Request for Proposals Deadline: Closed
THIS-WIC at a Glance
To help WIC State Agencies (SAs) develop and/or implement telehealth using various technologies to facilitate breastfeeding support, nutrition education and address barriers to participant access of WIC services, Tufts University and collaborators are requesting proposals for the USDA/Tufts Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) grant opportunity.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 116 -6) authorized the allocation of $5,000,000 for telehealth competitive grants to:
- supplement the nutrition education and breastfeeding support offered in the WIC clinic;
- decrease barriers to access to WIC services, particularly in rural communities and other populations facing barriers to accessing support;
- impact dietary habits, infant feeding practices, including breastfeeding rates, participant satisfaction and retention, and improve identified nutrition risks.
Role of THIS-WIC Team
To best support WIC SAs, the THIS-WIC team will:
- oversee this telehealth competitive grants program to WIC SAs;
- provide technical support to WIC SAs during the application process and implementation periods;
- evaluate the impact, process, and cost of the awards in collaboration with the WIC SAs; and,
- disseminate promising and successful initiatives and communicate about challenges as well as potential solutions to challenges.
Total Awards
- Up to $5 million will be available under this RFP
- WIC SAs may request up to $1,000,000 to accommodate projects up to 30 months
- Up to 8 grants will be funded
Eligible Applicants
An eligible applicant was a WIC SA or consortium of WIC SAs including the 50 States, 34 Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Priority Areas
THIS-WIC focuses on two priority areas:
- Priority Area 1: Implement an existing telehealth solution to ensure timely access to nutritional or breastfeeding support for WIC participants by qualified professionals, or
- Priority Area 2: Develop an online (mobile-friendly) resource or tool to provide nutrition education and/ or breastfeeding support to WIC participants by qualified professionals
Funding to Enhance Existing WIC Services
THIS-WIC will provide technical support to selected projects and up to $1 million in funding for each proposal. This funding opportunity will allow eligible WIC SAs to develop and/or implement telehealth strategies and tools that can enhance the WIC nutrition education and breastfeeding counseling component of WIC services.
These strategies and tools can:
- supplement nutrition education and breastfeeding contacts to WIC participants for identified complex nutrition and/or breastfeeding problems with qualified professionals
- provide for effective counseling by WIC staff with tailored, up‐to‐date information (i.e., nutrition and/or breastfeeding talking points, take‐away messages, etc.) to facilitate productive and meaningful discussions with participants
- facilitate effective documentation, care planning, and appropriate follow-up
There was two phases in the competitive proposal process:
Phase I: Brief Proposals (Closed)
Phase II: Full Proposals, if invited (Closed)
Note: Template was revised on June 25
