Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Program changes make WIC enrollment easier for some mothers

Families enrolled in the state’s Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship will now be automatically eligible for the Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, program.

WIC provides food assistance, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling as well as other health services. The program is for low-income pregnant women and families with children younger than five years old.

Families who receive child care benefits can call their local WIC office to enroll.

State health officials say both programs serve the same families. The change aims to make it easier for families to receive benefits.

More than 13,000 women and children are enrolled in WIC, but about a little over half of families that are eligible don’t participate in the program.

Aaron graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism in 2015 after interning at Minnesota Public Radio. He landed his first reporting gig in Wrangell, Alaska where he enjoyed the remote Alaskan lifestyle and eventually moved back to the road system as the KBBI News Director in Homer, Alaska. He joined the MTPR team in 2019. Aaron now reports on all things in northwest Montana and statewide health care.
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information