Manifest and Latent Functions of Wic

Due to the stratification in the American social system and constant existence of the poor the government has set up certain welfare programs to help out the lower working class and poor.
Among these programs, WIC was developed. WIC is a supplemental nutrition program that provides nutritious food, nutrition counseling, and referrals to health and other social services to

participants at no charge. It is a federally funded program for which congress authorizes a

specific amount of funding each year for operations. The Food and Nutrition Service provides

these funds to WIC state agencies in which they distribute special WIC foods, nutrition

counseling and education, and administrative costs. (Caan 1997)

WIC provides services nation wide through all fifty states, thirty three Indian Tribal

Organizations, District of Colombia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These eighty-

eight WIC state agencies administer the program through 2,200 local agencies and 9,000 clinic

sites. (Caan 1997) More than 7.5 million people get WIC benefits each month. In 1974, the first

year WIC was permanently authorized, 88,000 people participated. By 1980, participation was

estimated at 1.9 million recipients and by 1900, 4.5 million. During the fiscal year of 2003, 7.63

million people received some form of WIC. Of all eligible women, infants, and children, the

program is estimated to serve about 93%. (Caan 1997) WIC services are provided in county

health departments, hospitals, mobile clinics (vans), community centers, schools, public housing

sites, churches, and migrant health centers and camps. In communities nation wide, there is

usually a posting in newspapers of the times and locations of clinics to keep all interested,

informed.

Pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five are eligible for WIC.

Candidate recipients must meet income guidelines, a state residency requirement, and be

individually determined to be at "nutrition risk" by a health professional. Two major types of

nutrition risks are recognized by WIC, which leads to eligibility. The first is medically-based

risks such as anemia, being underweight, overweight, a history of pregnancy complications,

and/or poor pregnancy outcomes. The second risk is dietary, such as failure to meet the dietary

guidelines or inappropriate nutrition practices. Nutrition risk is determined by a health

professional such as a physician, nutritionist, or nurse, and is aided on federal guidelines.

(Heimendigner, 1994)

In regards to choice of health professionals, such as physicians and nutritionist, one latent

function of WIC that is commonly overlooked is the fact that their clients may be forced to retain

services from professionals who are "poorly trained" or "too incompetent to attract more affluent

clients." (Gans) This may be said due to the fact that the middle and upper class society may

choose to go to special and private clinics, which are more expensive and generally only run by

doctors and professionals who are highly respected and prominent in society. This practice keeps

the social gap in society visible, in terms of health care.

In most WIC state agencies, WIC participants receive checks or vouchers to purchase

specific foods each month that are designed to supplement their diets. A few state agencies

distribute the WIC foods through warehouses or deliver the foods to participant 's homes. The

food provided are high in one or more of the following nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, and the

vitamins A and C. These are the nutrients frequently lacking in the diets of the program 's target

population. Different food packages are provided for different categories of participants. WIC

foods include iron-fortified infant formula and infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin

C-rich fruit or vegetable juice, eggs, milk, cheese, peanut butter, dried beans/peas, tuna fish and

carrots. Special therapeutic infant formulas and medical foods are provided when prescribed by

a physician for a special medical condition. (Kennedy, 1992)

There are certain people who get first priority when it comes to WIC programs. WIC

cannot serve all the eligible people, so a system of priorities has been established for filling

program openings. (Gordon, 1995) Once a local WIC agency has reached its maximum caseload,

vacancies are filled in the order of the following priority levels: Pregnant women, breast-feeding

women, and infants determined to be at nutrition risk because of a nutrition-related medical

condition. Second, infants up to six months of age whose mothers participated in WIC or could

have participated and had a serious medical problem. Third, children (up to age five) at nutrition

risk because of a nutrition-related medical problem. Fourth, pregnant or breast-feeding women

and infants at nutrition risk because of an inadequate dietary pattern. Next, non-breast-feeding,

postpartum women with any nutrition risk. Lastly, individuals at nutrition risk only because they

are homeless or migrants, and current participants who, without WIC foods, could continue to

have medical and/or dietary problems. (Gordon 1995)

Another latent function of WIC is the fact that they do not reward their best clients or

practice the notion of "creaming for the best clients" and give the most benefits to the clients that

may be seen as the worst off. This idea does not seem fair in society and would not reward

patients who may be better off because of the program or the clients that still need help but are

not too bad off. This practice would logically lead to many mothers and children that are marginally healthy but can never be completely healthy due to the fact that their needs are not

great enough for the system to recognize them.

