NEW YORK – Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new customer feedback initiative that will improve understanding of the challenges New Yorkers face when enrolling in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC.
Announced as part of the 2023 State of the State address, the New York State Department of Health will partner with Code for America to pilot a program of online live chat which will help the agency gather customer feedback to improve the WIC program and enrollment statewide.
“While a critical resource for struggling families, the WIC program is not used by many New Yorkers who qualify for these child support benefits or by many families already enrolled in the program” , Governor Hochul said. “This initiative will help us identify ways to eliminate red tape, streamline registration processes and implement new technologies so struggling families have better access to healthy, nutritious food.”
Initially, Code for America will help to implement a function of live chat online to replace the Department of Health’s automated chat bot featured on the agency’s WIC page, which will connect people with a WIC staff member for live interaction. Live interaction is an effective way to guide applicants through the process and members in using their benefits, while providing an invaluable source of feedback that can be combined with client interviews and other qualitative and quantitative research methods to better understand the challenges of WIC enrollment and use. .
In a second phase of the project, the Ministry of Health will work with Code for America implement improvements to the WIC program based on feedback received. The partnership will allow the agency to determine what prevents families who meet the criteria from participating and getting the most out of the program, and then use this information to improve the delivery of WIC services.
The WIC program provides federal funding to states for dietary supplements, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women who are not breastfeeding; and babies and children up to 5 years old who present a nutritional risk. The Department of Health was one of four organizations selected to participate in the second cohort of Code for America’s Safety Net Innovation Lab, which aims to make state-administered public benefit programs more equitable and accessible. .
Nationally, about half of WIC-eligible families participate in the program, and those who do enroll do not consistently use their food benefits. Data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service this year found that about 706,000 New Yorkers were eligible for WIC in 2020, but only 363,000 participated in the program.
Food insecurity has historically been associated with poor health outcomes in children, including poorer overall health, acute and chronic health problems, and limited access to health care. Participation in WIC has been associated with healthier deliveries, better birth weights, lower risk of infant mortality, better infant feeding practices, more nutritious diets, better access to primary and preventive health care and better cognitive development in children, among other positive effects. health outcomes.
The initiative with Code for America it’s part of Governor Hochul’s plans to make government work better for New Yorkers by transforming how they access services and benefits. Significant technological improvements are implemented to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and improve access; reduce call waiting times; use electronic signature technology; launch “a login” to improve how residents interact with certain state agencies online; and modernizing state agency websites and applications to improve user experience.