Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 37 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 37.59 - SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN (WIC) › Subchapter 37.59.1 - General Program Administration › Rule 37.59.102 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
Unless otherwise indicated, the following definitions apply
				  throughout this chapter:
(1)
				"Administrative and program services costs" means those direct and indirect
				costs, exclusive of food costs, as defined in
				7
				CFR 246.14 (c), which the department
				determines to be necessary to support local agency program operations.
				Administrative and program services costs include: the costs of program
				administration, start-up, monitoring, auditing, the development of and
				accountability for food delivery systems, nutrition and breastfeeding
				education, outreach, certification, information technology, and developing and
				printing food benefits.
(2)
				"Affirmative action plan" means that portion of the department plan which
				describes how the program will be initiated and expanded within the
				department's jurisdiction in accordance with
				7 CFR
				246.4 (a).
(3) "Breastfeeding women" means women up to
				one year postpartum who are breastfeeding their infants.
(4) "Caseload" means the number of persons
				certified by the local agencies, eligible and participating in the WIC Program
				at any point in time. Persons certified eligible but wait-listed are not
				considered to be participating in the WIC Program, and therefore are not
				included when the department assigns caseload limits or tallying caseload being
				carried at a point in time.
(5)
				"Categorical eligibility" means persons who meet the definitions of pregnant
				women, breastfeeding women, postpartum women, infants, or children.
(6) "Certification" means the application of
				criteria and procedures to assess and document each applicant's eligibility for
				the program.
(7) "Children" means
				persons who have had their first birthday but have not yet attained their fifth
				birthday.
(8) "Clinic" means a
				facility where applicants are certified.
(9) "Competent professional authority (CPA)"
				means an individual on the staff of the local agency authorized to determine
				nutritional risk and prescribe supplemental foods. The following persons are
				the only persons the department may authorize to serve as a CPA: physicians,
				nutritionists (bachelor's or master's degree in nutritional sciences, community
				nutrition, clinical nutrition, dietetics, public health nutrition, or home
				economics with emphasis in nutrition), dietitians, registered nurses,
				physician's assistants (certified by the National Commission on Certification
				of Physician's Assistants, or certified by the state medical certifying
				authority), or state or local medically trained health officials. This
				definition also applies to an individual who is not on the staff of the local
				agency but who is qualified to provide data upon which nutritional risk
				determinations are made by a CPA on the staff of the local agency.
(10) "Days" means calendar days.
(11) "Disqualification" means the act of
				ending the program participation of a participant, authorized retailer,
				authorized farmer, or local agency, whether as a punitive sanction or for
				administrative reasons.
(12) "Dual
				participation" means simultaneous participation in the program in more than one
				WIC clinic.
(13) "Dyad" means a
				breastfeeding woman and the infant to whom she is providing breast milk who are
				participating on WIC.
(14) "Fair
				hearing" means the procedure through which an individual may appeal a
				department or local decision which results in denial of program participation,
				or suspension or termination from the program.
(15) "Family" means a group of related or
				non-related individuals living together as one economic unit and whose
				production of income and consumption of goods and services are shared.
				Residents of a homeless facility or an institution will not be considered as
				members of a single family. Students who are temporarily away at school may be
				counted as members of the family.
(16) "Farmer" means an individual authorized
				by the state agency to sell eligible fruits and vegetables to participants at a
				farmers' market or roadside stand. Individuals who exclusively sell produce
				grown by someone else, such as wholesale distributors, cannot be
				authorized.
(17) "Food costs" means
				the costs of supplemental foods, determined in accordance with
				7
				CFR 246.14 (b).
(18) "Food delivery system" means the method
				used by the department and local agencies to provide supplemental foods to
				participants.
(19) "Food benefit"
				means a voucher, check, coupon, or electronic benefit transfer which is used by
				a participant to obtain supplemental foods.
(20) "Food package" means supplemental foods
				prescribed by a CPA for a WIC participant to meet demonstrated nutritional
				needs.
(21) "Health services" means
				ongoing, routine pediatric and obstetric care (such as infant and child care
				and prenatal and postpartum examinations) or referral for treatment.
(22) "Infants" means persons under one year
				of age.
(23) "Initial visit" means
				the first time a person visits a WIC clinic to request program benefits,
				whether by an in-person inquiry or by telephone.
(24) "Local agency" means:
(a) a public or private, nonprofit health or
				human service agency which provides health services, either directly or through
				contract, in accordance with
				7 CFR
				246.5;
(b) an Indian health service unit;
(c) an Indian tribe, band, or group
				recognized by the United States Department of the Interior which operates a
				health clinic or is provided health services by an Indian health service unit;
				or
(d) an intertribal council or
				group that is an authorized representative of Indian tribes, bands, or groups
				recognized by the United States Department of the Interior, which operates a
				health clinic or is provided health services by an Indian health service
				unit.