ONDCP Seal
 PolicyPolicy
IV. Agency Budget Summaries

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC)


  1. RESOURCE SUMMARY

  2. METHODOLOGY

    • The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-690), enacted November 18, 1988, and the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-147), enacted November 10, 1989, defined the role of the former Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in providing drug abuse prevention and referral activities.

    • WIC regulations have required, when appropriate, referrals to alcohol and drug abuse counseling. For many WIC local agencies, it is routine to warn pregnant women about the dangers of drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and using illegal drugs. Also, many States consider alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use as nutritionally-related risk criteria.

    • Drug abuse education for WIC activities is defined as: providing information to women participants concerning the dangers of drug abuse; referring participants who are suspected drug abusers to drug abuse clinics, treatment programs, counselors, or other drug abuse professionals where such services are locally available; and, distribution of drug abuse prevention materials developed by USDA.

    • WIC agencies are not required to identify or report the costs of WIC referrals, and cannot isolate the actual costs of referrals and assessment for any particular health condition, such as drug addiction or abuse. As such, the funding levels depicted herein represent a rough assumption that 0.4 percent of the program budget can be attributed to drug education activities. The national funding level estimate cannot be extrapolated to State levels, due to the inexact methodology and rough assumptions used.

  3. PROGRAM SUMMARY

    • Drug abuse education for WIC activities is defined as providing information to participants concerning the dangers of drug abuse; referring participants who are known or suspected drug abusers to drug abuse clinics, treatment programs, counselors, or other drug abuse professionals where such services are locally available; and distributing drug abuse prevention materials developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

    • USDA appoints drug/alcohol abuse education and prevention experts to the National Advisory Council on Maternal, Infant, and Fetal Nutrition.

    • WIC local agencies are required to coordinate with local alcohol and drug abuse counseling and treatment services.

  4. BUDGET SUMMARY

    1998 Program

    Goal 3: Reduce health and social costs to the public of illegal drug use.

    • The FY 1998 total resources include $15.7 million for activities which support Goal 3 of the National Drug Control Strategy. This amount consists of drug prevention, education, and training services.

    1999 Request

    Goal 3: Reduce health and social costs to the public of illegal drug use.

    • The FY 1999 request for Goal 3 activities is $16.3 million, $0.6 million more than FY 1998 funding for drug prevention, education, and training services.

  5. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    • USDA continues to support WIC State agencies' efforts to encourage local agencies to screen women for drug and alcohol abuse and refer them, when appropriate, to alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs available in their communities. Anecdotal data suggest that WIC local agencies annually refer 10% of their women participants to drug treatment centers.