Summary: The directors of local agencies administering the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have taken various steps to improve the program's accessibility to working women. The two most often cited strategies are (1) scheduling appointments instead of taking participants on a first-come, first-served basis and (2) allowing someone other than the participant to pick up the food vouchers or checks, as well as nutrition information, and pass these benefits on to the participant. These strategies seek to reduce the amount of time that participants must spend at the clinic. Although three-fourths of the local WIC agencies offer appointments during the lunch hour, only about one-tenth offer Saturday appointments, about one-fifth offer early morning appointments, and less than half offer evening appointments. Seventy-six percent of the directors of local WIC agencies believe that their clinics are reasonably accessible to working women. The directors cited several factors that limit WIC participation by working women, including (1) loss of interest in the program as income increases, (2) a perceived stigma attached to WIC benefits, and (3) a belief that the program is restricted to those who do not work. Directors less frequently identified other factors, such as the lack of adequate public transportation and long waits at clinics.
