| Administrative Appeal |
A hearing procedure whereby a vendor adversely affected by a WIC action may appeal the action to an impartial hearing officer provided by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Bureau of Appeals and Hearings. |
| Administrative Warning |
The program Department makes a factual or legal determination through investigations, complaints, data analysis, or administrative reviews. |
| Applicant |
The individual, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated association, limited liability company, or corporation that is applying to be a WIC Retail Vendor. |
| Approved Foods |
Only those types, brands, sizes, and varieties of foods and infant formulas are listed in the current Authorized Food List. |
| Approved Product List (APL) |
Electronic files identifying WIC food items authorized by the Department for purchase with WIC benefits. These files, which consist of thousands of UPC and PLU, are developed by the Department and sent nightly to stores. Most stores get the APL automatically; a smaller number should manually download the APL. If an item's UPC is not on the APL, the item will not ring up as WIC. |
| Authorization |
The process is by which the program assesses, selects, and enters into agreements with vendors that apply or subsequently reapply to be authorized as vendors. |
| Authorized Food List |
List of WIC-approved foods developed by the program. |
| Authorized Formula Supplier |
Manufacturer, distributor, wholesale supplier, or other registered food supplier. |
| Balance Inquiry |
A type of transaction that allows WIC Cardholders to obtain a listing of benefits available with an eWIC benefit card that specifies the quantity, food category, size, dollar amount, and sometimes brand of food prescribed to a WIC household that must be redeemed within a designated time. |
| Benefits |
The food, formula, and WIC-eligible nutritional item quantities that are loaded onto WIC Participant EBT cards. |
| Cash Register |
An electronic device used at a point-of-sale (POS) calculates financial transactions, allowing the scanning of items and processing of payments. |
| Cash Value Benefit (CVB) |
A fixed dollar amount is associated with the eWIC card used by a WIC cardholder to obtain authorized fruits and vegetables. If the amount of fruits and vegetables exceeds the dollar amount available, the cardholder must be provided the option to pay the difference with a separate tender (SNAP, Cash, Credit / Debit, Check). |
| Change of Ownership |
Any transfer of the right to control the assets or management of a vendor or any majority changes in ownership of a sole proprietorship, partnership, or stock of a corporation that owns a vendor location. |
| Civil Money Penalty or CMP |
A monetary fine that is imposed upon non-compliant vendors in place of disqualification when the vendor is necessary for adequate client access. |
| Claim |
A bill or request for reimbursement of funds. |
| Commissary |
Department of Defense established a retail outlet for active and retired military personnel and their dependents. |
| Commodity Supplemental Food Program /or CSFP |
A federal food assistance program through which the Department or the Department's Representative provides U.S. Government commodities to eligible elderly. |
| Compliance Buy |
The covert, on-site investigation involves a department representative posing as a WIC shopper, conducting a WIC transaction, and not revealing during the visit that they are an Illinois WIC representative. |
| Compliance Investigation |
An investigation is a method the program uses to determine if violations occur or have occurred in the past. An investigation may include an administrative review, covert compliance buys, an inventory audit, and/or coordinated efforts with other organizations. |
| Convenience Store |
A store that offers a limited line of convenience items and is typically open for long hours. Primarily engaged in the retail sale of a variety of canned goods, dairy products, pre-packaged meats, and other grocery items in limited amounts, usually selling a large variety of ineligible products, such as hot coffee, alcohol or tobacco products, or gasoline. |
| Conviction |
A finding of guilt by a judge or jury or an entry of a guilty plea. |
| Days |
Calendar days. |
| Department |
The Illinois Department of Human Services. |
| Disqualification |
Termination of a vendor's authority to participate in the program. |
| EBT |
Electronic Benefits Transfer. The EBT system used for eWIC transactions is also called eWIC. |
| Electronic Benefit Transfer or EBT |
A method that permits electronic access to WIC Food Benefits using a card approved by the Secretary. |
| Electronic Cash Register (ECR) |
A type of cash register that stores use with an integrated system to accept eWIC transactions. |
| eWIC Card |
An EBT card that a WIC shopper uses to obtain specific supplemental foods via an electronic benefit transfer. |
| Federally Mandated Vendor Sanctions |
Mandatory federal violations and sanctions defined in 7 CFR Part 246.12. These violations are flagrant violations of program policies and undermine the program's goals. |
| Fine |
An amount of money imposed as a penalty |
| Food Benefit |
A negotiable EBT card issued by a Local Agency that specifies the quantity, size and type of authorized foods available to a WIC Participant within a designated time period, which can subsequently be taken to a Vendor in exchange for the specified quantities of food. |
