Altarum to Support USDA WIC Workforce Initiative

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a significant investment of $29 million to support the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Workforce National Strategy. This initiative aims to strengthen the WIC workforce by addressing critical challenges and enhancing the program's effectiveness in serving diverse communities.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, WIC is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most effective public health programs. It improves the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age five, by providing nutritious foods, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care. Despite its success, only about half of all eligible women, infants, and children participate in WIC. The USDA's investment is part of a broader effort to modernize the program and ensure it meets the needs of today’s busy families.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have partnered to address the challenges of declining program participation and retention, and the lack of diversity within the WIC workforce. This partnership has resulted in the development of a five-year plan to strengthen the WIC workforce.

To support the workforce initiative, the University of Minnesota has convened a robust team of partners, including Altarum. Altarum's contribution includes researching and documenting state and local staffing models across WIC and similar programs, developing training materials to support staffing recommendations, and providing technical assistance to ensure the effective implementation of the strategy.

"We are excited to be part of the USDA WIC Workforce National Strategy initiative. Our team of experts includes registered dietitians and researchers with decades of experience both working in the WIC program and conducting studies to better understand the needs of WIC staff and families. Together with our partners, we will conduct formative research to examine current staffing models and job functions across WIC. This will help us develop recommendations for improved staffing models and equitable compensation,” says Karah Mantinan, Program Director of Food and Nutrition in Altarum’s Population Health division. “We will also collaborate with partners to lead quarterly virtual training sessions for WIC staff nationwide, focusing on role-specific skills and new tools. And, we will form advisory working groups at various levels to offer advice, provide context, and support change adoption. Our goal is to engage WIC staff at all levels in co-developing solutions and ensure effective implementation of the strategy."

This initiative aims to better understand the structure and needs of the WIC workforce to support them in providing more tailored care, ultimately improving the reach, retention, and dosage of WIC offerings to WIC families.

Altarum's expertise in food and nutrition, public health, and workforce development will be instrumental in reaching the initiative's goals.