'I Used to Get WIC . . . But Then I Stopped': How WIC Participants Perceive the Value and Burdens of Maintaining Benefits
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| Title: | 'I Used to Get WIC . . . But Then I Stopped': How WIC Participants Perceive the Value and Burdens of Maintaining Benefits |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Carolyn Barnes, Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Jill Hoiting |
| Source: | RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences. 2023 9(5):32-55. |
| Availability: | Russell Sage Foundation. 112 East 64th Street, New York, NY 10065. Tel: 212-750-6000; e-mail: journal@rsage.org; Web site: www.rsfjournal.org/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 24 |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Administration for Children and Families (DHHS), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Federal Programs, Welfare Services, Low Income Groups, Infants, Young Children, Eligibility, Poverty Programs, Hunger, Nutrition, Food, Females, Mother Attitudes, Program Attitudes, Administrative Policy, Participant Characteristics, Costs, Cost Effectiveness, Community Benefits |
| Geographic Terms: | Louisiana (New Orleans), New York (New York), Nebraska (Omaha), Minnesota (Saint Paul), Minnesota (Minneapolis) |
| ISSN: | 2377-8253 2377-8261 |
| Abstract: | This study examines how individuals assess administrative burdens and how these views change over time within the context of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides food to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age five. Using interview data from the Baby's First Years: Mothers' Voices study (n = 80), we demonstrate how the circumstances of family life, shifting food needs and preferences, and the receipt of other resources shape how mothers perceive the costs and benefits of program participation. We find that mothers' perceptions of WIC's costs and benefits vary over time and contribute to program participation trajectories, so many eligible people do not participate; need alone does not drive participation decisions. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1444420 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This study examines how individuals assess administrative burdens and how these views change over time within the context of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides food to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age five. Using interview data from the Baby's First Years: Mothers' Voices study (n = 80), we demonstrate how the circumstances of family life, shifting food needs and preferences, and the receipt of other resources shape how mothers perceive the costs and benefits of program participation. We find that mothers' perceptions of WIC's costs and benefits vary over time and contribute to program participation trajectories, so many eligible people do not participate; need alone does not drive participation decisions. |
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| ISSN: | 2377-8253 2377-8261 |
