All content tagged with the term "covid19".
August 31, 2020 -
News & Blog
The National WIC Association (NWA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) jointly call on USDA to act immediately to extend the waivers for the remainder of the COVID-19 emergency. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting increased risks of severe illness and adverse pregnancy outcomes for pregnant persons who contract COVID-19, it is imperative that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) empower states with all the available flexibilities to ensure the safety of pregnant persons, new parents, and their babies and young children.
August 17, 2020 -
News & Blog
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant job and income loss for families across the nation. Programs like WIC have served as a safety net for an increasing number of newly eligible families. New Hampshire WIC in particular has seen an average increase of 12% in WIC participation.
August 10, 2020 -
News & Blog
This pandemic has wedged physical distance between families and their support systems, posing significant challenges for new mothers who are navigating parenthood. However, South Carolina’s Breastfeeding Peer Counselors and IBCLCs have found creative ways to connect and support new WIC moms throughout the pandemic. South Carolina’s WIC Director, Berry Kelly applauds the entire SC WIC team and states that "our team has ensured that WIC has remained a steady, consistent nutritional and public health support for mothers, babies, and children."
August 3, 2020 -
News & Blog
Oregon WIC has made it a priority to support, work with, and hear from local WIC providers through the pandemic. Local WIC providers in Oregon have raised the importance of ensuring that decision-making in WIC be grounded in an equity framework, highlighting the need for Congress to extend USDA’s waiver authority for WIC. Tiare Sanna, Oregon’s WIC Director, says that Oregon WIC will "support implementation of remote service in order to prevent undue risk to participants and staff, as long as waivers are granted."
July 31, 2020 -
News & Blog
Over 60 national organizations and over 350 local service-provider agencies from all 50 states are calling on Congress to extend U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) waiver authority for WIC in the next COVID-response package.
July 27, 2020 -
News & Blog
After two months of delay and with continued unreasonably high levels of unemployment and rising COVID-19 infections across the country, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and a number of Senate Republicans have unveiled a series of proposals that – taken together – are wholly inadequate to address the needs of infants and young children. With one-in-six families with children struggling to afford food, it is unconscionable to advance another relief package without robust nutrition assistance.
July 27, 2020 -
News & Blog
Since March, WIC providers have been able to offer remote services to reduce exposure and minimize the risk of COVID-19 for participants and clinic staff. Nebraska is now moving toward its fourth phase of reopening, where social distancing is now considered a recommendation, not a requirement.
July 20, 2020 -
News & Blog
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WIC providers in New Mexico put their creativity to the test with the implementation of their new "curbside" clinic service. When stay-at-home orders were announced in New Mexico in March 2020, state WIC director Sarah Flores-Sievers had to quickly transition the way WIC provides nutrition and public health services to families
June 22, 2020 -
News & Blog
As federal, state, and local governments plan for reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, WIC staff and participants alike have expressed concern about whether WIC services are ready to normalize operations. In recognition of these difficulties, NWA has created resources to assist state and local WIC providers in thinking through different elements of reopening.
March 19, 2020 -
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