Program Plan
Department of Agriculture - Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) - ARRA Recovery Plan
Updated 05/01/2009
Objectives
Program Purpose
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides nutritious supplemental foods, nutrition education, and health and social services referrals at no charge to low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women and to infants and children up to the age of 5 years. ARRA provides a total of $500 million to support the WIC program with $400 million to support increased demand for services.
Public Benefits
Program participants are provided monthly checks or vouchers to buy specific foods designed to supplement their diet with specific nutrients. A few State agencies distribute the WIC foods through warehouses or deliver the foods to participants’ homes. Supplemental foods include iron-fortified infant formula and infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin C-rich fruit or vegetable juice, eggs, milk, and cheese. Soy-based beverages, tofu, fruits and vegetables, baby foods, whole-wheat bread, and other whole-grain options were recently added.
Measures
The measures have been revised to enrich the performance metrics for Recovery targets. In some instances, targets will not be available until additional baseline data has been collected.
| Measure | Target/Actual |
|---|
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|
[-]
WIC Contingency Funds Expended | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Quarterly | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : ARRA sets aside $400 million for the WIC Contingency Fund which can be used by the Secretary to support the WIC program should available resources not be sufficient to meet the demand for services. This measure tracks the ARRA funds used for this purpose. | | Unit : dollars |
|
[-]
People receiving ARRA-supported WIC benefits and services. | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Quarterly | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : Calculated based on expenditure of WIC ARRA Contingency Funds and the average caseload costs. | | Unit : dollars |
|
[-]
Funds Expended on WIC Management Information Systems | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Quarterly | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : ARRA allocates $100 million for WIC information system investments. This measure tracks the spending of those ARRA funds by State Agencies responsible for administering the WIC program. | | Unit : dollars |
|
[-]
WIC MIS Projects Completed | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Quarterly | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : Cumulative total number of WIC MIS grants fully expended. | | Unit : Completed projects |
|
[-]
Number of WIC clinics benefiting from system enhancements | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Quarterly | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : No Data Available | | Unit : WIC Clinics |
|
[-]
Number of State Agency Model Systems | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : State Agencies and Tribal Organizations responsible for the administration of WIC are required to implement and maintain information systems that perform certain functions in support of the program. Through consortia of States and Tribes. model information systems have been developed. These ARRA funds will help some States and/or Tribes implement these model systems. | | Unit : Number of States |
|
[-]
Number of States with EBT Projects | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Outcome | | Explanation : No Data Available | | Unit : States/ITOs |
|
[-]
Percentage of WIC participants using EBT | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : No Data Available | | Unit : % WIC Participants |
|
[-]
Number of WIC Retailers using EBT | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : No Data Available | | Unit : Number of Retailers |
|
Schedule and Milestones
January 26, 2009 -- In anticipation of the passage of ARRA, FNS sent a memo to State agencies informing them of the possibility of receiving ARRA technology funding and areas within the WIC Program where technology investments could be made.
February 27, 2009 -- FNS sent State agencies an informational memo advising them of the provisions and that more information would follow.
Week of March 30, 2009 -- Posted synopses of WIC’s plans for the technology funding under ARRA on grants.gov.
Week of March 30, 2009 -- Sent memo to all State agencies on reporting requirements for ARRA funding, to include OMB notice.
April 1, 2009 -- A synopsis of the availability of funds for the different competitive grants was posted to grants.gov.
Solicitations for competitive grants will be made available to the public by the end of April 2009.
$99 million of WIC MIS funds will be allocated to WIC State agencies in FY 2009 and FY 2010 and obligated over the next four years by the States.
Allocations of the WIC ARRA contingency funds will be allocated as needed.
Milestones
No Data Available
Projects and Activities
The following projects will be funded with ARRA WIC funds:
1. Support current electronic benefits transfer (EBT) projects through statewide implementation.
2. Involve additional State agencies in EBT planning activities.
3. Require new State information systems to support functionality needed to implement EBT.
4. Promote and fund, to the extent possible, State Agency Model systems (SAM) and SAM transfers.
5. Replace aging State WIC information systems using the WIC Functional Requirements Document as a guide for system design and development.
6. Promote use of technical standards and common business practices in system design and development efforts.
7. Make additional resources available should the demand for WIC benefits and services exceed existing funds.
Review Process
WIC is a Federal nutrition assistance program that is State administered. Given this relationship with the States, FNS will take advantage of its regular reporting and monitoring tools to oversee ongoing State agency program operations for WIC include financial reports and on-site financial and programmatic monitoring of WIC expenditures. These on-site efforts will now include a specific module on the review of ARRA activities. The use of the funds will be monitored by a specific ARRA Standard Form 425, Federal Financial Report. ARRA financial reports will be required on a quarterly basis.
FNS regularly conducts management evaluations of the State agencies. These management evaluations are designed to ensure that States are properly complying with federal program requirements. During these management evaluations, FNS will ensure that the State agency has adequate oversight of WIC ARRA procurement process.
State agencies will be required to complete the recipient reporting requirements and ensure the completion of the sub-recipient reporting requirements established by Section 1512 of the Recovery Act and implemented through the guidance issued by OMB on April, 3, 2009. FNS will analyze this data to identify risks and take appropriate oversight actions. FNS will also draw on any audit finding associated with specific ARRA audits conducted by GAO and OIG, using these findings as a source of additional data to identify and then resolve any issues related to implementation. This reporting will be supplemented by FNS Regional Offices performing on-site monitoring based on the risk-analysis conducted by FNS as part of ARRA implementation.
Cost and Performance Plan
All FNS plans, guidance to States, and State-by-State funding allocations, press releases, and performance information are available on the FNS web site in a space dedicated to ARRA implementation: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/recovery. In addition to the FNS website, FNS provides updates to the Congress and hunger and nutrition advocacy organizations to ensure they are aware of our activities and to seek their feedback on FNS ARRA activities. FNS also monitors the media for any stories on FNS ARRA activities.
Since ARRA supports and enhances existing programs, the accountability structure related to ARRA implementation mirrors the existing management accountability structure for current operations. Each program is led by a senior manager who reports to one of the Agency’s Associate Administrators. ARRA-related program plans are reviewed weekly by the appropriate Associate Administrator, and FNS holds an ARRA implementation meeting once a week to review progress, identify and resolve barriers to implementation, and discuss means of ensuring transparency.
The FNS ARRA implementation plan includes key outcomes and outputs, milestones, individuals responsible, and timeframes; this plan is available on the FNS web site.
The management and accountability related to the competitive grant process will occur as follows.
Energy Efficiency Spending Plans
Program Plan Award Types
No Data Available