Physical Presence and Vendor Monitoring

Bruce Hillman - Branch Chief, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA

Good morning Directors. Here is some guidance on questions concerning Physical Presence and Vendor Monitoring. I know this doesn’t address all of your questions but I thought this would be helpful as you respond to your local agencies and continue planning. I intend to have a conference call with you sometime next week so you can ask questions and all hear the same comments/questions/answers. I continue to ask for your patience and thank you for your leadership and responsiveness during this difficult time. Please be assured we are working to address your needs and concerns and will continue to communicate as much information and as quickly as we can.

Some WIC State agencies are asking for broad based waivers of the physical presence statutory requirement for all WIC applicants/participants. Under current law, individuals seeking certification or recertification are required to be physically present for eligibility determinations. The law allows for local agencies to waive the physical presence requirement for infants and children under certain circumstances. Those waivers cover the majority of WIC infants and children as long as they were present at their initial certification or are under 8 weeks of age. Additionally, those with disabilities, including pregnant women who are unable to be present due to complications as defined in 7 C.F.R. 246.7(o)(2), may be exempted from the physical presence requirement under the ADA. For your reference, I have included the infant and child circumstances below, as well as the regulatory definition of exceptions for disabilities.

Qualifying circumstances for infants and children, without a disability:

Infant under 8 weeks of age;
Infant who was present at the initial certification visit and is receiving ongoing health care;
Infant who was present at the initial certification appointment, and the most recent certification visit, and has one or more parents who work;
Child who was present at the initial certification visit and is receiving ongoing health care;
Child who was present at the initial certification appointment, and the most recent certification visit within the last year, and has one or more parents who work;

7 C.F.R. 246.7(o)(2)Exceptions—(i)Disabilities. The State or local agency must grant an exception to applicants who are qualified individuals with disabilities and are unable to be physically present at the WIC clinic because of their disabilities or applicants whose parents or caretakers are individuals with disabilities that meet this standard. Examples of such situations include:

(A) A medical condition that necessitates the use of medical equipment that is not easily transportable;

(B) A medical condition that requires confinement to bed rest; and

Additionally, we have received questions on whether vendor monitoring schedules can be modified so that vendors are not penalized because they may be running out of items due to COVID-19?

Under Program rules, WIC State agencies may not waive federal or State agency minimum stocking requirements (MSR) even if a State agency’s MSR is more extensive than the federal minimum requirements outlined at 7 CFR 246.12(g)(3)(i). However, WIC State agencies may develop or modify vendor monitoring schedules as they see fit, as long as they conduct routine monitoring on at least 5% of all WIC vendors authorized as of 10/1 of the current fiscal year. Similarly, WIC State agencies may choose not to reassess vendors for compliance with current selection criteria during a disaster. Finally, WIC State agencies may update their MSR or develop disaster MSR (and policies/procedures for implementation) at any time.

Finally, please continue to reach out to us directly on any programmatic questions. State agencies do not need a formal waiver approval from FNS exercise these options as described; however, we ask that you continue to notify us of any COVID19 requests so we can continue to provide consistent TA to you and stay informed of operations in your SA.