Co-location one solution to WIC enrollment challenges
At the Village Exchange Center in Aurora, one reality is clear to Amanda Blaurock, the organization’s executive director.
Making connections for their clients as seamless as possible is a recipe for ensuring everyone who visits the center gets what they need.
“I think because we’re a community center, people trust us,” she said. “They come for a variety of services, [and] we see ourselves as a bridge to those services.”
So, when the Arapahoe and Adams counties’ offices for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC) were approached to come to the center, in coordination with open hours of their food pantry to support WIC enrollment, they were an immediate yes.
WIC provides food assistance, along with other vital health and nutrition supports, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as for children under the age of five. Access to healthy, nutrient-dense food is an essential building block for young children to grow and thrive. It also helps new and expecting parents lead healthy, active lives and reach their full potential.
“We knew people who could really use the supports WIC provides were already at the center and they trusted the center,” said Jaclyn Blitz, nutrition manager for Arapahoe County WIC. “The support [that] center staff offers around scheduling and helping potential clients better understand the value of WIC really makes this effort work.”
Photo credit: Village Exchange Center
During the first three months of co-location operations, 58 families signed up for WIC. And, the Village Exchange Center staff are eager to see more sign-ups and potentially more days that county staff can be present to conduct the interviews necessary for enrollment in the program.
The counties are still solidifying how the process can best work for families, the center, and their own staffing realities. The Village Exchange Center already allows the counties to store needed equipment like scales and hemoglobin machines on site, which makes it easier for county staff.
Enrollment for Colorado WIC has seen notable growth statewide over the last year. Demand for the program remains high, and county office schedules fill up quickly, with appointments weeks out. Only agencies contracted through the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment can enroll program participants, so partnerships like this are important to meet families where they are.
The transition from conception to execution was swift, spanning just two months from the idea's inception during a joint county meeting to families receiving screenings at the Village Exchange Center. Additionally, the center offers translation services for county staff and ensures coordination of these services for all scheduled appointments.
“We speak the language of the community and ensure the bridge is built in the right way,” Blaurock said. “We have four cultural broker programs, which allows us to easily be a convener between the people who have the services to provide and the people who need them.”