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In an effort to reduce the stigma associated with receiving food
assistance, the state has begun issuing Women, Infants & Children (WIC) vouchers
on debit cards. Officials also said it will prevent fraud and streamline
distribution. "It'll be much easier with the card to just swipe it," Jennifer
Evans, 25, of Battle Creek said. Evans has been using WIC services since she was
pregnant with her daughter two years ago. She said it has been embarrassing
holding up the grocery store check-out line while fumbling with the paper
coupons. She plans to get her debit card next week.
Calhoun County WIC offices began distributing the electronic version of the federally-funded supplemental nutrition vouchers for pregnant women and children under age 5 at the end of February. One of every two babies born in Michigan receives WIC benefits, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. Participants receive $30 to $112 or more per month in vouchers, which are used to purchase nutritious foods such as infant formula, eggs, cereals, dry beans and peanut butter.
Calhoun County was one of the first in Michigan to roll out the electronic benefits transfer program and Michigan is one of the first states in the nation make the switch, said James McCurtis, Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman. About 235,000 people use WIC coupons in Michigan and about one-fourth have switched to debit cards, he said. The goal is to have all Michigan counties using WIC debit cards by the end of the year.
"In a nutshell, it's more efficient, it takes away from the stigma and it's easily accessible," McCurtis said. "We're talking about a program that's in place to make sure that families are taken care of. If we're not doing our best to ensure that these families get the services they deserve to feed their families, we're not doing our job." Paper coupons became a problem if they were lost or stolen, Calhoun County Health Officer Dottie-Kay Bowersox said. The new WIC debit cards are password protected and can be deactivated if stolen.
The changes also will reduce the workload on the county's already stressed WIC personnel, Bowersox said. Instead of printing, distributing and tracking the paper vouchers monthly, WIC staff can simply reload the cards. Within a few months, clients won't even have to go to the office for reloading, she said. They'll be able to do it online or over the phone. "The hope is that they would not have to go to the WIC office which would save on time and gas money," Bowersox said.
The stigma might remain, however, for WIC clients in the grocery check-out line. The cards are swiped on a system different than that used for consumer credit and debit cards and the WIC-approved items must be scanned twice at the register. It will, however, be less obvious than the cumbersome paper coupons, Main Street Market owner Dennis McComb said. "It's better than it was."
Elizabeth Huff can be reached at 966-0684 or ehuff@battlecr.gannett.com.