WIC Opportunity for States

Funds available to states through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) represent a tremendous opportunity to help low-income families with children, but in 1997 $121,353,000 in WIC funds was not spent, according to Stuart Rabinowitz, the President of Fiscal Planning Services. Only five states fully utilized available WIC funds.

Inadequate state outreach and enrollment efforts remain the chief barriers to access to WIC and to many other programs that constitute millions of dollars in eligible but unspent funds. These are resources states cannot afford to overlook in their efforts to secure the well-being of vulnerable children.