USDA-FNS-WICSPG-FY2015-FullMini | USDA FNS WICSPG FY2015 FULLMINI

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS WICSPG FY2015 FULLMINI

USDA-FNS-WICSPG-FY2015-FullMini is a discretionary grant opportunity from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) under CFDA 10.578 that supports FY 2015 WIC Special Project Full and Mini Grants. The central theme for this funding cycle is participant integrity in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). In practical terms, the grant is designed for WIC administering agencies that want to try new or improved approaches to protect the integrity of participant certification and eligibility decisions, reduce fraud and abuse, and strengthen public confidence in how WIC benefits are issued and used.

The opportunity is rooted in concerns highlighted by the Government Accountability Office, specifically the 1999 GAO report titled Efforts to Control Fraud and Abuse in the WIC Program Can Be Strengthened. That report emphasized that even the appearance of impropriety in certification and income eligibility processes can undermine public trust. FNS is therefore looking for projects that not only implement operational changes, but also evaluate them, meaning applicants are expected to test strategies and produce findings that can inform broader WIC program improvements.

FNS signals several examples of project types that fit the focus area. These include strengthening separation of duties within WIC clinics (so that no single person controls too many parts of the eligibility or benefit process), improving verification of certification (VOC) procedures, refining adjunctive income eligibility verification methods, and improving documentation of household size. The grant also highlights investigative and prevention work related to the online sale of infant formula and other WIC foods, as well as initiatives to prevent dual participation both across state lines (interstate) and within the same state (intrastate). Additional priority concerns include reducing the exchange of authorized WIC foods for cash and developing broader strategies to prevent participant fraud and abuse. Overall, the projects FNS is seeking are those that introduce innovative controls, monitoring approaches, or administrative practices that measurably improve integrity safeguards.

Eligibility is limited to state governments, and awards may go either to an individual WIC state agency or to a consortium of WIC state agencies, as long as one agency is named as the lead. FNS specifically encourages smaller state agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) to collaborate with other WIC agencies or ITOs, reflecting a preference for shared solutions and pooled capacity where that helps produce stronger projects or more generalizable results. A key application restriction is that a state agency may submit only one application per year for a Full or Mini Grant. If an agency applies as part of a consortium, it cannot also submit a separate standalone application in the same cycle.

Key administrative details include an original closing date of November 25, 2015, an award ceiling of $400,000, and an expectation of around 15 awards. The funding instrument is a grant, and the opportunity was posted with a creation date of September 24, 2015.

• The Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "USDA-FNS-WICSPG-FY2015-FullMini" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.578.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-11-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for USDA FNS WICSPG FY2015 FULLMINI

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