Transition from The Integrity Profile to the Food Delivery Portal

As you know, in fiscal year (FY) 2022, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is planning to replace The Integrity Profile (TIP) with the new Food Delivery Portal (FDP) as the system WIC state agencies use to report vendor management activities per 7 CFR 246.12(j)(5). FDP is designed to streamline the reporting process, improve program integrity and oversight in all areas of WIC vendor management, and provide new features to help state agencies meet key regulatory requirements. This memorandum provides WIC state agencies information necessary to assess the resource levels needed to successfully transition to reporting required data in FDP (i.e., “transition to FDP”) and seeks state agency feedback on any anticipated funding needs. ¹

FNS' FDP team has been working on this project for several years, while keeping WIC state agencies involved along the way. As part of this collaboration, FNS met with key stakeholders to understand the limitations of TIP and then worked to improve the data collection and management capabilities in FDP. We understand that transitioning to a new system takes significant effort, but we believe FDP will save state agencies valuable time and effort in the long run. Additionally, FDP has been carefully designed with state agency input to:

• Track vendor information across years to reduce the amount of information state agencies must report annually, and to improve data consistency across FYs.
• Provide a flexible schedule for data entry so that state agencies can complete the necessary data entry on a convenient schedule.
• Provide access to key SNAP data to allow state agencies to streamline vendor application/authorization processes, as well as above-50-percent vendor assessments.

We would like to thank WIC state agency representatives who attended the March 2021 FDP File Upload webinars and provided feedback on the new upload file formats. We have taken your comments into consideration and have determined which data elements will be required and optional in FDP. Additionally, we have identified a reduced list of data elements that will be required during the transition to FDP in FY 2022-23 as WIC state agencies prepare to fully report in FDP. Additionally, we have determined a later submission timeframe for FY 2022 (FY 2021 data) is appropriate; WIC state agencies will not need to submit data to FDP until the summer of 2022, at the earliest.

The attachments to this memorandum provide additional information on the transition. Specifically, the attachments outline next steps in the transition to FDP, highlight new FDP resources developed for WIC state agencies, and request state agency input related to transition-related state agency system changes (including anticipated funding needs).

Thank you again for your dedication to the WIC program, its mission, and the participants we serve. We look forward to working with you during this transition. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please reach out through the FDP Help Desk at SM.FN.FDPHelp@usda.gov.

DANA RASMUSSEN
Acting Director
Supplemental Food Programs Division

Attachments:

• Attachment 1: Transition to FDP: Next Steps
• Attachment 2: Transition to FDP: Resources for WIC State Agencies
• Attachment 3: Transition to FDP: Request for Input & Anticipated Funding Needs