NUTRITION SERVICES OF WESTERN MAINE COMMUNITYACTION

1. Child Care and Adult Food Program (CCAFP) serves Franklin County Women, Infants and Children’s Program (WIC) serves Oxford, Franklin, and Androscoggin Counties NUTRITION SERVICES OF WESTERN MAINE COMMUNITYACTION

2. Child Care and Adult Food Program • The Child Care and Adult Food Program (CCAFP) provides reimbursement to child care providers so they can provide nutritious meals to the children enrolled for care.

3. Who can apply? • Any licensed Family Child Care provider or legal unlicensed provider who receives reimbursement for child care through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Aspire, or Finders Seekers.

4. Numbers Served • Western Maine Community Action CCAFP is serving 55 home day care providers this year. • 588 children are enrolled in these provider homes. • $239,325 was paid to day care providers in Franklin County in FY 05.

5. Program Costs • Salaries $24, 444 • Benefits 11,197 • Indirect Allocation 6,074 • Audit Expense 1,168 • Equipment 1,112 • Materials & Supplies 659 • Space & Telephone 4,268 • Travel 1,867 • Computer Allocation 972 • Space 3,171

6. Other Benefits • Monthly meetings provide opportunity to connect with other day care providers for updates and trainings • Quarterly newsletters for all providers that offer information on other area services along with health and nutrition information and children’s activities • Access to bulk ordering of art supplies and book orders

7. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children • The Women, Infants, and Children’s Program provides health education and nutritious foods to eligible families

8. Who we serve • Pregnant Women • Breastfeeding Women • Postpartum Women • Infants • Children up to age 5

9. Who can apply for WIC? • Single and or married families • Foster families • Custodial grandparents • Employed or unemployed

10. Qualifications • Income • Medical or Nutritional Risk that would benefit from program services • Anthropometric (Heights or weights) • Hematological (Blood values) • Medical • Poor feeding relationships

11. What happens at a WIC appointment? • Staff verify proof of income, residence, and identification • Heights, weights, and hemoglobin testing • Participant meets with Nutrition Counselor who determines eligibility and provides health education and referrals • Participant receives food vouchers for specific foods

12. Income Guidelines 185% poverty guidelines • $470/week gross for a family of 2 or $24,420/year • $712/week gross for family of 4 or $37,000/year • $954/week gross for family of 6 or $49,580/year Updated 4/06

13. Services Provided • Nutrition and Health Counseling • Health Education and Social Services Referrals • Breastfeeding Support • Supplementary Foods

14. Referrals • Programs of WMCA • Family Planning • Physicians • Lead Screening • Head Start • Smoking Cessation • Breastfeeding Support • Food Pantry • Child Development Service

15. Supplemental Foodsfor Women and Children • Milk • Cheese • Juice • Peanut Butter • Dried Beans, Peas, Lentils • Eggs • Cereal • Carrots and Tuna for breastfeeding women

16. Supplemental Foods for Infants • All Infants • Cereal and Juice at 6 months • Non Breastfed Infants • Infant Formula • State Contract formula unless medical contraindication

17. How is Food Provided? • Participants receive vouchers that are used at local grocery stores to purchase specific foods.

18. Caseload • FY 04-05 3394 average per month • Anticipated for FY 05-06 3500 average per month

19. Kingfield 31 East Wilton 397 Jay 189 Rumford 301 Bethel 42 Norway 365 Auburn 1871 Buckfield 47 Mechanic Falls 44 Fryeburg 75 Phillips 32 (data from FY 04-05) Average Monthly Client Count(by clinic site)

20. Value of Food Provided Fiscal Year 2005-2006 • $1,958,113 • Average food value per participant • $47.72 per month

21. Administrative Budget • FY 05-06 • $555,895 • FY 04-05 • $521,187

22. Program Costs • Salaries $287,000 • Benefits 99,000 • Equipment 500 • Rent 48,000 • Telephone 15,000 • Materials & Supplies 7,300 • Travel 11,650 • Postage 750 • Indirect 64,000 • Auditing Expense 7,200 • Technology Support 3,700 • Staff Training 5,800 • Medical Waste Removal 2,600 • Other 3,400

23. Community Connections • Healthy Androscoggin Board of Directors • Healthy Androscoggin Nutrition and Physical Education Committees • Androscoggin Head Start Health Advisory Board • Androscoggin Head Start Policy Council • Knit baby items for March of Dimes Preemie Baby Campaign • Participate yearly in March of Dimes Walk America • Steering Committee for Mercury Education Handouts • Mount Vernon Community Center Board of Directors

24. Comments From Participants • “I had my baby 4 weeks early. The support I received from WIC staff was incredible. I never could have done it without them.” WIC mom

25. “Everyone at WIC cares so much about me and my kids. They provide great advice on how to take care of my family. I would be lost without them.” WIC mom

26. Special Programs • Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program • “A Colorful Plate”-Maine Nutrition Network • March of Dimes-”Screen Test” Project • Breastfeeding Peer Counseling

27. Farmers Market Nutrition Program • Participants receive vouchers to purchase Maine grown fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets • $10 for children • $20 for pregnant and breastfeeding women • $10,120 was spent at local farmer’s markets in the summer of 2005

28. A Colorful PlateCooking classes for Somali Refugee Participants • Grant from Maine Nutrition Network to provide cooking classes and food demonstrations to introduce refugee participants to locally grown produce • 8 classes with 40 women attending • 1 class at Kennedy Park Farmer’s Market with numerous children attending

29. March of Dimes“Screen Test” Project • Referrals will be made to TCHS to increase the number of women receiving screening, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections. This will reduce the rate of premature birth and birth defects.

30. Breastfeeding Peer Counseling • One of two WIC programs in the state chosen to participate in Peer Counseling • Budget of $37,687 for FY 05-06 • Hired 4 Peer Counselors for up to 10 hours per week each to provide phone support to pregnant and breastfeeding WIC participants • As of March 1, 2006 Peer Counselors have made phone calls to 50 women

31. Other Partnerships • Healthy Androscoggin-Provide training and guidance for tobacco and substance abuse issues • Healthy Community Coalition-Provide group education classes for staff and participants on stress • Sisters of Charity Health Systems-Coordination of services for refugee participants • Coordination of services with Community Concepts for CCDF Child Care Homes in Franklin County • Joint meetings with Home Start through Community Concepts • University of Maine Cooperative Extension- Provide group education classes on Farmer’s Market and their “Eat Well Program”

32. Our Greatest Strength • Dedicated staff who are committed to providing quality services to our families in need.

33. 115 years of WIC experience and 20 plus years of CCAFP experience 7 staff have worked for WIC or CCAFP for 15 or more years (2) 4 year Nutrition Degrees (2) 4 year Health Education Degrees (4) 2 year Dietetic Technology Degree (6) Certified Lactation Counselors (CLC) (1) Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Staff Qualifications

34. Challenges Ahead • Flat Funding-Need to do more with less • Ethnic Diversity-Approximately 175 refugee families in the Auburn office • Staff Recruitment and Retention-Higher wages in clinical settings • Need for child care in Franklin County is decreasing as more families are moving away for better employment opportunities

35. Contact Information • Auburn-serving Androscoggin and So. Oxford Counties 79 Main Street, Auburn 1-207-795-4016 or toll free 1-877-512-8856 • East Wilton-serving Franklin and No. Oxford Counties 859 US Rt. 2 East, East Wilton 1-207-645-3764 or toll free 1-800-645-9636 • State WIC Agency 1-800-437-9300 or TTY 1-800-438-5514 • Visit us on the web: www.wmca.org www.wicforme.com