Montana WIC Newsletter - June 24, 2021

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services sent this bulletin at 06/24/2021 01:49 PM MDT

June 21, 2021

Participant Quote

"I don’t know how I would be able to afford my children’s food if I didn’t have WIC. I was prepared for one child, but then found out I was having twins. Without WIC, we would have gone without some of our basic needs."
~ Great Falls WIC Mom ~

Cascade WIC Open Position

Cascade WIC has an open position for a Nutrition Educator or a Dietitian. Please send this employment information on to anyone who might be interested.

Info for Local Breastfeeding Coalitions

EMPower Best Practices, an initiative funded by the CDC, is offering a free training for hospitals. EMPower Best Practices is a hospital-based quality improvement project aimed at improving evidence-based maternity care practices supportive of optimal infant nutrition through skills-based competency training and ongoing technical assistance.

For more information, to see who is eligible, or to sign up, click here

MAWA Announcements

Seeking MAWA Board nominations:

The Montana Association of WIC Agencies (MAWA) is seeking nominations from our membership to join the Board. Openings this year are President-Elect; Treasurer (2 year term); Secretary (1 year), Nominating Chair, 2 year. There are 2 openings for Member-at-Large. Your agency must have paid MAWA dues to be eligible to be a board member. If you would like to pay dues, please contact Teresa Messerman, Ravalli WIC tmesserman@mt.gov

Being a board member for MAWA is the perfect opportunity to get involved with WIC advocacy efforts, WIC Work Group (WWG) activities, and to connect and work with WIC staff from across Montana. The MAWA board meets remotely at least quarterly, including the MAWA General Meeting held during the yearly WIC conference, when new board members will be elected. If you are interested please contact Nominating Chair Mary Frohlich mfrohlich@cascadecountymt.gov

MAWA notice for nominations for Outstanding WIC Employee Award:

Who in your local WIC agency deserves special recognition? MAWA looks forward to your nominations for the Outstanding WIC Employee Award for 2021. This award will be presented at the MAWA General Meeting in August (held remotely during the Great Beginnings Great Families conference/WIC Day, exact date and time TBD. Complete the nomination form and Submit or e-mail to mawamontanawic@gmail.com

The final deadline for submitting nominations is July 16, 2021.

Recruiting new members for the WIC Work Group 2021:

MAWA is seeking new members for the WWG, 2021-2023 term. The WWG is a forum for State and local WIC staff to collaborate and work together towards improvement of Montana WIC. The WWG includes State WIC staff, and representatives from Small, Medium and Large local agencies, as well as Tribal programs, and a representative of MAWA. The tenure for a local agency is 2 years. Meetings are quarterly, and usually in-person. Travel and lodging is paid by the State WIC Program.

Please consider this opportunity to have a direct impact on Montana WIC services. Here is the Application to express your interest. The deadline to submit applications is September 1^st. MAWA board members will make the final selections. If you have questions you are welcome to check with any current WWG members, a MAWA board member, or Kate Girard.

New Income Guidelines

July 1^st is the start of the new income eligibility guidelines (IEG). The State Office has the updated rack cards ready for ordering in both English and Spanish. The order form is located in eLearn. The income table has been updated and is available for you to print. The exit handouts have been updated and posted in eLearn. If you have any questions, please reach out to Lacy.

New Food List - October 1, 2021

The new WIC food list will be starting October 1^st, 2021. Please read the highlights below.

The participant booklets (for new families) will be shipped directly to your agency Mid-June.
The English accordion food lists will be sent directly to the State Office along with the Spanish participant booklets and accordion food lists. Local agencies will be asked to order those as needed. We will be working to get some copies of requested languages but those will be coming a little later.
The 2-pager food list has been updated for staff. This document has highlighted changes for easy reference.
The State Office highly encourages staff to direct participants to use the app where they can access the updated food list mid-September.
The State Office has created a summary of all the changes for staff to review.

If you have any questions regarding the changes, please reach out to Lacy.

Community Needs Assessment

The Governor’s Office of Community Service (ServeMontana) needs your help getting the Community Needs Assessment to as many Montanans as possible. The online assessment is quick, anonymous, and accessible: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/servemtcna.

Please take the assessment yourself, then share it far and wide with your professional network, community volunteers, partners, and others in your community – especially those you serve. The voices of our most vulnerable neighbors are the ones we need to hear the loudest.

ServeMontana will use the input to develop the 2022-2024 State Service Plan, ensuring Montana’s national service resources are positioned to meet the most pressing needs in the Big Sky State.

Please share the one-pager online and post it publicly at your offices and service sites. ServeMontana’s social media campaign begins this week; we appreciate you sharing posts when they align with your program’s communications strategy and on your individual social media.

To request a paper copy or to ask any questions, please reach out to us at serve@mt.gov or (406) 444-9077