Table Of ContentEstimating
Eligibility
and
Participation
for the
WIC Program
Phase I Report
Panel to Evaluate the USDA’s Methodology for Estimating
Eligibility and Participation for the WIC Program
Michele Ver Ploeg and David M. Betson, Editors
Committee on National Statistics
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, DC
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing
Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils
of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the
Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were
chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. 53-3198-0-012 between the National Acad-
emy of Sciences and the United States Department of Agriculture. Any opinions, find-
ings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that
provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number 0-309-07590-4
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academy Press, 2101
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, D.C. 20055; (800) 624-6242
or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://
www.nap.edu
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Suggested citation:
National Research Council (2001) Estimating Eligibility and Participation for the WIC
Program: Phase I Report. Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education. Michele Ver Ploeg and David M. Betson (Eds.), Wash-
ington, DC: National Academy Press.
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of
distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the
furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the
authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a
mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical
matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of
the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers.
It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with
the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal govern-
ment. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed
at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the supe-
rior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National
Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sci-
ences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the
examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts
under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional
charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to
identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is presi-
dent of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences
in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s
purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in
accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become
the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the Na-
tional Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and
the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly
by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William
A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
PANEL TO EVALUATE THE USDA’S METHODOLOGY FOR
ESTIMATING ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION FOR THE
WIC PROGRAM
DAVID M. BETSON (Chair), Department of Economics, University of
Notre Dame
PAUL BUESCHER, Statistical Services Branch, North Carolina State
Center for Health Statistics
ALICIA CARRIQUIRY, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University
JANET CURRIE, Department of Economics, University of California,
Los Angeles
JULIE DaVANZO, RAND, Santa Monica, California
JOHN F. GEWEKE, Department of Economics, University of Iowa
DAVID GREENBERG, Department of Economics, University of
Maryland, Baltimore County
ROBERT P. INMAN, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
JAMES LEPKOWSKI, Institute for Social Research, University of
Michigan
JOHN KARL SCHOLZ, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of
Wisconsin, Madison
CAROL WEST SUITOR, Consultant, Northfield, Vermont
MICHELE VER PLOEG, Study Director
CONSTANCE F. CITRO, Senior Program Officer
JAMIE CASEY, Senior Project Assistant
MICHAEL SIRI, Project Assistant
v
COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS
2000-2001
JOHN E. ROLPH (Chair), Marshall School of Business, University of
Southern California
JOSEPH G. ALTONJI, Department of Economics, Northwestern
University
LAWRENCE D. BROWN, Department of Statistics, University of
Pennsylvania
JULIE DAVANZO, RAND, Santa Monica, California
ROBERT M. GROVES, Joint Program in Survey Methodology,
University of Maryland, College Park
JOEL HOROWITZ, Department of Economics, University of Iowa
HERMANN HABERMANN, Statistics Division, United Nations
WILLIAM KALSBEEK, Department of Biostatistics, University of
North Carolina
RODERICK J.A. LITTLE, School of Public Health, University of
Michigan
THOMAS A. LOUIS, RAND, Arlington, Virginia
DARYL PREGIBON, AT&T Laboratories-Research, Florham Park,
New Jersey
FRANCISCO J. SAMANIEGO, Division of Statistics, University of
California, Davis
RICHARD L. SCHMALENSEE, Sloan School of Management,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ANDREW A. WHITE, Director
vi
Acknowledgments
The Panel to Evaluate the USDA’s Methodology for Estimating Eligi-
bility and Participation for the WIC Program wishes to thank the many
people and institutions that contributed to the preparation of this interim
report. Without their help, the panel could not have completed this initial
examination within the short time frame provided for in the first phase of
the project. As chair of the panel, I want to thank my fellow panel members
for their commitment to the work of the panel under a rather demanding
time schedule. Their quick and constructive responses to the numerous
drafts of the report and follow-up emails made meeting the deadlines
possible.
The panel wishes to thank the staff of the Food and Nutritional Service
(FNS) for their patient explanation of the many rules and regulations per-
taining to the WIC program: Jay Hirschman, Cindy Long, Dawn Aldridge,
and Stefanie Schmidt. We also wish to acknowledge David Smallwood for
his role as a liaison to the panel with the Economic Research Service (ERS),
the funding agency for this project.
In the preparation of this report, the panel convened two meetings.
The initial open meeting of the panel was held on December 8, 2000. At
this meeting, informative and helpful presentations on the regulations and
operation of the WIC program were provided by Cindy Long and Debbie
Whitford of FNS; Anne Gordon of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
(MPR); and Robert Greenstein and Leighton Ku of the Center for Budget
Priorities and Policy.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The second open meeting of the panel was convened on March 15-16,
2001, for the purpose of gathering background information relevant to the
estimation of eligibility and participation in the WIC program. The panel
wishes to acknowledge the presentation at the workshop by Gregory Spen-
cer of the Census Bureau; Booker Smith of Ross Laboratories; Marie Louise
Harrell of Sigma One Corporation; Carole Trippe and Allen Schirm of
MPR Inc.; Jenny Kenney and Lisa Dubay of the Urban Institute; Michael
Brien of the University of Virginia; and Julie Kresge of FNS. The panel
also greatly appreciated the panel discussion of four state WIC directors:
Phyllis Bramson-Paul of California; Alice Lenihan of North Carolina; Frank
Maisano of Pennsylvania; and Peggy Trouba of Nebraska.
The panel could not have completed their work without the assistance
of Linda Giannarelli, Joyce Morton, Paul Johnson, and Laura Wheaton of
the Urban Institute. Their original empirical work conducted for the panel
represents the core evidence that we utilized in drafting this report. The
panel also wishes to thank Sheila Zedlewski and the Urban Institute who
made this work possible.
The panel was assisted by a very able staff. The work of the panel
could not have been completed without the assistance of Michele Ver Ploeg,
the study director. Shelly’s preparations of the various drafts of the report
and attention to the overall project contributed to the timely completion of
the report. Also we would like to thank Constance Citro, senior program
officer at the National Research Council for her advice and counsel during
this first phase of the panel’s work. Finally, the panel acknowledges the able
project and research assistance provided by Jamie Casey, Marisa Gerstein,
and Michael Siri.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for
their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with proce-
dures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC) Report Review
Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid
and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its pub-
lished report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets insti-
tutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study
charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to
protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the
following individuals for their review of this report: Michael J. Brien,
Department of Economics, University of Virginia; Mary Kay Fox, Abt
Associates, Cambridge, MA; Hermann Habermann, Statistics Division,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
United Nations; Gordon Lewis, School of Urban and Public Affairs,
Carnegie Mellon; Cynthia Miller, Manpower Demonstration Research
Corporation, New York, NY; Jeffrey Moore, Center for Survey Methods
Research/Statistical Research Division, U.S. Census Bureau; and Bruce D.
Spencer, Department of Statistics, Northwestern University.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive
comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions
or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its
release. The review of this report was overseen by Robert Moffitt, Depart-
ment of Economics, Johns Hopkins University. Appointed by the National
Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an indepen-
dent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institu-
tional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered.
Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the
authoring committee and the institution.
David M. Betson, Chair
Panel to Evaluate the USDA’s Methodology
for Estimating Eligibility and Participation
for the WIC Program
