Louisiana could do more to connect mothers, young children with food aid, audit finds

A state audit found that nearly half of the federal food assistance available to Louisiana’s low-income mothers and their babies last year went unredeemed. It urges officials to take steps to expand access to the benefits, noting the state’s low participation rankings and vast sums of funding returned to Washington.  

A report on the review, made public Monday by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, provided more than a dozen recommendations to the Louisiana Department of Health for how it could reach more families in need through the nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children. WIC benefits, which are 100% federally funded, provide healthy food to women who are pregnant and postpartum, infants and children under age 5.

From 2021-24, Louisiana sent back more than $111 million in unused WIC benefits to the U.S Department of Agriculture. A 2023 USDA report ranked Louisiana 50th in the nation for WIC participation.

The auditor’s report highlighted the challenges qualifying families face in applying for WIC assistance. Its staff received nearly 300 responses to a survey of WIC recipients to learn more about the barriers to participation. One mother who responded said she didn’t receive benefits during her pregnancy because she was unable to get her local clinic to answer or return her calls after she completed an online application.

Recipients must take part in an in-person appointment clinic at a local WIC clinic to confirm their eligibility, receive a health screening and have benefits tailored to their needs. The benefits range from $20 to $260 dollars and are placed on debit cards.

The audit determined that 56 out of Louisiana’s 100 WIC clinics did not conduct required monthly outreach efforts the past two fiscal years. As of April this year, 81 of the clinics operated exclusively between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., which the audit noted might make it difficult for working parents to schedule an in-person appointment.

The health department could improve access to WIC services with more mobile clinics and conducting off-site appointments, according to the auditor’s report. There is currently only one mobile WIC clinic in the state, and it serves Barksdale Air Force Base exclusively. 

The audit also recommended the state add WIC clinics in Plaquemines and West Feliciana parishes, the only two without a location. 

In his response to the report, Louisiana Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein detailed steps being taken to open WIC clinics in both parishes. The health department is also working to expand the number of clinics through alternative and mobile options, and it will move to implement home visits to enroll participants, he said.

Another recommendation of the audit was for the health department to approve more healthy food options to improve the state’s WIC redemption rate. The review looked at which foods WIC recipients purchase the least and learned through the survey that it sometimes involves quantity. For example, yogurt can only be purchased by the quart with WIC benefits. 

“It’s a lot,” one WIC recipient said in their survey response. “My child doesn’t use a whole quart of yogurt in one month.”

Greenstein also agreed with a recommendation to put a system in place for staff at WIC clinics to immediately verify whether applicants are already enrolled in other federal food assistance programs. Families enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families automatically qualify for WIC benefits. 

An automated hotline or online portal for SNAP and TANF verification, which 41 other states already use, would simplify and shorten the WIC application process, the audit stated.