Government Fine-Tunes Awards for WIC's Breastfeeding Champs
Published Date: 3/11/2026
Notice
Summary
The USDA wants to update how it collects info for the WIC Breastfeeding Award, which honors local agencies that do a great job supporting breastfeeding moms and babies. This affects WIC clinics and local agencies who want to show off their breastfeeding support skills. Comments on the changes are open until May 11, 2026, with no new costs involved—just a chance to improve the award process!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Who’s Asked to Apply and Comment
The USDA is asking WIC local agencies and WIC state agencies to voluntarily submit information for the WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence and invites public comment through May 11, 2026. The notice lists an estimated 258 respondents total: 170 local WIC agencies and 88 WIC state agencies, and says responses will be submitted voluntarily by local agencies.
Time Burden per Application
FNS estimates a WIC local agency application takes 2.0 hours and a WIC state agency evaluation takes 1.2 hours, with an overall average of 1.6 hours per response. The program estimates 346 total annual responses and a total annual respondent burden of 551.2 hours.
Small Entities Included (≈13 Apps)
FNS estimates that 7–8 percent of local agency applications (about 13 applications) come from small entities that are not health departments. FNS also reports application counts by year: 143 applied in FY2023, 136 in FY2024, and 216 in FY2025, and estimates future annual applications of about 130–170.
What Applicants Must Document
The Child Nutrition Act requires the Secretary to consider breastfeeding performance measurements, peer counselor program effectiveness, the agency or clinic’s partnerships to build a supportive breastfeeding environment, and other criteria set after consultation; local agencies will voluntarily submit information addressing these criteria. FNS says state agencies will continue to conduct evaluations on PartnerWeb, which was modernized in fiscal year 2025.
No New Costs; Opportunity to Improve Process
The notice states there are no new costs involved and frames the revision as an opportunity to streamline application questions and improve the award process for local agencies. FNS plans to explore ways to streamline questions and instructions while keeping the total estimated time to complete the application unchanged.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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