(The Center Square) – Louisiana families enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program will begin using a new online benefits system Saturday.
It is a modernization effort that comes weeks after a legislative auditors’ report noted widespread outreach failures and the nation’s lowest participation rate in the federal program.
Beginning Saturday, participants will use new WIC Electronic Benefits Transfer cards connected to an online system that allows benefits to be issued remotely, eliminating the need for many participants to visit clinics in person to reload.
State health officials said the new system is designed to make the program easier to use while improving access for eligible families.
“We are extremely excited about one of the most significant enhancements to the WIC participant experience in recent years,” state Department of Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein said in a statement. “We know that despite WIC being one of the nation’s most effective public health investments, too many eligible Louisiana families are not receiving its benefits. This long-awaited modernization makes the program more convenient, accessible and responsive to the needs of today’s families.”
The announcement follows a recent state audit finding significant shortcomings in how the Department of Health administers the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Auditors found Louisiana ranked last nationally in WIC participation during federal fiscal year 2024, with about 92,000 participants despite an estimated 196,000 residents qualifying for the program.
The audit also found the state returned about $111.6 million in unused federal WIC food benefits to the U.S. Department of Agriculture between federal fiscal years 2021 and 2024 because participants did not redeem them. The money consisted of unused federal benefits rather than state taxpayer dollars.
Auditors concluded the department did not adequately oversee outreach efforts intended to connect eligible women, infants and children with the program.
State policy requires each WIC clinic to conduct at least one outreach activity every month. However, auditors found 56 of Louisiana’s 100 clinics failed to meet that requirement during federal fiscal year 2025. The department identified only four of those clinics as noncompliant.
The report also found many reported outreach activities did not actually target eligible families. Examples included answering telephone calls, donating unused infant formula and processing prescription formula requests for current participants instead of recruiting new families.
Access to clinics also remained a barrier. Auditors found 81 of Louisiana’s 100 WIC clinics operate only between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., while only 19 offer appointments outside those hours and just two provide weekend appointments. More than half of complaints received in the department’s 2024 participant satisfaction survey involved appointment availability.
The upgraded benefits system addresses one of those access barriers by allowing WIC clinics to prescribe quarterly benefits remotely instead of requiring participants to return to clinics for benefit reloads.
“The transition modernizes how benefits are delivered and managed, improves flexibility for participants, and helps us better serve families across Louisiana,” Office of Public Health Assistant Secretary Tonya Joiner said.
The system also allows participants to manage benefits online and is intended to simplify transactions at WIC-approved grocery stores statewide.
Louisiana WIC clinics have been distributing the new electronic benefits transfer cards during scheduled appointments since June. Participants who already received their new cards should continue using their current cards through Friday before switching to the new cards Saturday.
Before using the new card for the first time, participants must select a personal identification number by calling the number on the back of the card or through the myWIC mobile app.
