Wyoming WIC staff pioneer new approach - Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children

Food and Nutrition, April, 1986 by Joanne Widner

Wyoming WIC Staff Pioneer New Approach

Although Wyoming was the fiftieth state to join the WIC program, it has become a pioneer in computerizing program operations. Working closely with local staff, state managers have developed the first on-line computer data bank system specifically for WIC needs.

WIC--officially known as the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children--is operated by state and local health agencies in cooperation with USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).

It serves low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are determined to be at risk because of nutrition-related health problems and inadequate diet. Participants receive nutrition education along with specially prescribed food packages.

Wyoming has served more than 33,000 mothers and children since the program began there. "That's very good in a state with less than half a million people," says Wyoming's WIC director Terry Williams.

System's benefits

already evident

Williams--under whose guidance the new computer system was developed--sees multiple benefits already accruing from the system, including an estimated $20,000 annual savings in operating costs. Within a 3-year period, the system will pay for itself. It also serves participants more efficiently and has added to the skills of the professional and paraprofessional staff.

"We're always looking for ways to increase efficiency and stretch our dollars," Williams says. "We decided computerizing offered the most potential to help us maximize our program."

Wyoming's first task was determining cost-effectiveness. There are WIC clinics all over the state--in public health departments, mobile trailers, and even a church basement. The largest clinic is open 5 days a week, but staff members travel to smaller clinics at some sites just once or twice a month.

"Our nutritionist in the Big Horn Basin, for example," Williams says, "runs about four clinics a week at a minimum of three different locations."

The old way of doing things was cumbersome and time-consuming. Local staff used various multi-part forms to record data on each participant and each visit. These forms had to be mailed to the state office, where the data then had to be keypunched, put on a disk, and taken to the bank for entry into its mainframe computer.

The bank prepared the vouchers that participants use to purchase WIC foods at authorized grocery stores. These were done in batches and sent to the state office, which passed them on to the local agencies for distribution to participants.

Turn-around time was as long as 2 months. At least 15 percent of the vouchers had to be voided because participants had moved or their food prescriptions had changed. About 5 to 8 percent of the records had form or keypunch errors, causing more delays.

Portable units

were recommended

Interested in streamlining the process, the state staff consulted their data processing bank, American National Bank in Cheyenne, which recommended using portable computers. With portable computers, the local staff would be able not only to speed certification and simplify recordkeeping, but also issue vouchers on the spot.

Because of the way Wyoming's WIC program is set up, the portable units had to meet several criteria. They had to be light, so nurses and nutritionists could carry them. They had to be durable, since they would be loaded into the back seat of a car and taken from clinic to clinic several times a week, and they had to be IBM-compatible to interface with Wyoming's existing equipment.

The state selected COMPAQ portable units, which weigh only 33 pounds. Most of the state's 13 WIC projects and 32 clinics sites use the standard COMPAQ portable, but projects in Cheyenne, Casper, and Fremont County/Riverton/Lander use COMPAQ PLUS units because of their need for expanded storage capacity.

Costs were less

than estimated

The hardware and software for Wyoming's system cost less than $100,000. The system came in at less than the estimated cost, thanks to a drop in the cost of microcomputer equipment over the period of the project.

Ten standard COMPAQ portables, three COMPAQ PLUS units, and another unit at the contract bank cost $55,124. This compares well with the original 3-year, lease-to-buy estimate of $55,044 for only 11 projects. State office equipment was projected at $14,850, but cost only $9,160. Programming--including the time of a full-time contract programmer--added another $18,115.

Installation costs were also low. The computers are secured in specially designed desk cabinets, constructed of heavy wood with two locks and storage for vouchers and computer paper. The state's carpenter built the first one from a staff design, and local agencies have contracted for more at $250 each.

After each workday, computer equipment is locked into the cabinet, but it remains "live" so data can be automatically forwarded to or received from Cheyenne.

Computers help

in many ways

The computers help the local staff with many tasks formerly done by hand. In addition to using the units to issue vouchers and certify and recertify participants, local agencies also use the units to: correct participants' records; select food package prescriptions; enter information directly into the state's master file; transfer information from the master file; and print out data when written materials are needed.