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WIC Participant and Program
Characteristics 2002
SUMMARY
AND HIGHLIGHTS
This report has been generated from WIC State management information
systems biennially since 1992. It summarizes demographic characteristics
of WIC participants nationwide in April 2002, along with information on
participant income and nutrition risk characteristics. It describes WIC
members of migrant farmworker families. A national estimate of
breastfeeding initiation for WIC infants 7 to 11 months of age is
included.
The definition of WIC "participant" for this report's
tabulations are based on a near census of WIC participants as they are
enrolled in the program (8,016,918 records). WIC issues monthly food
prescription benefits through management information systems at the time
of WIC certification. Participants held on automated WIC certification
systems include individuals who did not claim or use food instruments.
Fewer participants - approximately 7.5 million - actually picked up their
vouchers in April 2002 and were counted according to WIC regulations as
participants for WIC administrative funding purposes.
In order to minimize the burden of data collection for WIC agencies,
beginning in 1992, State WIC Agencies have been providing a Minimum Data
Set (MDS) consisting of 20 variables from their management information
systems. The MDS variables were negotiated with the National WIC
Association (formerly the National Association of WIC Directors) to
include income, nutrition risks, migrant status, participant category
(Pregnant, Breastfeeding, Postpartum, Infant, Child), age, race, weight,
height, and blood measures recorded as part of WIC Program certifications.
Participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid,
and/or the Food Stamp Program is also included. Beginning in 1998, the
agreed upon list of MDS variables was expanded to include breastfeeding
status and food package prescriptions. (Due to the complexity of analyzing
food package codes that are unique to each of 88 State WIC Agencies, an
addendum to the current report is planned to address food prescription
analysis.)
Another 15 Supplemental Data Set (SDS) Items were requested of States
depending on the capability of State data systems to provide such data.
SDS items address such things as source of health care, education, number
in household on WIC, and birth weight. The number of States submitting
them has been increasing, and the majority of States do submit them. FNS
continues to work with States to improve their ability to provide these
data.
Highlights:
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As of April 2002, 8,016,918 women, infants and children were
enrolled in the WIC Program, an increase of 2 percent over enrollment
from April 2000 and a return to a nearly identical level to PC98. (FNS
administrative data show average monthly voucher issuance for 7.5
million individuals in April 2002.)
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Among eight million WIC enrollees, approximately half (50.1 percent)
are children. Infants account for 25.7 percent and women are 24.1
percent of those enrolled in WIC. The PC2002, PC2000 and PC98
distributions are similar, though the proportion of children declined
slightly, infants stayed the same, and the proportion of women
increased slightly over the four-year period.
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Women were further divided into pregnant (11.0 percent of all
participants), breastfeeding (5.7 percent of all participants), and
postpartum (7.5 percent of all participants). The percentage of
breastfeeding women has risen steadily from 4.0 percent in 1994 to 5.7
percent in 2002.
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In 2002, more pregnant WIC participants enrolled in the program
during their first than second trimesters, with 48.4 percent in the
first trimester and 39.8 in the second. Only 10.6 percent enrolled in
the third trimester, down from 11.8 percent reported in 1998. These
percentages show sustained increases in WIC coverage of pregnant women
in their early stages of pregnancy. Between 1992 and 2002, enrollment
in the first trimester increased by approximately 11 percentage points
and enrollment in the first two trimesters increased by 12 percentage
points.
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In the 2002 report, for the first time, Hispanics made up the
largest group of WIC participants (38.1 percent) up from 35.3 percent
in PC2000. Whites were next largest group (35.9 percent), followed by
Blacks (20.2 percent), Asian or Pacific Islanders (3.5 percent), and
American Indian or Alaskan Natives (1.4 percent). Race/ethnicity data
were reported for 99 percent of WIC participants. The ethnic
composition of the WIC program has been changing steadily since 1992;
the percentage of Hispanic WIC participants has risen, while
percentages of black and white (non-Hispanic) participants has
decreased.
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The distribution of participants by poverty level remained
substantially unchanged, with almost two thirds of WIC enrollees
having reported household income at or below the poverty line. This
compares to 11 percent in the general population, and is substantially
below the WIC income eligibility limit. The percentage of WIC
participants with incomes at or below 50 percent of poverty declined
from 36 percent in 1994 to 27 percent in 2002. Among WIC participants
reporting some income, the average annualized family income in April
2002 was $14,550, an increase of $731 (5.2 percent) since PC2000.
WIC legislation allows income eligibility requirements to be met by
participation in means-tested programs such as the Medicaid, Food Stamp,
and TANF Programs.
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In 2002, 56.8 percent of WIC participants reported receiving
benefits from at least one other public assistance program at the time
of WIC certification. With regard to participation in each program,
54.3 percent of WIC clients (up from 49.5 percent in PC2000) reported
receiving Medicaid benefits; 17.5 percent reported participating in
the Food Stamp Program (down from 26.6 percent in 1998); and 9.6
percent of WIC participants reported receiving TANF benefits (down
from 17 percent in 1998). Only 6.7 percent reported participation in
all three programs: receiving Medicaid, Food Stamp Program, and TANF
benefits.
Such data were not reported for 6.1 percent of 2002 WIC participants.
Also, due to constraints in various WIC management information systems,
newly required procedures for income documentation and documentation of
participation in other programs may have limited the number of multiple
programs entered into computer systems by local WIC staffs.
Beginning in April 1998, States were required to submit data on
breastfeeding initiation and duration for infants age seven to eleven
months old. The PC2002 national estimate is based on data from 68 State
WIC agencies, which represent 86 percent of all 7 to 11 month-old infants
enrolled in WIC.
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In States reporting breastfeeding data, 48.3 percent of infants age
7 to 11 months (up from 44.5 percent in PC2000) are currently
breastfed or were breastfed at some time. The PC98 benchmark
breastfeeding initiation estimate, based on data from 63 WIC States,
was 41.5 percent. These are lower bound estimates as noted in Chapter
8 of the report.
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In April 2002, there were 47,948 WIC participants identified on
State WIC enrollment files as being from migrant farmworker families.
Migrant WIC participants make up about one-half of 1 percent (0.059
percent) of the population receiving WIC services. More than half of
these migrants were enrolled in the WIC Program in California,
Florida, and Texas. Migrant children enrollees in WIC tend to be older
than the general WIC population.
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Average income in the non-migrant WIC population is higher than
incomes reported by migrant farm worker WIC enrollees. While the gap
decreased between 1996 and 1998 (non-migrant income was 12 percent
higher than migrants in 1996 and 6 percent in 1998), it increased
somewhat between 1998 and 2002 (non-migrant income was 8 percent
higher than migrant income). For PC2002, State WIC agencies reported
information on migrant status for 99 percent of United States WIC
participants.
Last modified: 12/04/2008
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