[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 7, Volume 4]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 7CFR246.11]



[Page 352-354]

 

                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE

 

    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

 

PART 246_SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS AND 

CHILDREN--Table of Contents

 

                     Subpart D_Participant Benefits

 

Sec. 246.11  Nutrition education.



    (a) General. (1) Nutrition education shall be considered a benefit 

of the Program, and shall be made available at no cost to the 

participant. Nutrition education shall be designed to be easily 

understood by participants, and it shall bear a practical relationship 

to participant nutritional needs, household situations, and cultural 

preferences including information on how to select food for themselves 

and their families. Nutrition education shall be thoroughly integrated 

into participant health care plans, the delivery of supplemental foods, 

and other Program operations.

    (2) The State agency shall ensure that nutrition education is made 

available to all participants. Nutrition education may be provided 

through the local agencies directly, or through arrangements made with 

other agencies. At the time of certification, the local agency shall 

stress the positive, long-term benefits of nutrition education and 

encourage the participant to attend and participate in nutrition 

education activities. However, individual participants shall not be 

denied supplemental foods for failure to attend or participate in 

nutrition education activities.

    (3) As an integral part of nutrition education, the State agency 

shall ensure that local agencies provide drug and other harmful 

substance abuse information to all pregnant, postpartum, and 

breastfeeding women and to parents or caretakers of infants and children 

participating in the program. Drug and other harmful substance abuse 

information may also be provided to pregnant, postpartum, and 

breastfeeding women and to parents or caretakers of infants and children 

participating in local agency services other than the Program.

    (b) Goals. Nutrition education shall be designed to achieve the 

following two broad goals:

    (1) Stress the relationship between proper nutrition and good health 

with special emphasis on the nutritional needs of pregnant, postpartum, 

and breastfeeding women, infants and children under five years of age, 

and raise awareness about the dangers of using drugs and other harmful 

substances during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

    (2) Assist the individual who is at nutritional risk in achieving a 

positive change in food habits, resulting in improved nutritional status 

and in the prevention of nutrition-related problems through optimal use 

of the supplemental foods and other nutritious foods. This is to be 

taught in the context of the ethnic, cultural and geographic preferences 

of the participants and with consideration for educational and 

environmental limitations experienced by the participants.



[[Page 353]]



    (c) State agency responsibilities. The State agency shall perform 

the following activities in carrying out nutrition education 

responsibilities:

    (1) Develop and coordinate the nutrition education component of 

Program operations with consideration of local agency plans, needs and 

available nutrition education resources.

    (2) Provide in-service training and technical assistance for 

professional and para-professional personnel involved in providing 

nutrition education to participants at local agencies. The State agency 

shall also provide training on the promotion and management of 

breastfeeding to staff at local agencies who will provide information 

and assistance on this subject to participants.

    (3) Identify or develop resources and educational materials for use 

in local agencies, including breastfeeding promotion and instruction 

materials, taking reasonable steps to include materials in languages 

other than English in areas where a significant number or proportion of 

the population needs the information in a language other than English, 

considering the size and concentration of such population and, where 

possible, the reading level of participants.

    (4) Develop and implement procedures to ensure that nutrition 

education is offered to all adult participants and to parents and 

guardians of infant or child participants, as well as child 

participants, whenever possible.

    (5) Monitor local agency activities to ensure compliance with 

provisions set forth in paragraphs (c)(8), (d), and (e) of this section.

    (6) Establish standards for participant contacts that ensure 

adequate nutrition education in accordance with paragraph (e) of this 

section.

    (7) Establish standards for breastfeeding promotion and support 

which include, at a minimum, the following:

    (i) A policy that creates a positive clinic environment which 

endorses breastfeeding as the preferred method of infant feeding;

    (ii) A requirement that each local agency designate a staff person 

to coordinate breastfeeding promotion and support activities;

    (iii) A requirement that each local agency incorporate task-

appropriate breastfeeding promotion and support training into 

orientation programs for new staff involved in direct contact with WIC 

clients; and

    (iv) A plan to ensure that women have access to breastfeeding 

promotion and support activities during the prenatal and postpartum 

periods.

    (d) Local agency responsibilities. Local agencies shall perform the 

following activities in carrying out their nutrition education 

responsibilities:

    (1) Make nutrition education available or enter into an agreement 

with another agency to make nutrition education available to all adult 

participants, and to parents or caretakers of infant and child 

participants, and whenever possible, to child participants. Nutrition 

education may be provided through the use of individual or group 

sessions. Educational materials designed for Program participants may be 

utilized to provide education to pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding 

women and to parents or caretakers of infants and children participating 

in local agency services other than the program.

    (2) Develop an annual local agency nutrition education plan 

consistent with the State's nutrition education component of Program 

operations and in accordance with this part and FNS guidelines. The 

local agency shall submit its nutrition education plan to the State 

agency by a date specified by the State agency.

    (e) Participant contacts. (1) The nutrition education contacts shall 

be made available through individual or group sessions which are 

appropriate to the individual participant's nutritional needs. All 

pregnant participants shall be encouraged to breastfeed unless 

contraindicated for health reasons.

    (2) During each six-month certification period, at least two 

nutrition contacts shall be made available to all adult participants and 

the parents or caretakers of infant and child participants, and wherever 

possible, the child participants themselves.

    (3) Nutrition education contacts shall be made available at a 

quarterly rate, but not necessarily taking place within each quarter, to 

parents or caretakers



[[Page 354]]



of infant participants certified for a period in excess of six months.

    (4) The local agency shall document in each participant's 

certification file that nutrition education has been given to the 

participant in accordance with State agency standards, except that the 

second or any subsequent nutrition education contact during a 

certification period that is provided to a participant in a group 

setting may be documented in a masterfile. Should a participant miss a 

nutrition education appointment, the local agency shall, for purposes of 

monitoring and further education efforts, document this fact in the 

participant's file, or, at the local agency's discretion, in the case of 

a second or subsequent missed contact where the nutrition education was 

offered in a group setting, document this fact in a master file.

    (5) An individual care plan shall be provided for a participant 

based on the need for such plan as determined by the competent 

professional authority, except that any participant, parent, or 

caretaker shall receive such plan upon request.

    (6) Contacts shall be designed to meet different cultural and 

language needs of Program participants.



[50 FR 6121, Feb. 13, 1985; 50 FR 8098, Feb. 28, 1985, as amended at 58 

FR 11507, Feb. 26, 1993; 59 FR 11503, Mar. 11, 1994; 65 FR 53528, Sept. 

5, 2000]