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West Virginia WIC Policy & Procedure 1.08 1.08 Civil Rights Effective Date: 7/19/22 non-professional as interpreter is not permitted due to confidentiality issues, unless this is requested by the applicant/participant. vi. WIC staff may access telephone interpreter services through the State of West Virginia contracted telephone interpreter service, if this is acceptable to the participant. vii. WIC Services will not be denied when an interpreter is not available. d. Document the participant’s preferred read and spoken language on the Family Demographics Screen. If Language Read and/or Language Spoken is not English or Spanish, use the “yellow sticky note” to document the preferred language. 4. Non-English or Limited English-Speaking Persons a. Where a significant portion of the population of the local WIC service area is composed of non-English or limited English speaking persons who speak the same language, the Local Agency will ensure that all required WIC Program information is provided to such persons in the appropriate language orally and in writing. i. Bilingual personnel or interpreters will be available to serve these persons. ii. Written forms and other materials will be provided for such persons. iii. All rights and responsibilities listed on the Participant Agreement (WIC-05) will be read to those applicants in the appropriate language. 5. Underrepresented Populations a. Agencies or organizations in the Local Agency geographic area which specifically serve racial/ethnic groups or other protected groups underrepresented in the general population will be identified by the Local Agency. The Outreach Coordinator will be responsible for adding such agencies or organizations to the Community Network Agencies list (see Attachment #1, 7.03) to ensure that equal efforts are made to inform underrepresented populations of WIC services and benefits D. Data Collection 1. Racial/ethnic data must be collected by the Local Agency during WIC Program certification through self-reported identification. a. Applicants/participants will be asked to self-identify their racial/ethnic group only after it has been explained, and they understand that the collection of this information is strictly for statistical reporting requirements and has no effect on the determination of their eligibility to participate in the Program. b. Racial/ethnic data will be reported in the Crossroads Participant Demographics Screen. c. The State WIC Agency will produce a racial/ethnic report for each Local Agency. 4 of 8