This final rule is part of the Department's effort to fulfill its responsibilities under the Faith-Based and Community Initiative pursuant to Executive Orders 13279 and 13280. Under this rule, state agencies will collect and report information related to institutions and organizations that participate in specified Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) nutrition assistance programs.
This final rule amends a number of existing provisions in the WIC program regulations to address issues raised by WIC state agencies, other members of the WIC community, and the US Government Accountability Office. This final rule also incorporates recent legislation and certain longstanding program policies and state agency practices into the regulations. Further, the final rule also streamlines certain requirements in the regulations.
This rule implements a provision of the Act that increases the minimum State Administrative Expense grant for each state administering the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program and/or the Special Milk Program from $100,000 to $200,000 a year, adjusted by an index beginning in FY 2009.
This proposed rule would revise regulations governing the WIC food packages to align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and current infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, better promote and support the establishment of successful long-term breastfeeding, provide WIC participants with a wider variety of food, provide WIC state agencies with greater flexibility in prescribing food packages to accommodate participants with cultural food preferences, and serve participants with certain qualifying conditions under one food package to facilitate efficient management of medically fragile participants.
This rule proposes to amend regulations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children by adding three requirements mandated by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 concerning retail vendors authorized by WIC state agencies to provide supplemental food to WIC participants in exchange for WIC food instruments.
This interim rule amends the regulations governing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children to strengthen vendor cost containment.
This proposed rule would amend the regulations governing the WIC program to clarify issues that have arisen subsequent to the publication of the WIC Food Delivery Systems Final Rule on Dec. 29, 2000, and to strengthen further the requirements for state vendor management and infant formula cost-containment systems.
The Department is soliciting public comments on redesigning the food packages offered through the WIC program to determine if the WIC food packages should be revised to better improve the nutritional intake, health and development of participants; and, if so, what specific changes should be made to the food packages.
This rulemaking would streamline the federal requirements for financial and participation reporting by state agencies. In addition, it would clarify the rules on confidentiality of WIC information in order to strengthen coordination with organizations and private physicians, and to provide guidance to state agencies on responding to subpoenas and other court-ordered requests for confidential information.
This final rule provides WIC state agencies the option to exclude payments to military personnel for privatized housing, whether on or off military installations.