FY 2017 WIC Special Project Grants

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
WIC Special Project Grants (CFDA#:10.578)

FNS expects to award approximately $2,000,000 for Special Project Grants to WIC state agencies. There are two types of WIC Special Project Grants: Full Grants and Mini Grants. The grants encourage WIC state agencies develop, implement, and evaluate new or innovative methods of service to meet the changing needs of WIC participants. The focus area of the FY 2017 WIC Special Project Full and Mini Grants is “Optimizing WIC Service Delivery”.

Who May Apply

Grant funds are only available to the 90 WIC state agencies responsible for administering WIC in the states, Territories, and ITOs. These projects will be awarded as cooperative agreements. FNS encourages smaller state agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) to consider collaborating with other WIC state agencies or ITOs on grant applications. Individual state agencies may submit only one application for a Full or Mini Grant per year. If a state agency submits an application as part of a consortium of agencies, it may not also submit a separate individual application.

FNS will not consider applications from entities that do not fit these eligibility criteria.

Funding and Duration

The project duration for full grants will be from the date of the award through Sept. 30, 2020. Grantees will be required to present project findings to FNS in 2021.

The project duration for mini grants will be from the date of the award through March 31, 2019. Grantees will be required to present project findings to FNS in 2019.

Application Due Date

The completed application package must be uploaded on www.grants.gov on or before 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Sept. 11, 2017. Applications received after the deadline will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed or considered. USDA will not consider any additions or revisions to an application once it is received. USDA will not accept mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered applications.

Awards

Arizona eWIC

State Agency: Arizona
Summary: The Arizona Department of Health Services plans to implement an online nutrition education platform, combined with electronic benefit delivery to meet the needs of its participants. Using this model, clients can receive their nutrition education and benefits from the comfort of their homes, reducing the number of in-person clinic visits. This project, built on lessons learned during a WIC Online project in 2014, will add to the evidence-base needed for WIC administrators to make informed decisions about educational options for WIC clients as technology options continue to expand.

Explorations in Delivery of Nutrition Education: Educating Partners in the Delivery of WIC Secondary Nutrition Education

State Agency: Arkansas
Summary: The Arkansas Department of Health proposes to increase attendance in WIC secondary nutrition education by providing at home nutrition education to new mothers via the Arkansas STAR Health maternal home visiting program. Arkansas STAR community health workers will receive lactation education so they can then provide prenatal and breastfeeding nutrition education to WIC participants in the Delta Region. Providing nutrition education in the home will enable WIC participants to receive appropriate one-on-one breastfeeding education in a setting where they are most receptive to learning.

Chat with WIC: Innovating WIC Services with a Chatbot

State Agency: Texas
Summary: The Texas Health and Human Services Commission seeks to optimize WIC services by implementing a WIC Chatbot, giving participants the ability to interact with WIC on-demand - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - on the Texas WIC website. The Chatbot will answer potentially-eligible applicant questions about eligibility, and will have the ability to make appointments online. The goal of the Texas WIC Chatbot is to improve the participant’s WIC experience, through an intuitive chat user interface, while increasing business efficiencies for the WIC program.

Optimizing WIC Nutrition Services in Collaboration with South Dakota State University Extension: Cooking class curriculum for WIC participants.

State Agency: South Dakota
Summary: The South Dakota Department of Health will collaborate with South Dakota State University Extension (SDSU Extension) to optimize the delivery of nutrition education for low income families enrolled in the WIC program. South Dakota WIC will work with SDSU Extension to create condensed nutrition education classes based on evidence-based practices designed to enhance cooking skills and nutrition knowledge through a participant-centered learning environment. The cooking classes will be delivered by SDSU Extension Nutrition Assistants and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) Nutrition Assistants, and will be considered as an option for WIC nutrition education.