WIC Collaboration Study Act

The WIC Collaboration Study Act would require the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a comprehensive study on interagency data sharing and collaboration among the state agencies that administer WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and Medicaid. The study, due within 180 days of enactment, would examine whether increasing data sharing could boost WIC enrollment, and would evaluate how sharing data might simplify WIC certification, how data sharing is currently used (and how often it occurs), and the scope of data-sharing agreements. It would also assess overlaps between WIC certification requirements and SNAP/Medicaid processes, the effectiveness of cross-agency coordination (including meetings and enrollment data comparisons), potential inclusion of WIC certification in online eligibility applications for SNAP/Medicaid, the role of nonprofits, and the projected cost to states of mandating such interagency collaboration. The bill directs GAO to report its findings to congressional committees. In short, the bill would fund a targeted GAO study to explore whether better cross-agency data sharing among WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid agencies could streamline enrollment in WIC, and to evaluate the practical, administrative, and cost implications of such coordination.