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Background 

For over 35 years, the Special Supplemental Nutrition 

Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has 

provided benefits to low-income pregnant and 

postpartum women, infants, and young children who 

are at nutritional risk. The National Survey of WIC 

Participants II (NSWP-II) was conducted to gather 

information on participant characteristics, the policies 

and operations of State and local WIC agencies, and 

the level of improper payments to recipients.1

Methods 

NSWP-II collected data from (1) all State WIC 

agencies, (2) over 500 of the approximately 2,300 local 

WIC agencies, (3) two national samples of participants 

in 2009 (including 2,538 telephone interviews and 

1,210 in-person interviews with randomly selected 

respondents from the telephone interview), and (4) 

paid food instrument redemption records for 

participants in the in-person interview sample. 

Telephone interviews with clients focused on their 

characteristics and experiences with WIC. In-person 

interviews collected data to determine the eligibility of 

each participant. These data combined with food 

instrument data were used to estimate the cost of 

improper certifications. State and local agency 

questions focused on policies, procedures, services and 

staffing. 

Findings: Participant Characteristics and Views

The WIC population is young, ethnically and racially 

diverse, and has less formal education than the U.S. 

population average for this age group. The average 

age of pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum 

participants is 25.5 years. Just under half (45%) of all 

participants are Hispanic/Latino and one-fifth are 

African American. Two-thirds (67%) of pregnant, 

 

1

This study consists of four volumes: volume 1 focuses on 

participant characteristics, volume 2 focuses on State and local 

WIC agencies, volume 3 focuses on improper payments, and 

volume 4 focuses on study methodology. 

breastfeeding, and postpartum participants have a high 

school education or less. In contrast, among the 18–29 

age group of the general population, 59% have more 

than a high school education.2

In addition, most WIC clients (53%) are SNAP 

participants, indicating that their incomes are at or 

below 130% of poverty – well below WIC’s income 

limit.3

The majority of WIC participants reported making 

positive changes to their lifestyles as a result of their 

participation in group education sessions. At least 70 

percent of participants in all but smoking cessation 

groups reported positive lifestyle changes. Participants 

were most likely to report positive change following 

group education sessions on educating one’s child (84 

percent) and nutrition or preparing nutritious meals (87 

percent). Participants in one-on-one nutrition 

counseling sessions overwhelmingly said that the 

sessions were useful (94 percent). 

The majority of participants were very satisfied with 

WIC staff and services and the clinic location and 

facility (see Figure 1). Most participants rated the 

benefits they receive favorably in terms of offering 

foods that they like to eat (90 percent rated them as 

excellent, very good or good). 

Findings: Local Agency Characteristics

Almost three-fourths of local agencies’ main sites are 

located in a health department, health clinic or health 

center. Other sites include non-profit organizations 

(13%), social services agencies (7%) or hospitals (6%). 

 

2

U.S. Census Bureau. 2008 Current Population Survey. Retrieved 

from 

http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/cps20

08.html

3

This finding aligns with evidence in the latest administrative 

report on WIC participant characteristics, which shows that about 

70% of WIC participants are at or below the poverty line, with 34% 

falling below 50 % of poverty (See Food and Nutrition Service, 

WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2010, December 

2011). 

Office of Research and Analysis April 2012 

NATIONAL SURVEY OF WIC PARTICIPANTS II

REPORT SUMMARY
The majority of local agencies (53%) report some 

degree of staffing shortage. More than three-quarters 

(78%) report difficulty retaining, recruiting and hiring 

staff, including nutritionists, registered dietitians, 

nurses, and physicians’ assistants. 

One-on-one nutrition education is available at almost 

all WIC local agencies, while 75% offer group classes 

and 32% include web-based nutrition education. Over 

half (56%) provide 10 to 19 minutes of nutrition 

education during the initial visit. About 84% have staff 

speaking at least one language in addition to English, 

most commonly Spanish (available at 70% of local 

agencies). 

Figure 1 

Participant Satisfaction Ratings of WIC (n=2,538) 

Almost all children in WIC families (93 percent) are 

covered by health insurance, while fewer adults (68 

percent) reported coverage for themselves. Of children 

and adults covered by health insurance, approximately 

8.4% of children and 12.4% of adults have private 

health insurance. 

Enrollment in the State Children’s Health Insurance 

Program (SCHIP) appears to increase with WIC 

involvement: 15 percent of children who are new to 

WIC are enrolled in SCHIP compared with 23 percent 

of continuing WIC children. Adult participants also 

appear to significantly benefit from WIC services and 

referrals. Over one-third (35%) of adult participants 

new to WIC reported no health insurance coverage, 

while fewer (28%) continuing adult participants report 

having no health insurance. 

Findings: Certification Accuracy 

Slightly more than 3 percent of cases were improperly 

certified for benefits and slightly less than 3 percent 

of benefits were paid in error. The case error rate was 

3.05 percent, with the highest rates of error among 

infants and breastfeeding participants and the lowest 

among children. Dollar error was calculated from 

redemption data for respondents for the period from 

May through July 2009. Because State agencies 

receive rebates on the cost of formula from 

manufacturers, these rebates are included when 

calculating the cost of improper payments. The total 

post-rebate error amount was approximately $131 

million out of a total post-rebate program food cost of 

$4.4 billion—a dollar error rate of 2.98 percent.

Conclusion

The survey findings underscore the success of WIC in 

delivering targeted benefits to low-income families at a 

critical point in children’s growth and development. In 

doing so, the program achieves high levels of customer 

satisfaction among its clients, and accomplishes these 

results with a very low rate of error. 

___________________________________________

Suggested Citation: USDA, FNS, Office of Research and Analysis, 

National Survey of WIC Participants II Volumes I –IV, by Gary 

Huang, Daniel M. Geller et al., ICF Macro. Project Officers: Karen 

Castellanos-Brown and Sheku Kamara, FNS, Alexandria, VA: 

2012. Download full reports at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/

71.1 69.6

21.1 21.2

4.6 4.5

1.5 3.2

1.7 1.5

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

WIC Staff & Services WIC Clinic Location & Building

Very

dissatisfied

Somewhat

dissatisfied

Neither satisfied

nor nor dissatisfied

Somewhat

satisfied

Very satisfied

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, 

genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance 

program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, 

Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free 

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