JRW EBT WIC in Pennsylvania

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 07 April 2010 18:01 Written by Administrator Monday, 05 April 2010 03:29

JRW Service Corp’s John Weathersby has been selected by the Pennsylvania WIC Program to assist and consult in the creation of the Commonwealth’s IAPD documentation and

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA).  Mr. Weathersby began with the Commonwealth in November of 2009 and will have a completed documentation set by December 2010.  The JRW Service Corp methodologies, approach to analysis, and planning will be used in support of the Commonwealth’s objectives. 

JRW will work with the Program to apply the Commonwealth specific operations to the USDA CBA national model.  JRW assist the Commonwealth with determining its operating costs and projecting costs of various eWIC solutions.

Because of our extensive EBT, eWIC, and retail industry experience, systems development, and implementation planning experience JRW brings a leverageable base of knowledge to the Pennsylvania WIC Program.

JRW will lead the Commonwealth to selecting the most beneficial and fiscally sustainable solution, using the national CBA format, that takes advantage of their system platform and available program staff.

JRW’s goal in working with a WIC Program planning their EBT implementation is to ensure the planning which goes into selecting a technology, for operational changes, and the analysis of financial impact, ensures the change will result in a positive change for the program. 

EBT’s benefit’s all flow out from the participant.  Any change to the WIC Program should take a client centric approach.  All changes should result in a better program for the client, be fiscally sustainable, and ensure smoother leaner operations.  As such, JRW will seek to ensure the Pennsylvania WIC Program planning works to meet these goals in seeking to select and plan for the Pennsylvania EBT solution.

 
 

Pueblo of Isleta WIC EBT Implementation

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Last Updated on Thursday, 15 October 2009 05:58 Written by Administrator Thursday, 15 October 2009 05:49

WIC EBT Smartcard

EBT is NOW a present reality for the Pueblo of Isleta WIC Program.   The Pueblo issued their first EBT WIC card on their offline EBT system on October 1 of 2009.  The Pueblo’s system fully satisfied the requirements of the USDA for system readiness and of the new food rule and the management of the project was provided by the Pueblos WIC EBT Consultant, JRW Service Corp.  The Pueblo’s system uses a smart card to provide the normal WIC prescription in addition to the Cash Value Benefits of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables items.  The Pueblo used the services of JRW Service Corps WIC Consulting  to plan and carry out their time pressured WIC EBT implementation.

JRW Service Corp’s WIC consulting team managed all aspects of the Pueblo’s EBT system implementation.  JRW worked closely with the Pueblo and other key staff designing the transfer of an existing EBT functional system into the Pueblo WIC Program.  The offline EBT option provided the Pueblo the ability to quickly configure systems in their clinic and within their IT infrastructure allowing them to go live with EBT issuance and redemption within five (5) months.

JRW worked with the Program to plan their systems upgrade strategy, help the program to navigate and plan for WIC client data migration, and will ensured overall success brining EBT functionally to the Pueblo and its WIC recipients.  Further, JRW worked managing relationships with local, regional, and national vendors ensuring readiness of integrated systems to receive benefits and provide new food rule items.

JRW planned with the Pueblos banking contractor and formula contract vendors plans to quickly accommodate the Pueblos needs.  This fast action allowed the Pueblo to quickly and easily make the Offline EBT WIC conversion without degraded service level.

JRW provided project management over the WIC EBT implementation effort and management of vendor relationships in addition to WIC EBT Consulting.  Working to plan the project for the Pueblo allowed the Project team to work towards the plan against measureable and realistic goals.  JRW Service Corp defined and managed risk on the project further ensuring a timely and high quality implementation.

The Pueblo of Isleta WIC program can now offer electronic benefits using the offline WIC EBT system.  As such, the Pueblo is afforded a greater level of control over food items provided to clients and can provide clients with a continent intuitive and easy method of redeeming benefits.  At the same time, the Pueblo WIC Program is afforded a great deal of insight into the shopping habits of participants and armed with data that allows them to make real and educated decisions.

JRW’s work with the motivated Pueblo of Isleta WIC team was a pleasurable experience and has provide the Pueblo with an implementation of EBT WIC to be proud of.

JRW’s EBT implementation and EBT consulting bring peace of mind our clients rest knowing that our IT systems implementation experience in close combination with our unique WIC EBT implementation and EBT systems consulting experience are at work for them.  JRW’s expertise from funding request, to and through planning, and from implementation and beyond are what make our team the most knowledgeable and helpful EBT Consulting agencies in the WIC market.

 

WIC EBT Implementation

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:13 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:01

On 18 June 2009, JRW Service Corp was awarded the Isleta WIC Program’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) implementation project. 

