§246.14. Program costs. — Inbound Citations

(c) A controlled substance analogue (having the meaning given it in section 102(32) of the Controlled Substance Act (21 U.S.C. 802(32)).

Dual participation means simultaneous participation in the Program in one or more than one WIC clinic, or participation in the Program and in the CSFP during the same period of time.

EBT Capable means the WIC vendor demonstrates their cash register system or payment device can accurately and securely obtain WIC food balances associated with an EBT card, maintain the necessary files such as the authorized product list, hot card file and claim file and successfully complete WIC EBT purchases.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) means a method that permits electronic access to WIC food benefits using a card or other access device approved by the Secretary.

Electronic signature means an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or associated with an application or other record and executed and or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.

Emergency period means a period during which there exists:

(1) Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).

(2) Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).

(3) A public health emergency declared by the Secretary of HHS under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).

(4) Employee fraud and abuse means the intentional conduct of a State, local agency or clinic employee which violates program regulations, policies, or procedures, including, but not limited to, misappropriating or altering food instruments or cash-value vouchers, entering false or misleading information in case records, or creating case records for fictitious participants.

Exempt infant formula means an infant formula that meets the requirements for an exempt infant formula under section 412(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350a(h)) and the regulations at 21 CFR parts 106 and 107.

Family means a group of related or nonrelated individuals who are living together as one economic unit, except that residents of a homeless facility or an institution shall not all be considered as members of a single family.

Farmer means an individual authorized by the State agency to sell eligible fruits and vegetables to participants at a farmers' market or roadside stands. Individuals who exclusively sell produce grown by someone else, such as wholesale distributors, cannot be authorized.

Farmers' market means an association of local farmers who assemble at a defined location for the purpose of selling their produce directly to consumers.

Fiscal year means the period of 12 calendar months beginning October 1 of any calendar year and ending September 30 of the following calendar year.

FNS means the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Food costs means the costs of supplemental foods, determined in accordance with § 246.14(b).

Food delivery system means the method used by State and local agencies to provide supplemental foods to participants.

Food instrument means a voucher, check, electronic benefits transfer card (EBT), coupon or other document which is used by a participant to obtain supplemental foods.

Food sales means sales of all SNAP eligible foods intended for home preparation and consumption, including meat, fish, and poultry; bread and cereal products; dairy products; fruits and vegetables. Food items such as condiments and spices, coffee, tea, cocoa, and carbonated and noncarbonated drinks may be included in food sales when offered for sale along with foods in the categories identified above. Food sales do not include sales of any items that cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits, such as hot foods or food that will be eaten in the store.

Full nutrition benefit means the minimum amount of reconstituted fluid ounces of liquid concentrate infant formula as specified in Table 1 of § 246.10(e)(9) for each food package category and infant feeding variation (e.g., Food Package IA fully formula fed, IA-FF).

Health services means ongoing, routine pediatric and obstetric care (such as infant and child care and prenatal and postpartum examinations) or referral for treatment.

High-risk vendor means a vendor identified as having a high probability of committing a vendor violation through application of the criteria established in § 246.12(j)(3) and any additional criteria established by the State agency.

Home food delivery contractor means a sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperative association, corporation, or other business entity that contracts with a State agency to deliver authorized supplemental foods to the residences of participants under a home food delivery system.

Homeless facility means the following types of facilities which provide meal service. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter (including a welfare hotel or congregate shelter) designed to provide temporary living accommodations; a facility that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or a public or private place not designed for, or normally used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Homeless individual means a woman, infant or child:

(4) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

IHS means the Indian Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Infant formula means a food that meets the definition of an infant formula in section 201(z) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(z)) and that meets the requirements for an infant formula under section 412 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350a) and the regulations at 21 CFR parts 106 and 107.

Institution means any residential accommodation which provides meal service, except private residences and homeless facilities.

Infants means persons under one year of age.

Inventory audit means the examination of food invoices or other proofs of purchase to determine whether a vendor has purchased sufficient quantities of supplemental foods to provide participants the quantities specified on food instruments redeemed by the vendor during a given period of time.

