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A. INTRODUCTION

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-FNS) under public law 95-627, Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; final regulations were issued January 2002. Funds for Food and Administrative costs are transferred from USDA–FNS to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Community, Family Health, and Prevention Branch, Maternal Child Health and Access to Care Section).

The State Plan for Connecticut’s WIC Program is the governing document that provides guidance and direction for the State agency and local agencies administering the program. In compliance with Federal regulations and State regulations and requirements, the plan is updated annually to ensure the inclusion of new and revised federal and state requirements and annual accomplishments and new goals and objectives. Although the State Plan is primarily based on Federal regulations, including requirements and guiding principles for best practices from the state perspective and that of the nation’s public health framework.

The WIC State Plan references a single document but has three major components.

Section I of the plan contains the State goals and objectives FFY2025 and the evaluation for FFY2024. To the extent possible, the goals address the core functional areas of the WIC Program. The functional areas are management and organization, nutrition services and breastfeeding support and promotion, food delivery and food instrument accountability, vendor/retailer management, management information systems, caseload management and outreach, coordination of services, civil rights, certification and eligibility, monitoring and QA, fiscal management and data quality, analysis, and reporting. The goals and objectives are State-specific and function as a guide for enhancing both State and local program operations effectiveness and efficiency. The WIC Vendor Agreement is included for review. The Connecticut WIC Program’s FFY2025 goals and objectives include upcoming program changes, such as the transition to a new MIS maintenance and operations contract and the conversion to a new EBT provider, but also include activities focused on preparing for required federal changes in the Food Package Final Rule, planning and implementing modernization efforts to improve the participant experience, and improving disaster plans and continuity of operations efforts as per the Access to Baby Formula Act (ABFA). The draft State Agency Internal Operating Procedures Plan is included as an attachment. Further, State Outcome objective reports continue to undergo a QI process which have impacted State agency targets for the FFY2025 State Plan. Close to completion, these changes to reporting will improve program outcomes tracking and evaluation in the future and allow the Connecticut WIC Program to better monitor and respond to trends.

Section II is the local agency operations manual and provides guidance to State and local staff about clinic level WIC policies and procedures. In addition to the State Agency Internal Operating Procedures Plan, included with this submission are updates to the previously approved Disaster policy for USDA review and approval.

Section III outlines the State level operations as Functional Format Checklists. See Appendix B for the relevant updates.

Approximately $52 million is allocated to Connecticut WIC for Food and Nutrition Services Administration funding and an additional $12 million rebated by Abbott Laboratories (in the process