The Effects of Waiving WIC Physical Presence Requirements on Program Caseloads

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) requires applicants to visit local offices for in-person appoint-ments. The face-to-face nature of WIC has been praised for fostering personal en-gagement between workers and participants, but some scholars argue that in-person requirements contribute to WIC’s low take-up rate (51 percent in 2017). Because of public health concerns during COVID-19, the federal government al-lowed local WIC agencies to waive in-person requirements. Using linked primary waiver data and administrative WIC data, we implement a difference-in-differences design, comparing WIC caseloads in waiver and nonwaiver counties. We estimate that waivers increased WIC caseloads by about 11 percent, although we fail to de-tect effects for counties that did not offer modernized document submission options and did not allow applicants to self-attest eligibility or that only offered curb-side—rather than fully remote—certification options. Results suggest that relaxing in-person requirements can improve WIC take-up.