Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 4: Organization and Management Revised: 03/01/2026

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Staff Training

Policy: All local WIC agency employees of the Colorado WIC Program must complete the Colorado WIC Certification Program, which trains staff on WIC policy and procedures relating to eligibility determination, nutrition assessment, screening techniques, food benefit issuance and nutrition education.

All local agency WIC personnel must attend a minimum of two staff training sessions per year of nutrition-related education and training.

Regulation: CFR 246.1 (c)(2), 246.11 c (7)

Procedure/Additional Guidance: Colorado WIC Certification Program The WIC Certification Program is a competency based training program designed for WIC staff. All new staff members are expected to complete the training within the timeframes specified below. The Colorado WIC website (www.coloradowic.com) has a section that posts guidance documents, instructions for accessing the online post-tests and the Orientation Checklists for Level I, II and III.

Objectives: ● To ensure quality service to WIC participants throughout the state. ● To train all staff to properly perform the WIC certification procedure, proper anthropometric and hematologic measurements, nutrition and health assessment, nutrition education, risk identification, and food package selection/issuance. ● To provide all WIC staff with current nutrition information for the WIC population. ● To train using interactive self-directed learning methods.

Assigning A Trainer Local WIC programs are encouraged to identify a trainer for each new employee to oversee the many aspects of new employee training. This trainer: ✔ Ensures new employee completes the required modules, online courses, post-tests, record reviews, observations; ✔ Ensures new employee is scheduled participant visits and has ongoing access to expert support; ✔ Ensures all participant records entered by the new employee are reviewed and signed off by a CWA; ✔ Is available to assist with questions and evaluate progress throughout the training process; ✔ Enters new employee training completion by accessing the Staff Competency panel under Operations in Compass.

Certified WIC Authority (CWA): To become a CWA, the new person must complete all required activities outlined in Level I of the Colorado WIC Certification Program to independently perform CWA-designated duties.

For those staff that are completing Level I and are not yet a CWA, a WIC High Risk Counselor or experienced WIC Educator with CWA qualifications must review any participant information recorded by the new employee. The CWA creates a separate Participant Care Plan that includes a note in the Plan section indicating review of eligibility determination, nutrition assessment and participant care plan notes of the new employee. Because a goal is required for each new care plan, the goal created by the new employee can be copied and pasted into the CWA’s review care plan to ensure it populates into the Family Panel.

Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 4: Organization and Management Revised: 03/01/2026

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Level I: ● Basic WIC background requirements and procedures to certify and provide benefits to participants. ● Specific training materials: ✔ WIC Orientation Module & Post-Test ✔ Food Package Module & Post-Test ✔ Nutrition Risk Factor Module & Post-Test ✔ Screening Module & Post-Test ✔ Colorado WIC Hemoglobin Testing training video ✔ Welcome to WIC Video ✔ Review of Mini-Manual ✔ Saving the Children: Story of WIC Video Part I & Part II (recommended) ✔ Review of Nutrition Education Counseling Guide ✔ Compass Training Online Course ✔ Level I Participant Record Review ✔ Level I Observation Checklist

All Level I activities must be completed within three months (90 days) of employment. Each new employee must have a local agency trainer/mentor who ensures that all activities on the Level I Orientation Checklist are completed. This designated staff person electronically documents the training activity completion in the Compass system, Staff Competencies.

Online Compass Training course: Online Compass Training consists of 13 self-paced, interactive training modules. The online modules are designed to orient new WIC employees to the Compass computer system. New employees should complete the Level I modules and post-tests prior to beginning the online Compass Training course.

Level II: ● Current nutrition and food safety information for the WIC population including basic nutrition, infant, child, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and postpartum. ● Specific training materials: ✔ Prenatal and Postpartum Module & Post-Test ✔ Breastfeeding Module and Resource Manual & Post-Test ✔ Infant Nutrition Module & Post-Test ✔ Preschool Child Nutrition Module & Post-Test ✔ Basic Nutrition Module & Post-Test ✔ Baby Behavior Online Module & Post-Test ✔ Partnering with WIC for Colorado Kids Video ✔ Closer Look – Allowable Foods Video ✔ WIC Visit Assessment and Counseling Evaluation Tool

All Level II activities must be completed within six months of employment. Each new employee must have a local agency training/mentor who ensures that all activities on the Level II Orientation Checklist have been completed. This designated staff person electronically documents training activity completion in the Compass computer system, Staff Competencies.

