March 22, 2024

Cigarette Use Question

We have been advised that the cigarette use question should be answered for cigarettes only NOT vaping.  If the participant vapes, and does NOT use cigarettes, the answer to cigarette use is zero.  You would then manually assign the tobacco/nicotine use risk code. If your agency was converting vape pods to cigarettes, please discontinue this practice.

Risk Code Issue

Risk code 503, Presumptive Eligibility, is not working correctly in Spirit desktop. The risk code is working correctly in SWEB. The State Office is trying to determine a work around at this time and will communicate changes with local agency staff as soon as possible.

Collaboration, Advocacy, and Support- Join MAWA!

The Montana Association of WIC Agencies (MAWA) is a non-profit organization formed in 1996 by local agency staff.  The mission of MAWA best encompasses what we do: Through collaboration, advocacy, and support, we inspire a unified voice of the Montana WIC community to assure quality services.

MAWA consists of six board members, four Members-at-Large, and local agency members. The current board members are: Kate Monger, Jacquelynn Nagle, Debbie Hirshberg, Teresa Messerman, Vivi Tyler, Deb Fix, Ashley Miller, Jacque Dunn, Kate Devino, and Mary Frohlich.

Every local agency staff member is invited to be a general member and we're always eager to have members become board members.

Memberships are renewed annually in March and our board member elections occur at our annual general meeting in August.

Why join MAWA? MAWA is a great way to collaborate with WIC staff from across the state, to have your agency represented in the WIC Work Group, and to participate in WIC advocacy activities. 

All local agency directors should have received an email this month with more details about membership. If your agency did not receive this, or if you’d like more information, please reach out to Kate Monger, MAWA President (Katherine.mon@riverstonehealth.org), or Debbie Hirshberg, MAWA Past-President (DHirshberg@missoulacounty.us).

National WIC Association Webinar

Join NWA for their explicit bias training. This training will be held 1PM MST. This presentation aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of explicit bias, its distinctions from implicit bias, practical examples, and effective strategies to promote awareness and mitigate its impact. To sign up for the training use the NWA link below.

Explicit Bias [default.salsalabs.org]

WIC 50th Fun Fact

In 1997, the USDA established a National Breastfeeding Promotion Campaign to increase breastfeeding rates among WIC mothers.

Weekly Risk Code Highlight

Risk Code 354 – Celiac Disease (CD)

Defined as:  An autoimmune disease precipitated by the ingestion of gluten (a protein in wheat, rye, and barley) that results in damage to the small intestine and malabsorption of the nutrients from food. (For more information about the definition of CD, please visit the clarification section).

CD is also known as:

• Celiac Sprue
• Gluten-sensitive Enteropathy
• Non-tropical Sprue

What WIC Can Do:

• Promote breastfeeding throughout the first year of life, with exclusive breastfeeding until 4-6 months of age.
• In consultation with the guidance of a medical provider, introduce gluten-containing foods between 4 and 6 months to infants at risk of CD, including infants with a parent or sibling with CD.
• Tailor food packages to substitute or remove gluten-containing foods.
• Educate participants on meeting nutritional needs in the absence of gluten-containing foods.
• Encourage high fiber, gluten-free grain selections.
• Monitor participant’s growth pattern and weight status.
• Educate participants on planning gluten-free meals and snacks for outside the home.
• Provide educational materials outlining allowed foods and foods to avoid, for example:

http://www.celiac.nih.gov/Default.aspx