Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a nutrition education and supplemental food program for pregnant women, infants, and children under the age of five (income/medical nutrition guidelines apply). Services that are provided include health screening, risk assessment, nutrition education, breastfeeding education & counseling, and referrals for health care.
WIC is funded and administered at the national level by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program is operated by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Nutrition Services and WIC at the state level, and Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center at the local level.
Benefits
Experience shows that women who participate in the WIC program have fewer babies with low birth weight, experience fewer infant deaths, see the doctor earlier in pregnancy, and eat healthier. WIC's goal is to improve the health and nutrition of eligible women, infants, and children.
Breastfeeding Support:
- Prenatal breastfeeding classes
- Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program
- Double electric breast pump loan program
- Mom-to-mom breastfeeding support group
If you're eligible for WIC, you may also benefit from the Safe Cribs for Missouri program which provides portable cribs and safe sleep education to low-income families who have no other resources for obtaining a crib—its goal is to support families and reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths. To learn more, see Safe Sleep for Babies.
Eligibility
- Pregnant women
- Women who are breastfeeding a baby under 1 year of age
- Women who have had a baby in the past six months or end of the pregnancy
- Children under the age of 5
- Medical and income guidelines apply
Application
To see if you qualify for WIC services, use the WIC PreScreening Tool (provided by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service) or contact us.
Things To Bring:
- Person being certified. The pregnant woman or new mother, and the infants or children being certified must come for the visit.
- Proof of income. Bring proof of current household income for everyone in the household (e.g. pay stubs from recent check (within 30 days) or a letter from an employer, proof of unemployment pay stubs). If you currently receive TANF, Food Stamps, or MO HealthNet, you can bring proof of your participation in that program instead of proof of household income.
- Proof of residence in Missouri. Bring documentation of where you live (e.g. utility bill, postmarked within the last 30 days piece of mail addressed to you at your address, your lease or a rent receipt from your landlord, bank statement, bank book, and checkbook, your driver license or other ID card).
- Proof of identity. Bring proof of identity for everyone who will be on the WIC program (e.g. driver’s license, birth certificate, immunization record, other photo ID card, military card, passport, birth certificate). For an infant, you may bring nursery bracelet or footprint sheet.
- Medicaid (MO HealthNet) card. If you have this service, you should provide a Medicaid card for each person being certified.
- Child or infant’s immunization records. Please bring all records your have of your child’s immunization history.
Fraud & Abuse
The Missouri WIC program takes all complaints seriously and encourages the immediate reporting of an alleged WIC program abuse, violation or fraud.
Abuse is defined as falsely obtaining WIC benefits including giving false information to get on WIC, such as gross household income, residency, identity, household size, medical and health information.
Improper use of WIC benefits includes:
- Selling WIC foods/formula for cash or credit
- Returning WIC foods/formula for cash or credit
- Purchasing unauthorized items
WIC vendor abuse includes:
- Redeeming WIC benefits for cash, credit, or unauthorized items
- Overcharging WIC shoppers
- Failing to fill in the purchase price on the WIC check in the presence of the WIC participant.
- Physically or verbally threatening a WIC participant
- Purchasing infant formula from unauthorized sources
Referrals
WIC refers clients to a variety of health and social services agencies and programs (e.g. MO Health Net, Food Stamps, Prenatal care, Medical and Dental Services, Family Planning, Immunizations, Head Start, Early Childhood, and First Steps).
Non-Discrimination Statement:
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
email:
program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Nondiscrimination (Spanish)
Para todos los demás programas de asistencia de nutrición del FNS, agencias estatales o locales y sus subreceptores, deben publicar la siguiente Declaración de No Discriminación:
De acuerdo con la ley federal de derechos civiles y las normas y políticas de derechos civiles del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA), esta entidad está prohibida de discriminar por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, sexo (incluyendo identidad de género y orientación sexual), discapacidad, edad, o represalia o retorsión por actividades previas de derechos civiles.
La información sobre el programa puede estar disponible en otros idiomas que no sean el inglés. Las personas con discapacidades que requieren medios alternos de comunicación para obtener la información del programa (por ejemplo, Braille, letra grande, cinta de audio, lenguaje de señas americano (ASL), etc.) deben comunicarse con la agencia local o estatal responsable de administrar el programa o con el Centro TARGET del USDA al (202) 720-2600 (voz y TTY) o comuníquese con el USDA a través del Servicio Federal de Retransmisión al (800) 877-8339.
Para presentar una queja por discriminación en el programa, el reclamante debe llenar un formulario AD-3027, formulario de queja por discriminación en el programa del USDA, el cual puede obtenerse en línea en: https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/usda- program-discrimination-complaint-form-spanish.pdf, de cualquier oficina de USDA, llamando al (866) 632-9992, o escribiendo una carta dirigida a USDA. La carta debe contener el nombre del demandante, la dirección, el número de teléfono y una descripción escrita de la acción discriminatoria alegada con suficiente detalle para informar al Subsecretario de Derechos Civiles (ASCR) sobre la naturaleza y fecha de una presunta violación de derechos civiles. El formulario AD-3027 completado o la carta debe presentarse a USDA por:
correo:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
fax:
(833) 256-1665 o (202) 690-7442; o
correo electrónico:
program.intake@usda.gov
Esta entidad es un proveedor que brinda igualdad de oportunidades.
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