Level III: ● Participant- centered care online course. This course offers ten self-paced modules and activities focused on providing Participant-Centered Education (PCE) by incorporating counseling methods i.e. motivational interviewing, rapport building, and active listening. ● Specific training materials: ✔ Introduction: Welcome to WIC PCE ✔ What Motivates People to Change? ✔ The Spirit of PCE ✔ Opening the Conversation ✔ O.A.R.S ✔ Roadblocks to Listening ✔ Moving from Assessment to Counseling ✔ Providing Advice: Offering Nutrition Education ✔ Rolling with Resistance ✔ Next Steps ✔ Level III: PCE Post-Test ✔ PCE handouts and training activities (recommended; not required)

Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 4: Organization and Management Revised: 03/01/2026

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● All Level III activities must be completed within nine months of employment. Each new employee must have a local agency training/mentor that ensures that all activities on the Level III Orientation Checklist have been completed. This designated staff person electronically documents training activity completion in Compass, Staff Competencies.

Staff Training Required to Provide Alternate Nutrition Education WIC staff members involved in providing alternate nutrition education contacts must receive training on how to fill this role effectively. At a minimum, training is to include the following elements: ● Familiarity with the wichealth.org website, including the format and topic areas, the names of the lessons available, how to access the lessons, and how to access client search to electronically verify lesson completion for WIC participants if needed. ● Completion of the online module, Providing Phone Nutrition Education for Follow Up Visits, required prerequisites for the module, and pass the phone counseling observation.

Ongoing Staff Training All local agency WIC personnel must receive ongoing nutrition-related education and training. It is the local agency’s responsibility to determine the educational needs of each staff person. Training sessions can be provided by the state agency or organized/identified by local agency staff.

Examples of acceptable training programs: ● Nutrition lectures or classes presented by state and/or local staff. Community nutrition resources may be utilized: i.e.; hospital dietitians, extension agents, and/or interns, to assist with planning programs and/or speaking. ● A staff representative may attend a nutrition/training program or conference and present an in-service to the remainder of the staff upon his/her return. ● After reviewing current nutrition letters, journal articles, or audiovisual materials, the local agency staff may discuss the information and the implications. ● A staff person successfully completes a self-learning module. ● State and Regional WIC Meetings ● Other pertinent in-service education programs, i.e., team building, supervision, customer service, counseling, communication, computer skills, diversity training. ● Webinars and other on-line trainings

Evaluation of Counseling Skills Local WIC agencies must comply with their local agency’s personnel rules regarding staff performance evaluations. A key part of this process is to identify areas for growth and to advance counseling skills. Each Local Agency WIC Director is required to ensure appropriate staff training is provided.

A nutrition counseling evaluation tool is posted on the CO WIC web site for local agencies’ use: WIC Visit Assessment & Counseling Evaluation Tool. Local WIC Agencies may also develop and use their own evaluation forms.

Evaluation of WIC Service Delivery Local agency supervisors may use two staff evaluation tools developed by State Office and posted on the Colorado WIC web site: ● WIC Participant Record Review form ● Clinic Observation Form

Documentation of Training Successful completion of training is documented in Compass under Operations/Staff/Staff Training.

Training Requirements for Dietetic Interns All non-employee WIC dietetic interns providing direct participant services, including scheduling, nutrition education, benefit issuance, program eligibility, and nutrition risk determination, must at a minimum complete

Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 4: Organization and Management Revised: 03/01/2026

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Level I of New Employee Training. Dietetic interns must be supervised by a WIC RD preceptor who will oversee their work.

Dietetic interns whose role is limited to seeing high-risk (HR) clients, completing HR notes, and not performing program certifications (e.g., eligibility determination, risk assignment, benefit issuance, and scheduling) are only required to complete the following Level I modules and post-tests: Orientation, Food Package, Screening, and Nutrition Risk Factors. However, preceptors may require additional COWIC training as needed.