GEORGIA WIC PROGRAM POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL CM Monitoring No-Show Rates Policy No. CM- 700.03 Effective date: October 1, 2016

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Policy

Local Agencies (LAs) must monitor the number of eligible applicants and participants who fail to attend scheduled certification appointments, including nutrition education contacts, and to pick up vouchers, otherwise known as a “no-show”.

LAs are required to maintain a monthly no-show rate for all clinics of 10% or less of actual caseload. Each LA that exceeds this standard will be notified by the State WIC Office, and will be required to submit a corrective plan of action to reduce the number of missed appointments within 45 days of date of the notification. The corrective plan should address staffing patterns, operating policies, and customer satisfaction issues that could be causing a barrier to participation.

Purpose To ensure the timely delivery of benefits to eligible participants and reduce the number of applicants or participants who miss their appointments by reducing barriers to clinic access.

Procedures

I. Local agencies must track the number of no-show applicants/participants monthly.

II. To decrease no-show rates, LA staff must: A. Complete reminder calls, emails, or text to participants 1-3 days prior to their scheduled appointments and document the calls in the computer or on the appointment sheet.

B. Use client surveys quarterly to determine reasons for missed appointments.

C. Allow participants to select appointment dates and times that best serve their needs.

D. Call, email, or text participants who were no-shows to reschedule their missed appointments.

III. Pregnant Applicants/Participants. The clinic must make three attempts by telephone to contact a pregnant woman who has missed her initial certification appointment to reschedule the appointment.

A. If she cannot be reached by phone, the local agency will send a postcard or letter requesting that she contact the clinic for a second appointment.

B. The contact must be documented clearly on the clinic’s appointment list next to her original appointment with the type of contact made (text, phone, email) and the date of each contact.

GEORGIA WIC PROGRAM POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL CM Monitoring No-Show Rates Policy No. CM- 700.03 Effective date: October 1, 2016

No. of pages: 2

Page 2 of 2

IV. The LAs must submit the monthly no show reports to the SA quarterly for monitoring and compliance.

Authority

7 CFR § 246.7(b)(5)

7 CFR § 246.11(e)(4)

Definitions/Supporting Information

(None)