JRW Service Corp will plan the Programs systems upgrade strategy, help the program to navigate and plan for data migration, and will ensure overall success brining EBT functionally to the Pueblo and its WIC recipients. 

JRW Service Corp is highly experienced in EBT Implementation and brings the knowledge from having managed EBT Systems Implementations and development in addition to having conducted and reviewed client satisfaction and Program performance reporting.  JRW understands the details of WIC Program requirements described under 7 CFR Part 246 lending JRW fully able to assist WIC Programs in their analysis of Program implementation options.

JRW Service Corp’s project management services over the WIC Programs implementation will include regular status meetings covering upcoming project milestones, goals, action items, and assignments.  Moreover, JRW will track the WIC Programs EBT Project, status of tasks, within the immediate scope of the project activities. 

Further, JRW will create and manage the project plan including detailed schedule of events, tasks, and milestones.  JRWs close management of the project schedule baseline will help to ensure the successful and smooth implementation of the WIC EBT and new food rule logic into the system, including the issuance and redemption of EBT WIC benefits now including Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (FFV/FFB).

JRW will assist in a hands on fashion with certification of vendors into the vendor’s new EBT WIC Redemption program.  Vendors surrounding the Pueblo will participate in both the state of New Mexico and the Pueblo’s EBT offline WIC Smartcard Programs.  JRW will work with the vendors to ensure that WIC dual operation functions properly, that BIN numbers and multiple APL files are understood and functional within each environment.  In addition, JRW will work as an extension of the Programs IT team, creating system test environments, test planning, working to certify software versions, migrating databases between environments, and fully testing system functionally.  JRW will assist the Program with User Acceptance Testing (UAT)  through planning and conduct of testing activities. 

Read more: WIC EBT Implementation

   

What is EBT WIC

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Last Updated on Friday, 05 June 2009 18:01 Written by Administrator Friday, 05 June 2009 17:57

WIC Programs are taking the leap towards EBT.  Currently, there are not many viable transferable systems, which fully accommodate EBT functionality.  The New Mexico system written in PowerBuilder and created in the late 90’s will, by October 2009, be in full or part, transferred into Wyoming, Isleta Pueblo, and Cherokee Nation WIC Programs. 

Programs such as Michigan, Kentucky, and Chickasaw are working with and developing systems for online EBT.  Michigan, at the time of the writing of this blog, is in the last phase of statewide implementation while Kentucky’s OWE system is entering into it’s early pilot phases.

When other viable systems appear on the market providing EBT these capable systems WILL be transferred into state WIC Programs.

Where are the benefits:
EBT provides WIC benefits on an electronic Food Issuance device the two prevailing technologies are referred to as “online” or “offline”.  The offline system provides WIC benefits on a smartcard, the client inserts the card into compatible card readers, enters a PIN and benefits are written to the card, enabling the card as the most up-to-date record of client benefits.  Clients then use the smartcard to purchase allowable foods and the information stored on the card is used to approve food purchases. 

In the online environment, benefits are stored within the client-benefit data system, (which is either hosted within the state environment or contracted externally) and accessed using a magnetic stripe card.  When a client purchases allowable food items, the participating vendor verifies the transaction similar to a credit card transaction in that information is passed over the processor network.  However, the difference is that the information being requested from the client-benefit database is not a verification that payment is available, it is a request for the client’s currently available food prescription in its entirety, or a request to know whether each scanned WIC-able item is available and unredeemed in the requested amount.  For example, are there cereal benefits and how many ounces?  The vendor location and specifically vendor systems remain the “Wild West” of the online WIC EBT environment.  Few vendors have integrated register systems for online states.  The term integrated suggests that the EBT sale occurs simultaneously with the ‘regular’ grocery transaction is which are processed through the vendors Point Of Sale (POS).  Stand-beside means that there is a separate piece of equipment next to the store register, which is specific to WIC program clients.  Often, stand-beside requires an additional scan, meaning, first the item is scanned through the WIC equipment, then again through the grocer register.  Some companies are implementing integrated WIC payments for the online environment, this should bolster online’s credibility.

In an integrated state/program environment, clinic personnel certify the client; the system is aware of the qualifying factors of the client(s) and certify the client against a specific food package or prescription.  This food package is then saved to:
1. The account database for online access to client accounts, alternatively,
2. Offline systems the food package is written to a smart card via payment terminal or other solution.

