1 Caseload Management (CM) CM-1 No-Show Rate

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention WIC Nutrition Program Effective: October 1, 2012 Policy No. CM-1 Revised October 1, 2024 No-Show Rate Authority 7 CFR §246.7(b)(5) 22 MRSA §255 and §1951 10-144 CMR Chapter 286, §II.H

Policy

1. Each Local Agency shall run the Kept vs. Missed Appointments report monthly. 2. Each Local Agency shall attempt to contact participants in order to reschedule a missed appointment, giving priority to contacting pregnant women who miss their initial appointment. 3. Participants who miss an appointment (“no-show”), do not request a new appointment, and do not participate in the program for 60 days shall be automatically terminated from the program by the SPIRIT application. 4. The recommended no-show or missed appointment rate is 30% or less.

Procedures

1. Local Agency shall run PowerBI Kept V Missed report or No-Show Report monthly to assess missed appointments and now show rates. 2. Local Agency shall submit reports to State Agency in the Local Agency’s preferred reporting method. 2.1 Report can be sent in as raw data or summary of data reflecting missed appointments and no-show rate percentages. 2.2 The Local Agency shall keep all raw data on file for review upon request of the State Agency. 3. The State Agency shall monitor the timeliness of report submission at the Management Evaluation Review (MER) for 90% accuracy. 3.1.1 Report will be considered on time if it is submitted within 10 business days of the last day of the previous calendar month. 4. The Local Agency shall attempt to contact, by telephone, text message or mail, any applicant or participant who misses an appointment, and inquire if she/he

2 Caseload Management (CM) CM-1 No-Show Rate

wishes to reschedule the appointment. 4.1 A missed appointment text message will be automatically sent to participants and applicants the day following the missed appointment. The automatic message will be sent to the phone number in the SPIRIT application. 4.2 If the automatic message delivery is unsuccessful, the local agency shall attempt to notify pregnant women who miss their initial appointment by an additional phone call or mail within ten (10) days of the missed appointment. 4.3 Attempts to contact all other participants or applicants who miss appointments shall be done by an additional phone call or mail within fifteen (15) days after the missed appointment. 5. Participants who are terminated from the program as a result of missing or “no- showing” may reapply at any time. 6. Local agencies shall have a process for following up with participants who miss appointments. 6.1 The state agency shall monitor the no show process and rates at the Management Evaluation Review (MER). 6.2 No-show rates shall be reported for the local agency and for each site (main and satellite). 6.3 The no-show or missed appointment rate is calculated as the number of individual appointments that are missed in the day divided by the total number of individual appointments. 6.4 Notes should be taken if, during the collection week, there are extenuating circumstance that may affect the no-show rate, including but not limited to: 6.4.1 Inclement weather 6.4.2 Disasters, natural or man-made 6.4.3 Unexpected staff shortage, due to illness or vacancies 6.4.4 Unexpected agency closures 6.5 Local agency staff shall employ strategies to reduce the number of no-show appointments for program participants, including but not limited to the following: 6.5.1 Certification or mid-certification appointments: 6.5.1.1 Consider offering to provide one month of benefits and an appointment the following month. 6.5.2 Nutrition education appointments: 6.5.2.1 Call authorized representative of low nutrition risk participant(s) and provide nutrition educationand offer to provide up to three months of benefits.

3 Caseload Management (CM) CM-1 No-Show Rate

6.5.2.2 Call authorized representative of high-risk participant(s) to discuss nutrition and health concern(s), offer to provide one month of benefits with follow up appointment the next month. 6.5.3 Anthropometric or hemoglobin check appointment: 6.5.3.1 Call authorized representative, discuss nutrition and health concern(s), provide one month of benefits with follow up appointment the next month.