The WIC program also has an infant formula rebate system. Mothers are always

encouraged to breast-feed their infants if possible, but WIC state agencies provide infant formula

for mother who choose to use this feeding method. WIC agencies are required by law to have

competitively bid infant formula rebate contracts with infant formula manufacturers. (Gordon

1995) This means WIC agencies agree to provide one brand of infant formula and in return the

manufacturer gives the state agency a rebate for each can of infant formula purchased by WIC

participants. The brand of infant formula provided by WIC varies from state agency to state

agency depending on which company has the rebate contract in a particular state. By negotiating

rebates with formula manufacturers, states are able to serve more people. For fiscal year 2003,

rebate savings were $1.52 billion, supporting an average of 1.9 million participants each month,

or 25% of the estimated average monthly caseload. (Gordon, 1995)

The other great programs that go along with the WIC program, one being the Farmers '

Market Nutrition program. The FMNP, established in 1992, provides additional coupons to WIC

participants that they may use to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers '

markets. FMNP is funded through a congressionally mandated set-aside in the WIC

appropriation. The program has two goals: To provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally

grown, fresh fruits and vegetables, from farmers ' markets to WIC participants who are at

nutritional risk. Generally in New York State Farmers ' Markets are open from approximately

July first until November fifteenth. (Kennedy, 1992) Although this program is beneficial to

recipients of WIC, it may be argued that a hidden latent function of the FMNP is that during the months of December-June the recipients may become unhealthy and possibly ill due to the loss

of vitamins and nutrients they were consuming during the summer months.

WIC helps in many more ways than just having programs such as the Farmers ' Markets,

it also saves lives and improves the health of nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children.

Studies have shown that WIC is one of the nation 's most successful and cost effective nutrition

intervention programs. Research has also shown that the WIC program has been playing an

important role in improving birth outcomes and containing health care costs. Studies have found

that WIC has a positive effect on children 's diets and diet related outcomes such as higher mean

intake of iron, vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, and vitamin B6, without an increase in food energy

intake, positive effects on the intakes of ten nutrients without an adverse effect on fat or

cholesterol, and more effective that other cash income or food stamps at improving preschoolers '

intake of key nutrients. (Caan, 1997)

WIC is a wonderful program that is improving not only its programs each year, but

helping improve the lives of low income mothers and children every day. WIC provides a great

supply of nutritious food counseling for people in society who need it the most. Although WIC

is very beneficial to society, it also has a few latent functions that are not as easily recognized or

may not be beneficial to the people or program. Regardless, WIC is a program that hopefully

will continued to be properly funded and help families for many years to come.

Works Cited

Caan, B. (1997). Benefits associated with WIC supplemental Feeding During the Interpregnancy Interval. American. Clinic Nutrition.

Gordon, Anne. (1995). Characteristics and Outcomes of WIC Participants and Nonparticipants. Department of Agriculture, March 1995.

Heimendinger, J. (1994). The Effects of The WIC Program on the growth of Infants. Virginia.

Kennedy, E.T. (1992) Evaluation of the Effect of WIC Supplemental Feeding on Birth Weight. New York.

Herbert J. Gans. The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All. Social Policy July/August 1971: pp. 20-24.

Cited: Caan, B. (1997). Benefits associated with WIC supplemental Feeding During the Interpregnancy Interval. American. Clinic Nutrition. Gordon, Anne. (1995). Characteristics and Outcomes of WIC Participants and Nonparticipants. Department of Agriculture, March 1995. Heimendinger, J. (1994). The Effects of The WIC Program on the growth of Infants. Virginia. Kennedy, E.T. (1992) Evaluation of the Effect of WIC Supplemental Feeding on Birth Weight. New York. Herbert J. Gans. The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All. Social Policy July/August 1971: pp. 20-24.