FY 2015 Project Focus Area The focus area of the FY 2015 WIC Special Project Full and Mini Grants is Participant Integrity in the WIC Program.

This focus area is intended for applicants who would like to implement and evaluate innovative strategies for maintaining or improving participant and

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program integrity.

The 1999 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled Efforts to Control Fraud and Abuse in the WIC Program Can Be Strengthened, indicated a concern about the appearance of impropriety in the certification and income eligibility process of WIC participants.

The report goes on to indicate that not maintaining the integrity of the certification and eligibility process may damage the public’s trust in the WIC Program.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will consider Full and Mini Grant applications aimed at helping State agencies develop, implement and evaluate new or innovative methods to ensure participant integrity in the WIC Program.

Examples of successful projects may include but not limited to:• addressing separation of duties in WIC clinics,• improving and refining the verification of certification (VOC) procedures, improving adjunctive income eligibility verification, • documenting household size, • evaluating investigative tools to prevent, monitor and investigate the online sale of infant formula and other WIC foods, • preventing interstate and intrastate dual participation,• preventing exchanging of authorized foods for cash, and• developing strategies to prevent participant fraud and abuse are all areas of specific concern.