| Food Delivery System |
The method used by the program is to provide supplemental foods to WIC participants. |
| Grocery Store |
A retail store in a fixed and permanent location that maintains regular business hours and whose primary business is the sale of food. A store primarily engaged in retail sales of various food products and general merchandise as a full-line grocery store. A grocery store continuously stocks multiple varieties of the following product categories: canned foods, frozen foods, dairy products, fresh and frozen meat, fish and poultry, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, juices, and bakery/grain goods including, but not limited to, breads, pastries, rice, crackers and tortillas, dried grains and beans, baby products, household cleaners, laundry products, and health care products. |
| Illinois WIC / Illinois WIC Program |
Illinois' Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), which is also referred to as the Department, IL WIC, the WIC Program, and the Program. |
| Infant Formula |
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. |
| Integrated Cash Register System |
A network of cash registers in a store that is capable of processing WIC EBT transactions through a third-party processor (TPP). Integrated cash registers must be able to provide a benefit balance prior to WIC purchase and a receipt including the remaining monthly benefit balance to WIC clients. |
| Inventory Audit |
The examination of food inventory invoices or other proof of purchase to determine whether a vendor has purchased enough supplemental foods to provide WIC shoppers with the quantities reported as redeemed by the vendor during a given period. |
| Investigation |
An administrative review, compliance buy, inventory audit, and/or coordinated efforts with SNAP to determine whether violations are occurring or have occurred. |
| Lack of Business Integrity |
Activities indicating a lack of business integrity include fraud, antitrust violations, embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, false statements, receiving stolen property, false claims, and obstruction of justice. |
| Local WIC Agency |
A public or private nonprofit health or human service agency that provides WIC services through a contract with the program. |
| Minimum Stocking |
A vendor must keep the minimum quantities and varieties of approved foods and/or infant formulas in the customer area as specified in this Handbook. |
| Not to Exceed (NTE) |
The maximum price paid by WIC for individual food items per peer group. |
| Nutritional Risk |
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 or
D) Conditions that predispose persons to inadequate nutritional patterns or nutritionally related, medically related conditions.
|
| Overcharge |
Intentionally or unintentionally charging the program more for approved supplemental foods than the posted shelf prices and/or intentionally or unintentionally charging WIC shoppers more than non-WIC customers or more than the posted shelf prices. |
| Participant |
Pregnant people, breastfeeding people, postpartum people, infants, and children up to age five (5) who are receiving supplemental foods or Food Benefits under the WIC Program. |
| Participant Access |
Access to WIC participants to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other healthy food sources. Indicators of food access issues include accessibility to sources of healthy food by distance:
- Urban Area: Distance to a WIC-authorized vendor is greater than five miles as the crow flies.
- Rural/Suburban: Distance to a WIC-authorized vendor is greater than 20 miles as the crow flies.
|
| Peer Group |
Federal regulations (7 CFR Part 246) require WIC programs to implement a vendor peer group system (i.e., grouping similar stores), minimum stocking requirements, competitive price criteria, and allowable reimbursement levels to ensure WIC pays authorized vendors competitive prices. A vendor is assigned a peer group based on criteria that classify the type of vendor (i.e., grocer, pharmacy, commissary), number of WIC-enabled cash registers (i.e., 1-3, 4-11, 12+), and geographic area (i.e., Rural, Urban). The Department may change a vendor's peer group when it determines that placement in an alternate peer group is warranted. WIC programs must use these criteria to evaluate prices and authorization. |
| Pharmacy Vendor |
Any free-standing pharmacy that has been authorized by the Department to accept Illinois eWIC as a WIC Retail Vendor and to provide only infant formula and medical food to WIC Participants, proxies of WIC Participants or Department representatives. |
| Point-of-Sale (POS) device |
The equipment used to ring up food items in a grocery store or other vendor. |
| Posted Shelf Price |
The displayed price of WIC Foods charged to the general public, identifying the price of the specific WIC Food item, including any sales price or discounts. |
| Postpartum People |
People up to six months after termination of pregnancy. |
| Price Look-Up (PLU) |
A 4- or 5-digit number defined by the International Federation for Product Stands (IFPS) is typically used to identify variable measure products. |
| Program |
Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, authorizes the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). In Illinois, the program is also referred to as Illinois WIC and Illinois eWIC. |
| Rebate Program |