Read more: What is EBT WIC

 

Partially Breastfeed Infant

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Written by Administrator Thursday, 14 May 2009 20:12

WIC Food Rule

JRW Service Corp has been closely analyzing the new food rule and the new paradigms it has established.  Our recent analysis of the partially breastfeed infant shows interesting potential in controlling the amounts of formula provided in direct proportion with frequency of breastfeeding.

Infant formula packages could be tailored incrementally and proportionality reducing the amount of formula provided based upon the specific frequency with which the infant is breastfeeding. 

For example, infants 2-3 months of age who breastfeed 50% of the time would receive 50% of the Full Nutritional Benefit provided to the 2-3 month old Infant.  The Occasional Breastfeeding mother of this infant would not receive the benefit of the Exclusive breastfeeding mother nor the mother receives the additional Cash Value Benefit for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables allowed under the new rule.

Depending on the clinic application, this can be controlled by food package design; with recent changes to the food rule formula is calculated by looking to the Physical Form, the Feeding Option, and the age of the infant.  To reduce formula issuance for partially breastfeeding infants, a scenario similar to the following would be adopted:

Age

Formula issuance

Breast feeding frequency

New formula issuance

2 Months

806

2 Times a day

604.5

 

4 Times a day

403

6 Times a day

201.5

If it is determined that a breast feed infant should be feeding 8 times a day, an infant who feeds 2 times a day feeds 25% of the time and still needs 75% of their Full Nutritional Benefit (FNB), there for the infant gets 604.5 ounces of formula.

 

 

Systems would need to recognize the status “partial breastfeader” to request a value for “Breastfeeding frequency”, systems would point infants to the appropriate formula package based on this new input.

Adopting these types of steps into your Program could help with promotion of breastfeeding, as the mother would not receive the exclusive breastfeeding package and would receive a reduced formula benefit.  Further, reduced formula issuance could equal a reduced total food bill to the program.

Nutrition counseling and time spent in the clinic with the clerk would become more important as the benefits of breastfeeding would need to be discussed with partial breast feeders and mothers would need to be informed of the exclusive breastfeed packages.  Studies have shown that the cost of partially breastfeeding infants bears more cost to families for items not covered by WIC, as found here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8979548, providing more interest to the families to be exclusive breast feeders.

The new food package can ameliorate WIC programs who embrace the changes.  Because formula amounts are now established, using the full nutritional benefit for the infant thus, systems are leverage able in making nutritionally based decisions. 

To determine potential impact and benefit of this type of package change, programs will need to gather information regarding, program categories, caseload, formula issuance, and others to create ‘what if’ scenarios.  Implementing a plan like this not only supports your efforts in raising your breastfeeding rates, it could also control costs!


 

   

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JRW Service Corp is a leading provider of project management solutions in industry, high technology, and social services.

Our professionals are ready to spearhead, guide, support, and/or augment your mission-critical project initiatives.

By combining JRW’s professional project management experience, best-practices methodologies, and high ethical standards, JRW Service is ready to be your partner for current or future projects.

 

Always on budget and on time, the staff at JRW Service Corp create reports that effectively deliver your message and aesthetically please the eye.

We work closely with our private, state, and federal government clients to deliver engaging reports that build a strong connection between the organization and its customers and stakeholders.

Discover how our professional writing and creative designs can clearly communicate your message to your intended audience.

Whether you need to develop an IT strategy, meet the demands of growing business, perform needs analysis, or develop a custom IT solution, JRW Service Corp can help. 

We are experts at managing and supporting IT operations for a wide range of  clients including small businesses, global enterprises, and state and federal government  agencies.

We help our clients achieve new freedom from IT downtime, end-user support issues, and the burden of keeping up with technology choices and upgrades. Our services and custom IT software and solutions allow you to focus on your core business.

With JRW Service Corp, your business or government agency can be supported by IT, rather than supporting IT.

The mission of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a noble one: “To safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.”

WIC serves families, and JRW Service Corp serves WIC. Our high quality support services are changing the landscape of WIC Program consulting. We are experts at WIC regulations and challenges including food packages, cash value benefits, Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), checks, and client/vendor frustrations.

JRW Service Corp provides personalized accounting services that will help you make informed business decisions. We manage day-to-day bookkeeping services, payroll, set up and clean up of QuickBooks, and prepare financial statements and tax reports.

By providing financial analysis, projections, and planning at affordable rates, we have formed many rewarding client relationships. We offer you consistent, personalized, caring service that will make a difference to your bottom line.

Sufficient cash flow and informed decisions provides you with the ability to become or remain competitive. Accurate information means decisions are made effectively.  A solid, well-understood strategy is vital to making the rest of the business possible.

JRW Service Corp offers business analysis and process development that can make a visible impact to finances and a noticeable change to your company’s operation.