Department of Health
Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN, Commissioner
About WIC
About WIC
Food, nutrition counseling, and access to health services are provided to low-income women, infants, and children under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, popularly known as WIC. WIC provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children who are found to be at nutritional risk.
Established as a pilot program in 1972 and made permanent in 1974, WIC is administered at the federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Formerly known as the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children, WIC's name was changed under the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994, in order to emphasize its role as a nutrition program. Most State WIC programs provide vouchers that participants use at authorized food stores. A wide variety of state and local organizations cooperate in providing the food and health care benefits, and 46,000 merchants nationwide accept WIC vouchers.
The Tennessee WIC Program provides supplemental food items to approximately 155,000 eligible participants each month. Participants are pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants and young children under five years of age who are at risk of poor growth, who meet the required income guidelines. Services to certify participants and issue vouchers for the foods are provided at approximately 155 local health departments, primary care, and hospital sites throughout the state. Vouchers are issued in three month increments, and can be redeemed at one of the approximately 1,200 participating WIC Shoppings in 
Tennessee that have contracts with the Tennessee Department of Health to redeem WIC vouchers. Nutritionists are available to teach individuals or groups proper nutrition for everyday living. Registered dietitians counsel individuals with special dietary needs such as hypertension, diabetes and weight management. Breastfeeding classes and support are also available to all new mothers.
WIC is effective in improving the health of pregnant women, new mothers, and their infants. A 1990 study showed that women who participated in the program during their pregnancies had lower Medicaid costs for themselves and their babies than did women who did not participate. WIC participation was also linked with longer gestation periods, higher birthweights and lower infant mortality.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL YOUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT
OR CALL 1-800-DIAL-WIC (1-800-342-5942)
Click to view a list of local health departments
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 or (202) 720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Income Guidelines
Income Eligibility Criteria
Income eligibility is uniform statewide and is determined at the local level by the clerk in the health department.* The participant’s household income (gross) must be no more than the WIC income guidelines (185% of the USDA income poverty guidelines).
WIC Income Eligibility Guidelines
July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010
| Family Size | Annual | Monthly | Twice Monthly | Bi-Weekly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,036 | $1,670 | $835 | $771 | $386 |
| 2 | $26,955 | $2,247 | $1,124 | $1,037 | $519 |
| 3 | $33,874 | $2,823 | $1,412 | $1,303 | $652 |
| 4 | $40,793 | $3,400 | $1,700 | $1,569 | $785 |
| 5 | $47,712 | $3,976 | $1,988 | $1,836 | $918 |
| 6 | $54,631 | $4,553 | $2,277 | $2,102 | $1,051 |
| 7 | $61,550 | $5,130 | $2,565 | $2,368 | $1,184 |
| 8 | $68,469 | $5,706 | $2,853 | $2,634 | $1,317 |
| Each Add'l Member Add |
+6,919 | +577 | +289 | +267 | +134 |
Note: Do not allow hardship deductions from the above income poverty guidelines. A standard deduction has been included in all of the above income levels.
*At each certification, the gross income is determined and filled in on the Informed Consent Form. The PHOA and the applicant/participant must sign the income form at each certification. English version (PH-1530) and Spanish version (PH-3290).
Participation Reports
Participation History Report by Month
Please choose a region from the drop down list below:
The following is the list of Metros:
The following table contains the counties that make up each region:
| Northeast Tennessee | Southeast Tennessee | Mid-Cumberland | Northwest Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Greene Hancock Hawkins Johnson Unicoi Washington |
Bledsoe Bradley Franklin Grundy Marion McMinn Meigs Polk Rhea Sequatchie |
Cheatham Dickson Houston Humphreys Montgomery Robertson Rutherford Stewart Sumner Trousdale Williamson Wilson |
Benton Carroll Crockett Dyer Gibson Henry Lake Obion Weakley |
| East Tennessee | Upper Cumberland | South Central | West Tennessee |
| Anderson Blount Campbell Claiborne Cocke Grainger Hamblen Jefferson Loudon Monroe Morgan Roane Scott Sevier Union |
Cannon Clay Cumberland DeKalb Fentress Jackson Macon Overton Pickett Putnam Smith Van Buren Warren White |
Bedford Coffee Giles Hickman Lawrence Lewis Lincoln Marshall Maury Moore Perry Wayne |
Chester Decatur Fayette Hardeman Hardin Haywood Henderson Lauderdale McNairy Tipton |
Policies
Tennessee WIC Program Formula Policy
The Tennessee WIC Program promotes and supports breastfeeding. Most medical and nutrition-related conditions do not require cessation of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding should be continued unless medically contraindicated.
