WIC Protocol Fun Facts

WSB & WIC Collaborative

 When identifying babies who are at risk for loss to follow up, Wisconsin Sound Beginnings (WSB) staff can now reach out to families in collaboration with WIC (the Women, Infants and Children supplemental feeding program).

 WSB sent each WIC office in the state of Wisconsin letters to give to families whose baby referred on their newborn hearing screen to encourage them to follow up with an outpatient screen or diagnostic testing.

 When a baby has not passed their newborn hearing screen & are involved in the WSB 3-Step- Follow-Up process, WSB staff places an “alert” in that family’s electronic WIC file that alerts the WIC staff to give the family one of the hearing screening follow-up letters.

 There are two types of WIC alerts, “WIC A” & “WIC B.” . WIC A alert: HEARING SCREENING ALERT: Baby did not pass newborn hearing screening & needs follow-up. Give family Hearing Screening Follow-up Letter & review it when you interact w/family.

. WIC B alert: HEARING SCREENING ALERT: Baby did not pass newborn hearing screening. Wisconsin Sound Beginnings can conduct a hearing screen with baby’s next WIC appointment. Call [Regional Outreach Specialist] phone number] to coordinate care.

 WIC A includes all the WIC sites across Wisconsin except for the “WIC B” sites.

 WIC B sites are the 3 City of Milwaukee clinics & the 12 Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC) sites. These sites represent urban & rural sites; are covered by a Regional Outreach Specialist; & serve high-needs populations.

 WSB can provide a hearing screen to babies in WIC B sites at their WIC appointment.

 What’s happened so far w/this WIC initiative? As of March, 2012: o We have placed 47 WIC alerts (32 WIC A babies, 6 WIC B babies) o 4 cases have since aged out & alerts were removed o 16 alerts were removed because the baby passed w/traditional care or an in-home screen o Some other success stories: . Through the WIC protocol, WIC contacted us after seeing the alert & we “found a baby” who had not only moved & switched WIC sites, but switched parental custody & was at risk of loss to follow up. . A County Public Health Department placed their own WIC alert on a baby after we contacted them looking for additional information on a family. . We’ve been able to locate contact information for families whose cases have been closed as lost to follow up & updated contact information for babies in the 3-Step-Follow-Up process. . 2 WIC clinics updated the our alerts to include the date they gave the family the WSB letter

ES/RM 2/22/2012