GAO Review of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children

GAO discussed the Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides supplemental foods and nutrition counseling to pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age who meet specific income criteria. GAO found that WIC benefits were not routinely being targeted on a priority basis to eligible individuals who were the most vulnerable and would stand to benefit most from the program. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has not emphasized targeting as a major policy objective and states are not required to target available funds. A case sampling showed that less than half of clinic participants were in the most vulnerable groups. WIC program resources could be used more effectively if nutritional risk criteria were more uniformly and stringently applied, income eligibility procedures were strengthened, and WIC funding patterns and practices were changed. GAO determined that FNS: (1) lets each state agency establish and apply its own eligibility criteria; (2) varies in the amount of evidence it requires to establish risk conditions; and (3) has not established specific guidance for documenting and verifying applicants' reported income and family size. Finally, funding practices have led to management and spending pressures that have worked against targeting and orderly, effective case-load management.