Certification Enhancement Opportunities

Overview 

WSPI projects seek to enhance the customer service experience and improve the WIC certification process through adopting new practices or technology. Funded projects will make it easier for eligible families to participate in the program while also allowing staff to focus on core services rather than paperwork. 

CSG has identified three WIC certification enhancement opportunities for these grants. Applicants may propose their own projects or select one, or a combination, of the opportunities outlined below.

• 1. Adopt policies, practices, and/or technologies that enable participants to initiate and complete allowable portions of certification procedures online. 
  2. Enhance capacity to utilize digital technology for appointment reminders and notifications of incomplete certifications. 
  3. Develop and implement an online WIC referral portal for programs that establish adjunctive income eligibility for WIC.
  4. WIC agency led innovative strategies to improve the WIC certification process that are not captured by Enhancement Opportunities 1-3. 

Enhancement Opportunity 1
Enhancement Opportunity 2
Enhancement Opportunity 3
Enhancement Opportunity 4
Enhancement Opportunity 1

Adopt policies, practices, and/or technologies that enable participants to initiate and complete allowable portions of certification procedures online. 

While federal WIC regulations require certification appointments to take place in-person, WIC State agencies can consider policies that allow for initiating the certification process online, prior to the in-person certification appointment. Mechanisms such as those allowing for electronic document submission, can be used to simplify the certification process and shorten in-person appointments.

When developing projects focused on Enhancement Opportunity 1, agencies are encouraged to consider: 

• • Use of the WIC Prescreening Tool developed by FNS 
  • Development of digital tools for the submission of documents 
  • Integration of data from electronic documents into the agency’s Management Information System (MIS) 
  • The need for new technology contracts or updating existing contracts 

For further details and additional topics warranting consideration, please see the RFA. 

Enhancement Opportunity 2

Enhance capacity to utilize digital technology for appointment reminders and notifications of incomplete certifications. 

Appointment reminders are increasingly common among WIC agencies. As such, applications under this category should seek to develop customizable systems that personalize reminders to the applicant. This can be achieved through enhancing digital reminders (e.g. texts, WIC app notifications, etc.) to be tailored to reflect date and time, necessary documentation to bring for the appointment, directions to the clinic, appointment expectations and deadlines for provisional or temporary certification. 

When developing projects focused on Enhancement Opportunity 2, agencies are encouraged to consider: 

• • How reminders can be tailored 
  • How participant data is utilized to construct personalized appointment reminders 
  • How the agency will procure new communication technology systems or revise existing contracts, if needed 
  • Testing new messages for clarity and effectiveness prior to implementation 

For further details and additional topics warranting consideration, please see the RFA. 

Enhancement Opportunity 3

Develop and implement an online WIC referral portal for programs that establish adjunctive income eligibility for WIC. 

WIC agencies may explore the development of an online WIC referral portal to facilitate referrals to and from WIC by connecting staff to adjunctive eligibility programs (e.g. Medicaid, SNAP, TANF) through sharing data such as name, birth date, address and phone number. Implementing a referral portal will likely require the establishment of data sharing agreements, a technology platform to send or receive confidential information, and policies and procedures for how to use and document this information in the certification process.  

When developing projects focused on Enhancement Opportunity 3, agencies are encouraged to consider: 

• • What participant information the portal should collect 
  • Who will have access to the portal 
  • Existing data sharing agreements (e.g., Medicaid, SNAP, TANF)  
  • Modifications to existing technology systems 

For further details and additional topics warranting consideration, please see the RFA. 

Enhancement Opportunity 4

WIC agency led innovative strategies to improve the WIC certification process that are not captured by Enhancement Opportunities 1-3. 

WIC agencies may have innovative strategies or tools that do not fall into one of the previous categories. Such innovative ideas will be considered if the applicant can demonstrate how they improve the WIC certification process and can be implemented under current federal requirements. Projects in this category should still follow the RFA guidelines and criteria below. 

• • The proposed project aims to improve customer service in the WIC certification process 
  • The proposed project meets the definition of innovation, which includes:

• • • • A project that is new to the WIC State agency or a project that has never been funded by FNS;  
      • An existing project that has not yet been evaluated for impact on WIC certification and customer service measures; or 
      • A project that will substantially improve upon an existing strategy or adapt it for a WIC agency of differing size, demographic context, and clientele). 

• • The proposed project has measurable results and fully transparent program operations so that successful project activities could be scaled or transferred to other WIC agencies 

For further details please see the RFA.