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Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2016

WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2016 (PC 2016) summarizes the demographic characteristics of participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nationwide in April 2016. It includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants, and describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families. PC 2016 is the most recent in a series of reports generated from WIC state management information system data biennially since 1992.

04/20/2018
Resource | Research and Data | Breastfeeding WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (ITFPS-2): Second Year Report

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2)/ “Feeding My Baby” Study captures data on caregivers and their children over the first 5 years of the child’s life after WIC enrollment to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children receiving WIC.

04/20/2018
Resource | Research and Data | Breastfeeding National and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibles and Program Reach in 2015

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2015 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category.

02/28/2018
Resource | Research and Data | Food Security Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood Hunger (EDECH): Final Interim Evaluation Report

This study—authorized by the 2010 Child Nutrition Act—tests innovative strategies to end childhood hunger and food insecurity. 

02/08/2018
Resource | Research and Data | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity Direct Certification in the NSLP: State Implementation Progress

This report responds to a requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to conduct direct certification of children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs.

12/30/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity Accuracy of LEA Processing of School Lunch Applications-Regional Office Review of Applications (RORA) 2007

This is the third in a series of annual reports assessing administrative error associated with the local educational agency’s approval of applications for free and reduced-price school meals. 

10/16/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity CACFP Assessment of Sponsor Tiering Determinations 2006

The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 requires all federal agencies to calculate the amount of erroneous payments in federal programs and to periodically conduct detailed assessments of vulnerable program components. This is the second wave of a program assessment of the Family Day Care Home component of USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

04/01/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Study of Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program

The NSLP offers free and reduced-price school meals to students from eligible households. Households with incomes at or below 130 percent of poverty are eligible for free meals, and households with incomes between 131 percent and 185 percent of poverty are eligible for reduced-price meals. Traditionally, to receive these benefits, households had to complete and submit application forms to schools or be directly certified. Direct certification, on the other hand, is a method of eligibility determination that does not require families to complete school meal applications. Instead, school officials use documentation from the local or state welfare agency that indicates that a household participates in AFDC or food stamps as the basis for certifying students for free school meals.

09/01/2000
Resource | Research and Data | Participation Characteristics WIC Program and Participants Characteristics, 1998

The WIC program provides a combination of direct nutritional supplementation, nutrition education and counseling, and increased access to health care and social service providers for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants; and children up to the age of five years. WIC seeks to improve fetal development and reduce the incidence of low birthweight, short gestation, and anemia through intervention during the prenatal period. Infants and children who are at nutritional or health risk receive food supplements, nutrition education, and access to health care services to maintain and improve their health and development.

05/01/2000
Resource | Research and Data | Food Security Guide to Measuring Household Food Security (Revised 2000)

This new edition of the guide documents minor corrections and changes, bringing the procedures described in the original publication up to date.

03/01/2000
Page updated: May 22, 2025