Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 286 - MAINE WIC PROGRAM RULES › Section 144-286-I - GENERAL

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
DEFINITIONS
As used in these rules, the following definitions shall
				  apply:
1. "ACH" shall mean Automatic
				Clearing House for electronic funds transfer.
2. "Administrative hearing" shall mean a
				hearing conducted by the Department's Administrative Hearings Unit for any
				appellant adversely affected by a local or State Agency decision.
3. "Allocable costs" shall mean costs that
				are incurred specifically for the award, that benefit the award and other work,
				that can be distributed in reasonable proportion to the benefits received, and
				that are necessary to the overall operation of the organization.
4. "Appellant" shall mean a local agency,
				vendor, applicant or participant, or their parent or guardian, who is adversely
				affected by a local or State Agency decision and subsequently seeks
				review.
5. "Authorization" shall
				mean that there is a signed WIC vendor agreement, after meeting necessary
				Program criteria.
6. "Budget
				categories" shall mean Personnel, Equipment and All Other.
7. "Capital equipment" shall mean tangible
				property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of
				three thousand ($3000) dollars or more per unit.
8. "Certification" shall mean the use of
				standard criteria and procedures to assess and document each applicant's
				eligibility for the Program.
9.
				"Civil money penalty" shall mean a monetary fine levied against a vendor in
				lieu of disqualification, where allowed by law.
10. "Commissary" shall mean a store located
				on a military installation, available only to military personnel and their
				dependents.
11. "Compliance
				purchase" shall mean a purchase performed by non-participants to collect
				evidence of improper vendor practices and to verify vendor compliance with
				applicable laws, rules and regulations.
12. "Contract brand infant formula" shall
				mean all infant formulas (except non-standard and exempt infant formulas)
				produced by the manufacturer awarded the infant formula cost containment
				contract.
13. "Contract brand
				infant foods" shall mean all single or multiple single ingredient fruits,
				vegetables and meats, and infant cereals produced by the manufacturer(s)and
				awarded the infant foods cost containment contract(s).
14. "Contract modification" shall mean any
				changes made to Riders A, B, and C of the State of Maine Standard
				Agreement.
15. "Cost allocation"
				shall mean the distribution of sponsoring agency costs to its programs on the
				basis of statistical data that measure the relative amount of benefit received
				by the program.
16. "Days" shall
				mean calendar days.
17.
				"Department" shall mean the Maine Department of Health and Human
				Services.
18. "Direct costs" shall
				mean costs that can be identified with a particular program of the sponsoring
				agency.
19. "Disqualification"
				shall mean the act of ending Program participation, by either the State or
				local agency, whether as a sanction or for administrative reasons.
20. "Economic unit" shall mean a group that
				jointly pools its resources.
21.
				"Exempt infant formula" shall mean an infant formula that meets the
				requirements for an exempt infant formula under section 412(h) of the Federal
				Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (
				21 U.S.C.
				350a(h) ) and the
				regulations at 21 CFR parts 106 and 107.
22. "Family" shall mean a group of related or
				unrelated individuals who are not residents of an institution but who are
				living together as one economic unit.
23. "FNS" shall mean the Food and Nutrition
				Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
24. "Food instrument' shall mean voucher,
				check, draft, coupon, or other document used by a participant to obtain WIC
				foods.
25. "General administrative
				costs (indirect costs)" shall mean costs that cannot be readily identified with
				a particular program or service area.
26. "Hearing officer" means an impartial
				person within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Administrative
				Hearings Unit designated to conduct formal hearings and to reader decisions
				pursuant to the regulations governing the Program.
27. "In-Kind" shall mean out of pocket or
				actual cash value of a necessary property or service(s) loaned or contributed
				to the local agency.
28. "Line
				items" shall mean entries within budget categories.
29. "Local agency" shall mean a public or
				private, non-profit health or human service agency that has contracted with the
				Department to provide WIC services.
30. "Non-contract brand infant formula" shall
				mean all infant formula, including exempt infant formula, that is not covered
				by an infant formula cost containment contract awarded by the State
				agency.
31. "Maximum Redemption
				Price" is the highest amount the State Agency will pay vendors for WIC
				authorized foods.
