Journal Article

Formative research to examine collaboration between special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children and head start programs

By Martin K, Wolff M, Lonczak M, Chambers M, Cooke C, Whitney G

WIC and Head Start (HS) programs both serve similar populations, and while HS is a day care program for low income children, it also provides nutritional services. Yet, limited overlap exists between both programs with only 20.6% of enrolled WIC participants adjunctively enrolled in HS. This study aimed to look at the possibility of establishing a collaboration between WIC and HS in order to effectively integrate them into the families they serve and allow them to maximize the benefits they would receive to their full capability. This collaboration is known as ‘inter-agency collaboration’ defined as an exchange of info and resources across different agencies for the purpose of improving services to children and families. This would allow families to receive the same information for both programs in order to emphasize its relevance, particularly in how it pertains to nutrition. This form of practice could potentially serve a variety of needs linked to several systems of care (ex: home, school and community). The study mentions some stressors in WIC participation, and acknowledges that families have competing priorities for their time and could subsequently affect their participation in the program. HS may be able to alleviate that unneeded stress.

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Date Added
May 6, 2019

Citation
Martin K, Wolff M, Lonczak M, Chambers M, Cooke C, Whitney G (2012) Formative research to examine collaboration between special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children and head start programs Journal of Maternal and Child Health, Vol.18, Issue 1, pp. 326-332. Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Formative+research+to+examine+collaboration+between+special+supplemental+nutrition+program+for+women+infants+and+children+and+head+start+programs.