FY 2023 WIC Enrollment via State-Level Referral Data Matching with SNAP and Medicaid

While more than 6 million women, infants, and children participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in the United States, roughly 43 percent of eligible individuals do not. Recent studies suggest that increasing WIC enrollment through state-level referral data matching and outreach efforts may be one avenue for increasing WIC participation.

The goal of this request for applications (RFA) is to facilitate data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participation and retention. Therefore, this RFA will provide up to $20,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding (Section 1106 of Subtitle B, Title I of ARP), through a one-time cooperative agreement, to an external entity that will provide financial, technical, and evaluation support to WIC state agencies to implement referral data matching, with participant consent when required, and outreach efforts. To meet this goal, the successful applicant will complete the following activities:

1. Conduct a minimum of two competitive sub-grant award programs (in phases), making funds available to multiple WIC state agencies to implement referral data matching and outreach efforts;
2. Provide pre-application technical assistance for WIC state agencies wishing to apply for sub-grants and post-award technical assistance and guidance to sub-grantees for the duration of all sub-grant projects, and collaborate with the FNS team working on WIC modernization and innovation efforts for additional support; and
3. Develop and apply an implementation and evaluation framework to assess to process, short-term, and intermediate-term outcomes of the overall project, including quantifying changes in WIC enrollment and participation rates among individuals enrolled in Medicaid and SNAP.

Eligibility

Eligible external entities include accredited institutions of higher education (colleges/universities), nonprofit research entities, and other nonprofit organizations. Documented experience in state-level data matching and data interoperability efforts is required.

Resources

• Webinar Recording
• Frequently Asked Questions