Dubois County Health Department to continue to work with WIC program

While the sponsorship and partial funding of the Women, Infant, and Children (or WIC program, as it’s called) has been terminated with the Health Department, the program will continue in Dubois County.

That was the message delivered to the County Commissioners by Dubois County Health Administrative Director Donna Oeding at their regular meeting on Monday. She confirmed that the program is not going away, but rather will be sponsored by another funding source – a choice that the State Department of Health in Indianapolis will have to make.

“The County Commissioners agreed this morning to rent space to the new sponsor agency for the WIC program. So, that’s very good news that the WIC can remain in our building so that collaboration with the new sponsor agency should be seamless.”

The commissioners agreed to rent space in the Health Department’s building to the program. The WIC program will be in a different location in the building that has its own separate entrance. The approximately 1,250 square feet will be rented to the WIC program for $200.00$1,500/month and will include all utilities, phone lines and Internet access.

The rental agreement must go to Indianapolis to be approved before it is in effect.

An agreement must be in place before the end of September, before the current sponsorship between Dubois County and the WIC program expires.

Oeding announced in both March and June that the hours would be cut and then announced at the end of July that the department would be splitting from the program due to a lack of funding through the State Health Department.

The State Department of Health has stated, however, that the program will continue in Dubois County and that a new sponsor is being sought for the program, which provides food vouchers for mothers needing assistance in providing meals for their children.