The Georgia WIC is all about the WIC program in the state of Georgia. The WIC program functions in Georgia and every other state in the country. The Georgia WIC program is a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program that is funded by the federal government of the United States of America. This program gives assistance to low-income women, infants, and children in Georgia who cannot get healthy nutrition, and are at nutrition risk. There are certain requirements and steps anyone needs to take in Georgia to enable them to gain access to the benefits the program offers in the state. Read on for more information.
Georgia WIC
Although the Georgia WIC program is being funded by the federal government, the activities of the offices, clinics, and local agencies are overseen by the state government. The state of Georgia is also responsible for the kind of activities and the funds to run the office. This is the reason why the pattern of workflow in Georgia may be slightly different from other states and even the local agencies may have different operational tactics.
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The Georgia WIC is under the administration of the Georgia Department of Public Health. This is because the mission of the department which is to ensure, promote, and influence nutrition-related policies, practices, and system development statewide corresponds with the aim of the WIC program.
The objectives of the program are to;
- Increase entry into care for prenatal, infants and children
- Increase infant breastfeeding initiation and duration
- Decrease number of children who are overweight or obese
- Increase nutrition education of participants
- Utilize technology to maximize efficiency
Georgia WIC Benefits and Services
The Georgia WIC greatly supports breastfeeding as one of its services to and benefits for participants. It recognizes human milk as the standard for infant feeding and nutrition. The program promotes, protects, and supports breastfeeding as the preferred method of infant feeding for the first year and beneficial to both the infant’s and the mother’s health. Other examples of the benefits and services of the program are;
- Food vouchers for food benefits and assistance.
- Peer counselors for people in the same situations to gather and help each other out.
- Nutrition education for more knowledge on how to stretch a budget, prepare nutritious foods, and also the importance of good and healthy food and the types of healthy foods.
- Breastfeeding classes for breastfeeding education and its importance.
These are the benefits of the Georgia WIC program and its services as well.
WIC Approved Food List
The Georgia WIC approved list of foods shows the types of foods, the sizes, and the packaging of food the WIC participants may receive with their WIC vouchers. The approved food includes:
- Whole grain bread/sandwich buns.
- Whole-grain tortillas.
- Soy milk.
- Tofu.
- Juice (except orange and grapefruit).
- Goat milk.
- Cereal.
- Infant cereal.
- Infant fruits.
- Vegetables.
- Infant meats.
- Yogurt.
- Whole-wheat pasta.
These are the generally approved food by the program in Georgia.
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WIC Details Eligibility
The program serves women, infants, and children in families with income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level or enrolled in Medicaid and who are nutrition risk. Being eligible allows the program to provide you with the necessary nutrition and medical assistance.
The participants must meet an eligibility requirement to qualify to receive the assistance the program provides. Participant categories consist of pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to their fifth birthday.
The gross income of the applicant’s family size should not exceed 185% of the federal poverty guideline of the country. The applicant must also be at a nutritional risk with nutrition assessment result done by an approved professional health personnel to prove this and lastly, every applicant must be a resident of the state of Georgia.
WIC Formula Resources
The WIC program in Georgia has different food formulas for the categories of participants. The program is very concerned with what the infants, toddlers, and children consume in their early life stages. This is the reason why the program has come up with specific food formulas best for their growth and wellbeing.
In Georgia, infant formula manufacturers competitively bid for the sole-source WIC contract every three years. Under this agreement, non-breastfeeding infants enrolled in WIC may receive either a milk-based or soy-based iron-fortified infant formula produced by the contracted manufacturer. Infants with special dietary needs may receive an appropriate alternative formula, according to Georgia’s WIC policies and federal regulations.
A medical prescription is required in order for an infant with special dietary needs to receive an exempt, non-contracted formula. The different approved formulas for the children are all stated in the Georgia WIC official webpage.
Vendor Information
Being a vendor gives you the authorization to sell out WIC approved food and drugs. The Office of Vendor Management executes end-to-end processing of over 1400 grocery, pharmacy, and commissary vendors that redeem WIC benefits in the state of Georgia.
Before becoming a vendor for the WIC program in the state, you have to agree and comply with Georgia WIC program policies, apply to become a vendor, get training materials & resources, and then be finally approved by the program.
The Georgia WIC Program issues vendor agreements in fixed two (2) and three (3) year terms. The Office of Vendor Management is responsible for the following:
- Authorizing applicants (i.e., grocery, pharmacy, and commissary) that are interested in offering WIC approved items to Georgia WIC Program participants;
- Monitoring and assessing authorized vendor compliance with Georgia WIC program policies and procedures; and.
- Facilitating vendor training.
Check This: WIC – WIC Eligibility | Website | Applications | Benefits And Locations
The training includes you knowing the approved food by WIC.
WIC Language Assistance
The WIC language assistance is an assistance channel for possible applicants and participants who may not be very conversant with the English language or feel more comfortable using a different language. The language option is quite broad and one can easily find a more suitable language to communicate in.
The language options available in the Georgia WIC program are;
- English.
- Amharic.
- Arabic.
- Bosnian.
- Burmese.
- Chinese.
- Farsi.
- French.
- Gujarati.
- Haitian.
- Creole.
- Hindi.
- Japanese.
- Karen.
- Korean.
- Nepali.
- Portuguese.
- Russian.
- Somali.
- Spanish.
- Swahili.
- Tigrinya.
- Vietnamese.
These are all the options available. To communicate in any of these there is a number to call and ask for that assistance. The agent on the other would provide you with interpretation services.
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