WIC Faces Challenges in Delivering High- Quality Nutrition Services

The WIC program faces the following challenges in delivering high-quality nutrition services: (1) coordinating its nutrition services with health and welfare programs undergoing considerable change; (2) responding to health and demographic changes in the low-income population that it serves; (3) recruiting and keeping a skilled staff; (4) improving the use of information technology to enhance service delivery and program management; (5) assessing the effect of nutrition services; and (6) meeting the increased program requirements without a corresponding increase in funding. While each of the approaches offer certain advantages, they also have potential negative consequences that policymakers should consider. 16.
What GAO Found

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) serves almost half of all infants and about one-quarter of all children between one and four years of age in the United States. The WIC program faces the following challenges: (1) coordinating its nutrition services with health and welfare programs undergoing considerable change, (2) responding to health and demographic changes in the low-income population, (3) recruiting and keeping a skilled staff, (4) improving the use of information technology to enhance service delivery and program management, (5) assessing the effect of nutrition services, and (6) meeting increased program requirements without a corresponding increase in funding. This report identifies 16 approaches to address these challenges. Each of the approaches has advantages and disadvantages that policymakers should consider.