WIC Plans & Reports

The Vermont WIC Program submits a State Plan for program operations annually by August 15 to the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. The final State Plan is posted annually by October 1.

2023 State Plan Goals and Objectives

We welcome feedback at any time.

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The Vermont WIC program has several reports available for you to use as assessment tools during program planning, and to monitor the health status of WIC families.

Until 2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) administered program-based surveillance systems that monitor the nutritional status of low-income infants, children, and parents in federally funded maternal and child health programs. Vermont WIC contributed data to the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System (PNSS) and the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) for over 20 years. PNSS and PedNSS eports contain information on the demographic composition and health status of parents and health outcomes of infants and children enrolled on the WIC Program.

Beginning in 2012, Vermont completed independent analysis of WIC data for key health status indicators.

Vermont PNSS Reports

The Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System (PNSS) is a public health surveillance system that describes the nutritional status of low-income pregnant, postpartum or nursing people enrolled in federally funded maternal and child health and nutrition programs. In Vermont PNSS, data is collected solely from WIC participants. Self-reported demographic, behavioral, and health information is collected at the local WIC agency and verified by a nurse, registered dietitian, nutritionist, or other health professional.  Anthropomorphic measurements (height, weight, and birthweight), clinical nutritional indicators status (i.e. hematology measurements), and breastfeeding practices are also collected. 

Vermont PedNSS Reports

The Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) is a public health surveillance system that describes the nutritional status of low-income infants and children enrolled in federally funded maternal and child health and nutrition programs. In Vermont PedNSS, data is collected solely from WIC participants.  Self-reported demographic, behavioral, and health information is collected at the local WIC agency and verified by a nurse, registered dietitian, nutritionist, or other health professional.  Anthropomorphic measurements (height, weight, and birthweight), clinical nutritional indicators status (i.e. hematology measurements), and breastfeeding practices are also collected. 

Topic-Specific Data Briefs

In 2019, Vermont began creating topic-specific data briefs topics using PNSS and PedNSS data, as well as data from Vital Records and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).

Who WIC Serves

This data brief is a report of participation trends and demographic characteristics of WIC participants. Data sources included in the brief are labeled on each chart and include: Vital Statistics, Pregnancy and Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance Systems, and Census Population Estimates.

Who WIC Serves Data Brief

Weight Status Among Infants and Children in WIC

This data brief is a report of birth weights among infants and weight status of children ages 2-5 enrolled in WIC in 2017-2019 and was analyzed using WIC Administrative Data.

Weight Status Among Infants and Children in WIC

WIC is an evidence based program. Evidence-based analysis and ongoing evaluation are important tools to promote effective policies and strong management in the WIC program. At the national level, the Office of Policy Support leads the study and evaluation agenda for USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. 

Vermont WIC state and local staff are active members of the National WIC Association (NWA). Vermont WIC and NWA view the cycle of research, practice, and policy to be reciprocal and encourage collaboration between researchers and practitioners to conduct high-quality research that supports WIC and identifies innovative approaches to program improvement. NWA sets research priorities, the goal of which is to identify research areas that support NWA and WIC programs nationwide. The aim is to be responsive to emerging issues and continue to explore, demonstrate and integrate evidence-based practices that improve the health and well-being of WIC families. See NWA Research Needs Assessment.

WIC data provides unique opportunities for understanding Vermont WIC families. Data also supports evidence based interventions and decision making to improve health outcomes for the parents, infants and children each day. If you are interested in a research collaboration with the Vermont WIC program, please contact: WIC@Vermont.gov

Special project grants are awarded by the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service to fund innovative research projects that have the potential to improve and enhance the WIC Program. Vermont has received funding to design, implement and evaluate the following WIC quality improvement initiatives:

• Fit WIC: Programs to Prevent Childhood Overweight in Your Community

• WIC Services in the Medical Home: Improving Early Feeding Practices

• Nurturing Families’ Appetite for Fruits and Vegetables

• Supporting Long-term Breastfeeding with the New WIC Food Packages

• Supporting Long-term Breastfeeding with the New WIC Food Packages (Executive Summary)

• Supporting Long-term Breastfeeding with the New WIC Food Package (Final Report and Project Materials)

• WIC2Five: Using Mobile Health Education Messaging to Support Program Retention

Vermont chose a WIC management information system (Ceres) that ensures we are achieving the highest quality of data for collection, monitoring and use in research projects and collaborations. Ceres has many built-in data quality checks for information that is below and above acceptable ranges, biologically implausible, unknown or missing values or inconsistent with other information in the same record.

The Vermont WIC program surveys participants annually to solicit feedback and plan for quality improvement. It is a web-based survey that is primarily administered via text and email with some promotion at local WIC clinics.

2022 Active WIC Participant Survey Report

2021 Active WIC Participant Survey Report

2020 Active WIC Participant Survey Report

2019 Active WIC Participant Survey Report

2018-19 Active WIC Participant Survey Report

In May 2020, the Vermont WIC program surveyed active WIC households for feedback on services during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The survey included questions on remote (telephone) appointments, grocery shopping, and interest in online nutrition education.

WIC Services During COVID-19: Remote (Telephone) Appointments

WIC Services During COVID-19: Grocery Shopping