Illinois WIC participates in an infant formula rebate program with a specific formula manufacturer. The manufacturer agrees to pay a rebate based on the number of containers purchased by WIC. Illinois WIC will notify vendors of contract changes. |
| Receipt / Purchase Receipt |
Documentation that delineates the items purchased and the price paid for items, including discounts and other adjustments. |
| Rural-Urban Commuting Area Code / RUCA |
A code assigned by the USDA Economic Research Services (ERS) to determine the rural or urban status of a postal ZIP Code. |
| Sanctions |
Administrative action taken against a vendor because of a violation of the program's policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, corrective action plans, mandatory training, non-payment of WIC transactions, disqualification, and civil money penalty. |
| Secretary |
The Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services or designee. |
| Selection Criteria |
The criteria established by the program to select individual vendors for authorization. |
| Shelf Price |
Non-sale price of the food item as marked on the shelf or item. |
| SNAP Eligible Sales |
Revenue from food that legally may be purchased with the SNAP EBT Card. |
| Solutran |
A WIC EBT contractor. Solutran processes eWIC transactions. At the time of printing, Solutran is the eWIC contractor and the primary contact for integrated vendors and TPP and leases stand-beside equipment to non-integrated vendors through a Merchant Agreement. |
| Stand-Beside Point-of-Sale Device |
For vendors not running an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system, point-of-sale (POS) devices are directly connected to the eWIC contractor. |
| Supplemental Foods |
The program prescribes foods containing nutrients determined to be beneficial for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum people, infants, and children. |
| Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) |
The program funded by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to provide nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and families. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. (Also informally referred to as LINK in Illinois). |
| Third-Party Processor (TPP) |
An intermediary that processes the electronic transactions and payments to the vendor. |
| Training / WIC Training |
Each vendor employee involved with WIC transactions (including managers) should receive WIC training. WIC Training is designed to prevent program errors and non-compliance, improve program service, and increase cashier confidence and proficiency. |
| United States Department of Agriculture / USDA |
The federal agency that oversees the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, SNAP, and other food, nutrition, and agricultural programs that benefit residents of the United States. |
| Universal Product Code (UPC) |
A 12- or 13-digit specific code affixed, by barcode used to identify products sold by the WIC vendor. The Illinois APL contains a comprehensive list of all WIC-eligible UPCs and permits WIC EBT transactions. Approved WIC food item codes are entered into the APL file. |
| Urban Area |
Illinois WIC uses the Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUC) codes to categorize vendors based on geography. There are 10 RUC codes, which IL has collapsed into two main categories: urban (RUCA codes 1-3) and rural (RUCA codes 4-10) |
| Vendor / WIC Retail Vendor |
A grocery store, pharmacy, or commissary in a fixed and permanent location authorized by the program, by signed agreement, to sell approved foods and/or infant formulas to WIC shoppers. |
| Vendor Agreement |
An agreement signed by the WIC Retail Vendor and the Department for providing WIC Foods to Participants, the Proxies of WIC Participants or Department Representatives. A valid WIC Retail Vendor Contract is binding only between the Department and the officer, partner, or sole proprietor who originally signed the Vendor Application. It authorizes the contractor to operate as a WIC Vendor. |
| Vendor Site |
A fixed and permanent location, operating as a business entity, listed in the WIC Vendor application, that the Department has authorized for purposes of delivery of WIC Foods to WIC Cardholders. |
| Violation |
Any intentional or unintentional actions of a vendor, owner, agents, officers, managers, or employees (with or without the knowledge of management) that violate the program's policies and procedures, Vendor Agreements, federal or state statutes, and/or regulations governing the program. |
| WIC Cardholder |
The person presenting a WIC EBT card at the time of purchase and who is able to enter a correct PIN to complete a WIC balance inquiry and/or sale. |
| WIC Food Centers |
WIC food distribution sites through which the Department or its representative provide the direct distribution of WIC foods. |
| WIC Foods |
Those competitively priced foods that have been placed on the WIC Food List and have been determined by the Department to be nutritionally qualified for the WIC Program in the State of Illinois. |
| WIC Handbook |
The Illinois WIC Vendor Policy & Procedure Manual is a publication developed by the program that describes the policies and procedures for WIC-authorized vendors and is an integral part of the Vendor Agreement. |
| WIC Shopper |
The participant or any person designated by a participant, or by a parent or caregiver of an infant or child participant, to obtain an eWIC card and corresponding PIN or to obtain supplemental foods on behalf of a participant. |
