2022 WIC State Plan (Alabama)
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2022 WIC State Plan (Alabama) Order of Contents Goals and Objectives i Chapter I Vendor and Farmer Management I-1 Chapter II Nutrition Services II-1 Chapter III Management Information Systems (MIS) III-1 Chapter IV Organization and Management IV-1 Chapter V Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) Expenditures V-1 Chapter VI Food Funds Management VI-1 Chapter VII Caseload Management VII-1 Chapter VIII Certification, Eligibility and Coordination of Services VIII-1 Chapter IX Food Delivery and Food Instrument (FI) Accountability and Control IX-1 Chapter X Monitoring and Audits X-1 Chapter XI Civil Rights XI-1 Goals and Objectives Alabama Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program Goals and Objectives, FY 2022 CHAPTER I: VENDOR MANAGEMENT Goal Ensure authorized WIC vendors comply with program requirements and provide participants with a positive shopping experience. Objectives 1. Identify key problem areas that impact the overall WIC shopping experience and develop effective solutions for the identified problems. 2. Develop innovative training materials for authorized WIC vendors to improve program compliance and the shopping experience. 3. Promote the use of the Vendor Information Publication (VIP) e-newsletter as a training tool for authorized WIC vendors. 4. Strengthen Program Integrity by using the routine monitoring visit as an opportunity to provide education and technical assistance to authorized WIC vendors. 5. Provide education and support to district/clinic staff regarding the eWIC shopping experience and Vendor Management. CHAPTER II: NUTRITION SERVICES Goal Improve participant health by developing innovative approaches to nutrition education and breastfeeding. Objectives 1. Continue to implement a biannual district nutrition education plan for FY 2021-22 with additional state level support to educate WIC enrolled women and children of the health benefits of WIC foods and how WIC foods can help improve oral health. 2. Continue to develop/revise WIC nutrition education publications for clinic use to ensure current nutrition recommendations are included and make available in Spanish as applicable. 3. Continue to address the problem of overweight/obesity in the WIC population and participate in the Alabama Obesity Task Force (AOTF) to implement the AOTF State Plan. 4. Encourage a statewide increase in the number of secondary nutrition education (SNE) contacts offered by promoting the use of WICHealth.org which documents topic completion in Crossroads and/or allowing SNE contacts via telephone for participants between required face to face visits. 5. Continue to provide training for staff working in the WIC program to include Value Enhanced Nutrition Assessment (VENA), nutrition counseling strategies, and other needs identified by District Nutrition directors and/or State Office staff. 6. Continue efforts to develop and implement an interactive website and WIC mobile application (AL WIC app) for WIC promotion, information distribution, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, program referral, staff development, and other i applications. 7. Continue efforts to increase the number of breastfed infants. Data from the FY 2021 Alabama WIC Financial Management and Participation Report (798), May 2021, indicated 1,402 infants are fully breastfed representing 4.8 percent of all infants. The number of partially breastfed infants for the same time period was 1501 or 5.1 percent. The goal for FY 2021 is to increase the number of fully breastfed and partially breastfed infants by 5 percent over the FY 2021 numbers. 8. Continue expansion of the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program during FY2022 to include filling the vacant Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Statewide Coordinator position and increasing the number of Breastfeeding Peer Counselors available to support WIC participants by 10. As of July 2021, there are 14 peer counselors employed by Alabama’s WIC Program. CHAPTER III: MANAGEMENT NFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS) Goal Ensure the Crossroads Computer System is kept up to date to effectively provide quality services in a timely manner and meet federal regulations and policies. Objectives 1. Continue to update Crossroads as needed to reflect United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) policies. 2. Continue to participate in the Crossroads User Group with Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. 3. Continue to market and demonstrate Crossroads to other state WIC agencies. 4. Test and implement system design changes identified by the User Group. 5. Maintain and add system interfaces that improve clinic efficiency. CHAPTER IV: ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT Goal Increase efficiency while facing increasing Program requirements. Objectives 1. Continue to provide on-going support and assistance to county and district staff for improving clinic efficiency, staffing, and productivity. 