WIC faces shrinking caseload

Health officials are working to understand why participation numbers are dropping in a program that connects low-income pregnant women or women with young children to medical care — especially since those numbers determine the amount of federal dollars the program receives to stay afloat.

WIC is a federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. It provides short-term, low-cost, preventative health services to families who are at-risk due to nutrition-related health conditions.

“It’s sad to think that we still have a tremendous population that we could be providing services to, but the amount of people seeking services continues to go down,” Flathead County health officer Joe Russell said. “We are still a little perplexed about that.”

From March 2016 to February 2017, Flathead County WIC participation dropped from 1,356 people in the program to 1,194, according to a Montana WIC Program report.

During a recent county Board of Health meeting, Hillary Hanson, Flathead County’s deputy health officer, said the decline is not unique to the Flathead.

Between March and February, WIC participation numbers dropped statewide from 18,464 to 17,337.

“It’s been a national trend,” Hanson said. “But I was hoping it would level out.”

NATIONAL WIC caseloads have dropped below 8 million for the first time in more than a decade.

Flathead WIC Executive Director Jeannine Lund said part of the reason may be due to a declining birth rate paired with an upturn in the economy.

But Flathead County’s population continues to rise. Lund said she’s concerned about trying to serve a growing population with shrinking funding.

“People are busy, they miss rides to appointments or don’t know they have access to WIC,” Lund said. “There’s also a perception that WIC just provides people with food, but it’s so much more.”

WIC offers participants nutrition screening, education and counseling with registered dietitians. It gives participants access to preventative health programs and community referrals to private and public health providers. The office also provides pregnancy and postpartum nutrition, breastfeeding support and infant and child feeding practices.

Families typically qualify for WIC if they’re on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Food Stamps, Medicaid or are enrolled in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Lund said married women or women who fall between 100 and 185 percent of the poverty line typically assume they don’t qualify for WIC resources, “so that’s a large population we’re trying to reach.”

Lund said in the shadow of caseloads slowly dropping over several years, some full-time Flathead staff positions had to be cut to part-time roles.

“It will never impact the services we offer, we just keep having to try to work as efficiently as we can,” she said.

FUNDING for WIC through the Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service is not guaranteed from year to year.

President Donald Trump’s budget proposal sought $6.35 billion for WIC programs across the nation. Once the national budget is finalized, federal dollars will flow into each state based on WIC participation rates. Then, states will push that money toward county programs, again, based on participation.

“Our year started in October and we’re still not sure what we’ll be getting this year,” Lund said.

Russell said the county has begun to work to identify what system-wide problems could be preventing people from using WIC.

He said one barrier has been the program’s food voucher program, which allows participants to buy WIC-approved food.

“It’s complex,” Russell said. “You could be looking at a cold case and not know what carton of eggs is WIC-approved until you’re at the checkout and the cashier tells you in front of a line of people.”

He said the program is working to change its system from voucher to an electronic benefit card. When the card is released, clients can swipe at the checkout instead of turning in vouchers. Participants can also download a WIC app on their phone to check what groceries are WIC-approved.

“It will reduce the stigma of purchasing food through WIC, and some of the stress,” he said.

Lund said WIC staff are also strengthening their online and community presence, “to let people know we’re here.”

She said staff are visiting health providers throughout the county to spread word about what the program does.

“We’re really working on getting what we do out there, for health professionals, providers, families — everyone,” she said. “It’s an important part of public health.”

For more information, visit http://flatheadhealth.org/wic/eligibility/ or call 406-751-8170.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.