County accepts Women, Infants and Children grant

Sedgwick County commissioners approved accepting a $2.2 million grant to run a federal nutritional and breast-feeding program, avoiding the lengthy discussion about public health and immigration they had last year.

The money helps the county administer the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides supplemental food checks, nutritional education, health referrals and breast-feeding support for low-income mothers or pregnant women. The grant pays for the program’s staff and operations.

It’s the largest public health program in the country. The WIC program in Sedgwick County served about 12,000 people each month in 2015, health director Adrienne Byrne-Lutz said.

Commission Chairman Jim Howell and Commissioners Tim Norton and Dave Unruh voted to accept the full grant proposal after about a 10-minute discussion. Commissioners Karl Peterjohn and Richard Ranzau expressed interest in accepting a lower amount of grant money and voted no.

“We need to be compassionate and fair, both to the people receiving the benefits as well as those people who are paying for them,” Ranzau said.

Ranzau proposed a number of changes to the program last year, such as asking the state to block illegal immigrants from receiving benefits. Currently, restrictions are based only on income and residency. Ranzau’s push led to efforts to recall him from office.

Commissioners accepted an amount less than the full grant award last year. But Byrne-Lutz said, after questions from Ranzau, that the county was still able to run the program efficiently.

Ranzau raised concerns Wednesday that the increase in the grant would pay for unnecessary staff members. He said he was in favor of accepting a $2 million grant, which wouldn’t pay for those staff members.

Byrne-Lutz said participation in the program has declined nationwide but is leveling off. She said the increase would help pay for a dietitian and a support staff member who could help shorten wait times.

“There is a balance between efficiency and customer service,” Byrne-Lutz said.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 4:54 PM with the headline "County accepts Women, Infants and Children grant."