2005 Model Practice Application (Public)

Tarrant County WIC Program

Tarrant County Public Health/WIC

The Tarrant County WIC program has challenged participants through the Library Plan “Read to Your Child” to explore local libraries and introduce their young children to the world of reading and healthy eating. From its inception, the goals of the Library Plan were to connect two public health issues. The first goal was to promote early literacy and parent/child bonding. The second goal was to develop early nutrition concepts and promote breastfeeding education in the community.

In an effort to expand nutrition education options, the Library Plan “Read To Your Child” is offered to WIC participants whose children are six months to five years of age and to pregnant and breastfeeding women as a nutrition education option. If this option is chosen, the expectant mother or the parent and child go to their local library and read the age appropriate book on food, eating, nutrition or breastfeeding. In addition to the children’s books, the breastfeeding reference books help WIC participants and the community answer questions about breastfeeding and the benefits to mother and baby.

The Library Plan “Read to Your Child” started in 2002 with one library in Arlington, Texas. To date, the program has increased to twenty-two libraries in Tarrant County, including ten in Fort Worth, six in Arlington and six in neighboring cities. The number of WIC participants who have taken part in the Library Plan has increased steadily each year. In 2004 over 2,400 participants chose this option for their nutrition education. One of the key elements in the success of the plan is the development of cooperation and collaboration with the libraries in the community. To date, the surveys and feedback from the WIC participants and the libraries indicate the program has been an effective link to promoting early literacy and healthy eating.

The Library Plan, “Read to your Child” incorporates two public health issues. The first issue addressed promoting early literacy and parent/child bonding. The second issue is the development of early nutrition concepts and the promotion of breastfeeding education in the community. There is a growing awareness among child development professionals of the link between early literacy and the health of children. Also, early literacy promotes better verbal skills and enhanced brain development.

It was determined through participant surveys that WIC participants desired more flexibility and variety in their nutrition education selections. They also wanted to involve their children with a “hands on” approach to nutrition education. The Library Plan “Read to your Child” grew out of this idea and was expanded through a strategic planning process.

The early Library Plan started with 13 books for children ages 2 years – 4 years. The plan was expanded to include children 6 month to 2years of age with “Reading Initiative” books received through the Texas State WIC program funded through the USDA. Three breastfeeding reference books were also added to help WIC participants and the community learn more about breastfeeding. In total, WIC has provided over 650 books in English and Spanish to the local libraries.

The WIC program staff approached local libraries throughout Tarrant County to pinpoint strategic locations that would benefit WIC participants the most. The collaborative effort involved Tarrant County regional library directors, the children’s librarians and the local library staff.

Quarterly, the WIC Nutrition Education Coordinator gathers surveys from the local libraries which help evaluate the effectiveness of the program and identify opportunities for improvement and expansion. Annually, the WIC Nutrition Education Coordinator also contacts all participating libraries to see what their needs are, to collect participation sheets and to foster an open relationship with the library representatives. Through these avenues, ideas are exchanged on how to enhance future operations.

The initial and subsequent cost was covered under Nutrition Education allowable expenses through the WIC program. The cost for books for the first library was approximately $100.00. The cost of the library kit, notebook and worksheets averaged about $12.00. Later in 2002, 260 books were purchased for expansion of 18 more libraries at a cost of $ 2,019.20. Additionally, in 2003 more books were added to expand more libraries and replacement books as well as Breastfeeding Resource books at a cost of $1,818.75. In 2004, $638.30 was spent on books to add more libraries and replacement books for future use.

In total from 2002 -2004, $4,740.25 was spent on books and library kits. This averaged $ 215.47 per library. The USDA also supplied over 9,000 books to WIC participants through the “Reading Initiative” in 2003 and 650 of these were given to the libraries. The cost for sustainability will be minimal now with replacement cost averaging approximately $600.00 per year for replacement books and worksheets. The WIC nutrition education coordinator’s time involvement averages approximately 8-10 hours per month for follow-up and planning.

The following steps were taken to make the Library Plan “Read to Your Child” an effective nutrition education option:

• The need was recognized that alternative nutrition education through reading to young children would benefit WIC participants, local libraries and the community.
  
  
• A plan was developed to find strategic locations to start local library participation.
  
  
• Libraries were contacted and asked if they wanted to participate in the initiative.
  
  
• Books were purchased that were age appropriate and involved food, eating and nutrition.
  
  
• Worksheets were developed for post evaluation of the parent’s and child’s experiences. These were sent to the Texas State WIC program for Nutrition Education approval.
  
  
• Local WIC clinics started the promotion of “Read to your Child” as a nutrition education alternative for parents with children ages 2 to 5 years of age.
  
  
• The plan was expanded to children 6 months of age and older with additional books from the state of Texas WIC program “Reading Initiative” which was funded through the USDA.
  
  
• Breastfeeding education books were added as an enhancement for pregnant and breastfeeding participants and women in the community.
  
  
• The program is monitored annually through library visits, phone calls and surveys.

Monthly, library worksheets are gathered from each WIC clinic and are forwarded to the Nutrition Education Coordinator. These assist the Nutrition Education Coordinator to understand the participant’s responses to the book they read. They also pinpoint which libraries and WIC clinics have the greatest participation. Each book also has a specific Nutrition Education code that is entered into the computer system. The coding helps determine the books that are selected most frequently.

Quarterly, the libraries are sent surveys to determine what books are favorites, how many participants they have and what commonly asked questions the participants and library staff may have. This maintains an open line of communication with the local libraries.

Yearly, WIC participants are surveyed to gather information on their opinions about the plan and how it has affected their reading and library experiences with their child. Survey results this past year showed that over 80% of the families participating in the Library Plan were introduced to their local library for the first time. Ninety-nine per cent of participants in the survey would choose it again. Many of the comments in the participant surveys strongly suggested they enjoyed being given the time to spend with their child even if the child was too young to read.

The librarians are contacted annually by the Nutrition Education Coordinator for follow-up evaluations. The evaluation is done by phone or in person and consists of asking librarians how the plan is going, if replacement books and worksheets are needed, and any questions that have come up. The comments from these follow-up evaluations show a strong commitment from all libraries. They are encouraged by the amount of WIC participants who have become involved in the children’s programs at the library and received library cards.

The Tarrant County WIC program’s Library Plan “Read to Your Child” has been well worth the resources invested by promoting early reading into the community and involving the library into the public health community. The goals and objectives were achieved by providing the opportunity to all participants to promote early literacy to their children and involve the community libraries in public health service.