns, of these linkage systems
to Federal and State program managers and policymakers.
The site highlights the importance of developing data-sharing
partnerships. It also aids States in developing data
linkages by (1) describing existing State systems that
may serve as models, and (2) establishing a forum to
facilitate candid discussions, exchange ideas, and share
technical advice. To access the ERS Extranet, please
contact Alex Majchrowicz (at alexm@ers.usda.gov).
Recommended Data Products
ERS has funded WIC-related questions—such
as program participation, height and weight, nutritional
status, and dietary intake—in a number of nationwide
surveys. This enhances the surveys’ usefulness
in addressing new and emerging food and nutrition assistance issues.
Early
Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort
(ECLS-B)—Of particular relevance to WIC research,
this is a longitudinal nationally representative sample
of about 12,000 children born during the year 2001, who
are being followed through the first grade. Data funded
by USDA relate to participation in WIC and other USDA
food and nutrition assistance programs, infant feeding practices, children's
household food security, and children's height and weight.
The study focuses on factors affecting readiness for
school, and information is collected each year from parents,
teachers, birth records, and the children themselves.
Information about these children was first collected
when they were about 9 months old, with additional data
collected at 2 years old, 4 years old, in kindergarten,
and in first grade. Study participants come from diverse
socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds, oversampling
children who are Asian and Pacific Islander, American
Indian, or Chinese; twins; and children with low and
very low birthweights. The ECLS-B offers the opportunity
to examine the relationship between children's participation
in WIC and a variety of issues, such as infant feeding
practices, cognitive performance, and school progress.
Data are currently available for the first two waves.
For more information, see the National
Center for Education Statistics' ECLS website.
Other
National Data Sets Useful in WIC Research—Other
surveys and datasets relevant to WIC include: the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the
Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII),
the Current Population Survey (CPS), Food and Nutrition
Service Program Operations Data, the Panel Study of Income
Dynamics (PSID), the Survey of Income and Program Participation
(SIPP), the Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD), and the
National Survey of America's Families (NSAF).
FANRP
Project Database—Provides details on the agency's
Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP)
research projects. See WIC-related projects, including
the project's objective, funding level, researchers,
and expected completion date.
Newsletters
Sign Up Now—Keep current
on activities in the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research
Program (FANRP) by subscribing to our free e-mail notification
service. You will receive announcements of our latest
reports and other news. You can also get the latest on
other activities at ERS. To become a subscriber, please
submit this short application form.
Be sure to check "Food & Nutrition Assistance
Programs"
under Particular Topic Areas to receive information about
FANRP activities.
Related Links
USDA's Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the WIC
program. Obtain information on a variety of information
on WIC, including information on how to apply for
the program, eligibility guidelines, program data, research
reports, laws and regulations, State agency contact information,
and proposed rules to revise the WIC food packages.
USDA's
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) provides
information on dietary
guidelines, MyPyramid, and the
Healthy
Eating Index.
USDA’s National Agricultural Library (NAL) provides
two resources to facilitate the exchange and sharing
of information among individuals involved in WIC or other
maternal, infant, and child health programs.
United States General Accounting
Office (GAO)—GAO has conducted numerous studies
on WIC. Search for GAO's WIC-related reports.
The
National Academy of Sciences and the National
Research Council have also conducted several studies on WIC. Search
the National Academies Press website for WIC-related
reports. ERS funded two reports available
at the National Academies Press website:
Images Gallery
WIC
Participation, Fiscal 1980-2007 —In fiscal 2007,
spending for WIC was nearly $5.5 million
up
from $5.1 in FY 2006. Monthly participation in WIC averaged
8.3 million women, infants, and children, higher than the 8.1 million in fiscal 2006.
WIC
Caseload Composition—In April 2006,
children (ages 1-4 years) made up nearly half of all
WIC participants,
with women and infants younger than 1, about 25
percent each.
WIC
Race and Ethnic Composition, 1992-2006—The
ethnic composition of the WIC program caseload has changed dramatically
since 1992. Over time, the share of Hispanic WIC
enrollees has risen steadily, while percentages of Black
and White (non-Hispanic) enrollees have decreased. In
2006, Hispanics made up 41 percent of the WIC caseload.
|