Local agency means: (a) A public or private, nonprofit health or human service agency which provides health services, either directly or through contract, in accordance with § 246.5; (b) an IHS service unit; (c) an Indian tribe, band or group recognized by the Department of the Interior which operates a health clinic or is provided health services by an IHS service unit; or (d) an intertribal council or group that is an authorized representative of Indian tribes, bands or groups recognized by the Department of the Interior, which operates a health clinic or is provided health services by an IHS service unit.

Members of populations means persons with a common special need who do not necessarily reside in a specific geographic area, such as off-reservation Indians or migrant farmworkers and their families.

Migrant farmworker means an individual whose principal employment is in agriculture on a seasonal basis, who has been so employed within the last 24 months, and who establishes, for the purposes of such employment, a temporary abode.

Multi-function equipment means Point-of-Sale equipment obtained by a WIC vendor through commercial suppliers, which is capable of supporting WIC EBT and other payment tender types.

Net price means the difference between an infant formula manufacturer's lowest national wholesale price per unit for a full truckload of infant formula and the rebate level or the discount offered or provided by the manufacturer under an infant formula cost containment contract.

Non-contract brand infant formula means all infant formula, including exempt infant formula, that is not covered by an infant formula cost containment contract awarded by that State agency.

Nonprofit agency means a private agency which is exempt from income tax under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.

Nutrition education means individual and group sessions and the provision of materials that are designed to improve health status and achieve positive change in dietary and physical activity habits, and that emphasize the relationship between nutrition, physical activity, and health, all in keeping with the personal and cultural preferences of the individual.

Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) Costs means those direct and indirect costs, exclusive of food costs, as defined in § 246.14(c), which State and local agencies determine to be necessary to support Program operations. Costs include, but are not limited to, the costs of Program administration, start-up, monitoring, auditing, the development of and accountability for food delivery systems, nutrition education and breastfeeding promotion and support, outreach, certification, and developing and printing food instruments and cash-value vouchers.

Nutritional risk means: (a) Detrimental or abnormal nutritional conditions detectable by biochemical or anthropometric measurements; (b) Other documented nutritionally related medical conditions; (c) Dietary deficiencies that impair or endanger health; (d) Conditions that directly affect the nutritional health of a person, including alcoholism or drug abuse; or (e) Conditions that predispose persons to inadequate nutritional patterns or nutritionally related medical conditions, including, but not limited to, homelessness and migrancy.

OIG means the Department's Office of the Inspector General.

Other harmful substances means other substances such as tobacco, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications that can be harmful to the health of the WIC population, especially the pregnant woman and her fetus.

Partially-redeemed food instrument means a paper food instrument which is redeemed for less than all of the supplemental foods authorized for that food instrument.

Participant violation means any deliberate action of a participant, parent, or caretaker of an infant or child participant, or proxy that violates Federal or State statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures governing the Program. Participant violations include, but are not limited to, deliberately making false or misleading statements or deliberately misrepresenting, concealing, or withholding facts, to obtain benefits; selling or offering to sell WIC benefits, cash-value vouchers, paper food instruments, EBT cards, supplemental foods, or breast pumps in person, in print, or online; exchanging or attempting to exchange WIC benefits, cash-value vouchers, paper food instruments, EBT cards, supplemental foods, or breast pumps for cash, credit, services, non-food items, or unauthorized food items, including supplemental foods in excess of those listed on the participant's food instrument; threatening to harm or physically harming clinic, farmer, farmers' market, or vendor staff; and dual participation.

Participants means pregnant women, breastfeeding women, postpartum women, infants and children who are receiving supplemental foods or food instruments or cash-value vouchers under the Program, and the breastfed infants of participant breastfeeding women.

Participation means the sum of:

(i) For purposes of establishing a State agency's prior year food grant and base NSA grant under paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (c)(3)(i) of this section, respectively, amounts converted from food funds to NSA funds under paragraphs (f) and (g) of this section and § 246.14(e) during the preceding fiscal year will be treated as though no conversion had taken place.