2. Continue to develop spreadsheets and reports to assist district staff with budget and priority issues. 3. Continue to monitor clinical staffing and productivity standards. 4. Evaluate staffing and tasks to reflect new business operations with eWIC issuance and modify as needed. CHAPTER V: NUTRITION SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATION (NSA) EXPENDITURES Goal ii Monitor expenditures and staffing to ensure efficient use of funds. Objectives 1. Continue to work with District management to ensure clinic costs are within budget and quality services are maintained. 2. Continue to monitor cost accounting quarterly and make staffing adjustments as needed to stay within budget and caseload needs. 3. Focus clinic efforts on maintaining caseload and conducting outreach efforts. 4. Pursue new funding opportunities to improve efforts and maximize USDA funding. CHAPTER VI: FOOD FUNDS MANAGEMENT Goal Monitor food costs, availability, and purchases in order to efficiently spend food dollars. Objectives 1. Continue to work with formula manufacturers and vendors to streamline the ordering/billing process, and to reduce formula costs. 2. Continue to analyze and monitor food costs through food package review, formula purchase reports, and vendor monitoring. CHAPTER VII: CASELOAD MANAGEMENT Goal Improve methods to maintain and/or increase caseload. Objectives 1. Monitor reports to ensure adequate participation and show rates for maintaining caseload and productivity of staff. 2. Continue to utilize reports, phone calls, reminders, letters, etc. in order to increase participation rates. 3. Support district/clinic plans for maintaining caseload or increasing caseload as funds allow. 4. Continue to monitor caseload reports to make sure patients are being seen without wait lists and to update clinic appointment schedules as needed. 5. Support alternative clinic locations and times in order to accommodate current participants and potential eligible participants. 6. Monitor enrollment and improve inreach efforts for participants enrolled but not actively participating in WIC. CHAPTER VIII: CERTIFICATION, ELIGIBILITY AND COORDINATION OF SERVICES Goal Improve quality in delivery of services to WIC participants in Alabama by enhancing nutrition assessment. iii Objectives 1. Continue to explore methods and resources for increasing clinic efficiency to better enable clinic staff in providing quality nutrition services. 2. Continue to evaluate the nutrition assessment protocols to ensure that VENA guidelines are being met. 3. Continue to strengthen provider competencies per VENA Plan. CHAPTER IX: FOOD DELIVERY/FOOD INSTRUMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL Goal Continue to monitor food benefit issuance and redemption to ensure accountability according to regulations. Objectives 1. Continue to enhance the accountability of food benefit issuance through quality assurance measures. 2. Continue to monitor the Crossroads MIS programming for state food prescription changes as well as formula name/package size changes and make enhancements as needed. CHAPTER X: MONITORING AND AUDITS Goal Evaluate the quality of care and services provided to participants through an effective and comprehensive monitoring system. Objectives 1. Continue to maintain an ongoing management evaluation system to evaluate the quality of participant care, evaluate compliance with federal guidelines and agency policies, and to assist in policy development and training needs. 2. Every two years, local agencies shall conduct a self-audit that encompasses participant care and clinic operations as outlined in the written quality assurance tool. CHAPTER XI: CIVIL RIGHTS Goal Ensure that all staff receives comprehensive Civil Rights training to include customer service to prevent Civil Rights problems or complaints. Objectives 1. Continue to require completion of Civil Rights training module online. 2. Continue to monitor through Quality Assurance (QA) that staff Civil Rights training and Program policies are being followed. iv Chapter I Vendor and Farmer Management I. Vendor and Farmer Management (Please indicate) State Agency: Alabama for FY: _____2022_______ Vendor and farmer/farmers’ market management includes all those activities associated with selecting, authorizing, training, monitoring, and investigating the State agency's vendor and farmer/farmers’ market population for the purpose of reducing fraud and abuse in the WIC Program food delivery system. During a disaster or public health emergency, the State agency may request to implement existing WIC regulatory and programmatic flexibilities to support the continuation of Program benefits and services. State agencies should consider the overarching authority, i.e., Stafford Act