32. "OMB" shall
				mean the Office of Management and Budget.
33. "Participant" shall mean a pregnant
				woman, a postpartum breastfeeding or non-breastfeeding woman, an infant, or a
				child who is receiving food instruments from the Program, or the authorized
				representative of a pregnant, postpartum breastfeeding or non-breastfeeding
				woman, an infant or a child.
34.
				"Participant violation" means any intentional action of a participant, parent
				or caretaker of an infant or child participant, or proxy that violates federal
				or state statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures governing the
				Program.
35. "Retail food delivery
				system" means a system in which WIC customers exchange a WIC food instrument
				for approved WIC foods at the location of an authorized vendor.
36. "Program" shall mean the Maine WIC
				Program.
37. "Restricted income"
				shall mean funds that are required by the funding source to be used to purchase
				certain goods or services or to pay for certain expenses. They may be in the
				form of grants or donations.
38.
				"State Agency" shall mean the State WIC Office of the Maine Center for Disease
				Control within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
39. "Subcontract" shall mean services or any
				part of services purchased by the state agency pursuant to an agreement but not
				directly delivered by the local agency.
40. "Vendor" shall mean a sole
				proprietorship, partnership, cooperative association, corporation, or other
				business entity operating one or more stores authorized by the state agency to
				provide authorized supplemental foods to participants under a retail food
				delivery system.
41. "Vendor claim"
				shall mean a vendor violation that affects payment to the vendor resulting in
				an overpayment to the vendor.
42.
				"Vendor monitoring" shall mean the review of authorized vendors to determine
				adherence to Program rules.
43.
				"Vendor sanction" shall mean a warning letter, fine, disqualification or civil
				money penalty levied against vendors.
44. "Vendor selection criteria" means the
				criteria established by the WIC Program to select individual vendors for
				authorization consistent with the requirements in
				7 CFR
				S246.12(g)(3).
45. "Vendor training" shall mean educational
				sessions provided by either State or local agency staff to assure efficient and
				effective delivery of WIC services.
46. "Vendor violation" means any intentional
				or unintentional action of a vendor's current owners, officers, managers,
				agents, or employees (with or without the knowledge of management) that
				violates the vendor agreement or federal or state statues, regulations,
				policies, or procedures governing the Program.
47. "WIC foods" shall mean those foods
				authorized by the Program for purchase by participants.
48. "WIC-eligible medical foods" shall mean
				certain enteral products that are specifically formulated to provide
				nutritional support for individuals with a diagnosed medical condition, when
				the use of conventional foods is precluded, restricted, or
				inadequate.
49. "WIC Food Vendor"
				means a store authorized to transact WIC food Instruments/cash vouchers for
				authorized WIC foods.
50. "WIC
				Pharmacy Vendor" means a pharmacy authorized only to transact WIC food
				instruments for formula and medical foods prescribed by a physician. A WIC
				Pharmacy Vendor is not authorized to operate as a WIC Food Vendor.
51. "A combination WIC Food Vendor and WIC
				Pharmacy Vendor" means a store authorized to transact WIC food instruments for
				authorized WIC foods and, formula and medical foods prescribed by a
				physician.
52. "Urban area" shall
				mean a community that has a population of 30,000 or more.
53. "Rural area" shall mean a community that
				has a population of less than 30,000.
54. "WIC Administrative Manual" shall mean a
				document containing the policies and procedures for administering the WIC
				program. Copies of the Manual are available by download at the WIC Program's
				web site,
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/wic
.
55. "WIC Clinic Manual" shall mean a document
				containing the policies and procedures for certification and nutrition services
				in the WIC Program. Copies of the Manual are available by download at the WIC
				Program's web site,
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/wic
.
56. "WIC Financial Manual" shall mean a
				document containing the policies and procedures for the financial management of
				the WIC Program. Copies of the Manual are available by download at the WIC
				Program's web site,
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/wic
.
57. "WIC Vendor Manual" shall mean a document
				containing the policies and procedures for the WIC Program's food delivery
				system. Copies of the Manual are available by download at the WIC Program's web
				site,
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/wic
.