Rights and Responsibilities

Your rights and responsibilities

You have the right to:

• Receive benefits to buy healthy foods and to know that WIC does not provide all the food needed.
• Get information about healthy eating and active living.
• Receive help and support with breastfeeding.
• Receive information about immunizations and other health services that may help you.
• Fair and respectful treatment from WIC staff and store employees. If you have not been treated fairly, you can talk to a WIC supervisor. You can ask the WIC director or the state WIC office for a conference or hearing if you disagree with decisions regarding your eligibility.
• Civil rights protection. WIC program eligibility standards are the same for everyone regardless of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
• Privacy. WIC’s privacy policy is found below.

You are responsible to:

• Tell staff about all of your income sources and report any changes.
• Tell staff if you participate in Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or the Family Employment Program (TANF). Let WIC know if you stop participating in a program that made you eligible for WIC.
• Tell WIC if you are breastfeeding or if you reduce or stop breastfeeding.
• Tell WIC if you are pregnant or give birth.
• Share your contact information including your address with WIC and report any changes. If you are moving out of state, you can ask for a Verification of Certification (VOC) to make it easier to get on WIC in your new state.

You agree to:

• Treat clinic staff and store employees with respect. You won’t swear, yell, threaten, or harm anyone.
• Use your WIC foods for the family members they were issued for.
• Return extra foods or infant formula to the clinic. You are not required to purchase all the foods and formula issued by WIC if they are not needed.
• Never sell, give away, or trade WIC foods, infant formula, or your WIC card. This includes posting them online or returning them to the store. Any food or formula you sell or give away that is the same as the WIC food or formula you received will be assumed to be WIC food and you will be asked to pay the program back for the food or formula.
• Receive benefits from only 1 WIC clinic at a time. Dual participation is illegal.
• Keep your appointments or contact the clinic to reschedule. You can be taken off WIC if you do not receive benefits for 2 months in a row. You can be put back on if you complete the required appointments.
• Protect your WIC card like a debit card and keep it from being lost, stolen, or damaged.
• Promptly tell WIC staff if your WIC card is lost or stolen.
• Not share your WIC card or PIN with anyone except for those you authorize with the clinic.
• Follow the rules and instructions in the Utah WIC Program Shopping Guide and WICShopper App.

Agreement:

You have read or been advised of your rights and responsibilities. If you do not follow these rules, you understand you may be asked to repay WIC for any benefits your family received. You also understand you may lose future benefits and be taken off the WIC program.

This certification is being completed with the receipt of federal assistance. You certify that the information you have given is correct to the best of your knowledge. Program staff may verify all of the information you have given to the clinic. You know that any untrue information you have given to receive WIC food benefits, including but not limited to making a false or misleading statement or misrepresenting, concealing, or withholding facts may result in you having to pay back the state agency for the value of food improperly given to you, and may subject you to civil or criminal prosecution under state and federal law.

You understand that each participant must reapply at the end of the certification period and be reassessed for program eligibility.

WIC Privacy Policy:

WIC respects your right to privacy. As a WIC participant, you may receive reminder text messages, phone calls, letters, or emails. You may request not to receive these reminders. To opt out of texts, tell clinic staff or reply STOP. To opt out of automated voice reminders, use option 9.

Information about your participation in the WIC program may be shared for non-WIC purposes with other health and nutrition programs that serve persons eligible for the WIC program. The executive director of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services has authorized the disclosure and use of confidential WIC information to certain programs to see if you qualify for their services, to conduct outreach, to share needed health information with programs you are already participating in, to streamline administrative procedures between programs, and to help assess the overall health of Utah families through reports and studies. You may ask WIC staff for more information about these programs.

Revised 7/01/24