The Tennessee WIC Program currently uses Nestlé infant formula products for its eligible participants. The standard WIC formulas provided are iron-fortified Good Start Supreme (concentrate and powder), Good Start Supreme Soy (concentrate and powder), and Good Start Natural Cultures (powder only). Each of these products contains DHA &ARA.
Some therapeutic formulas are available for infants, children, and adults who have serious medical conditions. Contact your local WIC office for the availability of these specialized therapeutic formulas.
USDA allows each state to establish its formula policy within the guidance of the Code of Federal Regulation. The approval of infant and child formulas follows the evidenced-based standard of clinical practice as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Because the WIC Program is a supplemental nutrition program, it was never intended to provide all the formula a participant may need each month.
Approval for therapeutic formulas will be for a maximum of 3 months. At the end of the three month approval period, continuation of a therapeutic formula must be re-evaluated. A new written prescription request must be submitted with a renewal.
Requirements for Issuing Therapeutic Formulas:
- Serve as a major source of nutrition, but may have to be supplemented by additional special nutritional products.
- Be medically necessary--used when conventional foods cannot be consumed in adequate quantities by a woman, infant, or child with special dietary needs.
- Medical documentation to assure that the woman, infant, or child has a serious medical condition.
- Not be used solely for the purpose of enhancing nutrient intake or for managing body weight.
- Intended for use as an oral feeding; formulas administered through a tube may be substituted.
Written Prescription from Health Care Provider Must Include:
- Medical diagnosis—not symptoms.
- Name of recommended formula for the stated diagnosis.
- Supporting medical documentation, which could include anthropometric measurements, labs, pertinent medical history, and medications.
- Feeding instructions that include recommended duration, amount, caloric density, and dilution needed. If formula is delivered by feeding tube, this should also be noted.
- Signature verifying that the Healthcare Provider has seen and evaluated (or re-evaluated for renewal) the patient’s nutrition, feeding problem(s) and symptoms, and has a serious medical condition.
The WIC nutrition assessment, which includes subjective information gathered from the caregiver or patient and anthropometric measurements, is used for case-by-case approval.
Tennessee WIC prefers that when switching formulas (other than for metabolic disorders) that all formulas are transitioned using WIC vouchers so that we can document tolerance or intolerance. WIC staff will nutritionally assess the infant and instruct the caregiver on a two to four week formula transition schedule to fully evaluate the success of the new formula. We strongly encourage soy formula be tried first for lactose and milk protein allergies following a transition schedule. See AAP policy recommendations at www.aap.org for Soy Protein-based Formulas: Recommendations for Use in Infant Feeding and Lactose Intolerance in Infants, Children, and Adolescents. If a hydrolyzed formula must be used, Tennessee WIC asks that both Nutramigen and Alimentum be given a transitional trial using WIC vouchers prior to requesting an elemental formula.
Tennessee WIC requests hydrolyzed and elemental formulas be used for the shortest possible time periods and then soy be retried per AAP recommendations after 6 months of age. (See AAP Policy statement recommendations for Hypoallergenic Infant Formulas.)
Tennessee WIC also follows the Pediatric Gastroesophageal Reflux Clinical Practice Guidelines of AAP and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, see http://www.naspghan.org. These guidelines state: “During infancy GER is common and is most often manifest as vomiting. Recurrent vomiting occurs in 50% of infants in the first three months of life, in 67% of four month old infants, and in 5% of 10 to 12 month old infants. Vomiting resolves spontaneously in nearly all of these infants. Parents do not usually perceive vomiting as a problem when it occurs no more often than once daily….”
Formula changes are usually not warranted for infants with effortless, painless vomiting in a well appearing child with normal growth, often referred to as a “happy spitter”. AAP goes on to say in the guidelines:
“Some infants with cow’s milk allergy have symptoms that are indistinguishable from GER. Again, a two week trial of a hypoallergenic formula may be reasonable.” Tennessee WIC can transition formulas using WIC vouchers and re-challenge after trial with a soy formula.
