Erie County Applies For Contract To Operate WIC Program

WIC may be taken over by Erie County

Erie News Now has learned that the Erie County Health Department is poised to take over management of the WIC nutritional program for babies and moms in need. That is disappointing news for the Erie neighborhood centers, who have been operating the program for over 40 years.

Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper declined to comment today on word that the WIC program may soon change hands, and come under county control. Her office said all our of questions should be answered at a news conference Wednesday morning at the Erie County Health Department.

Here's what we do know. UNFHCC, the United Neighborhood Facilities Health Care Corporation, has been running the WIC program for over four decades. That's a joint effort by the JFK Center, the MLK Center and the Booker T. Washington Center. This year for the first time, the state opened the contract process to applications.

The neighborhood centers provide baby formula, diapers and food assistance for needy babies and moms at seven locations across Erie County. Their proposal was for a four year 6.6 million dollar contract for their operation and the 35 employees who staff it. What the neighborhood centers say they are most disappointed about is that County Executive Dahlkemper and her administrative team called a series of meetings with them to ask how they could help the program, then decided to put in a proposal themselves.  "I think sometimes you can read between the lines when people are meeting with you and proposing additions and changes and strategies to assist," said James Sherrod, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center. "We've been operating the program for nearly 40-years and meeting our objectives and our goals that were set by the state, so I wouldn't see why we wouldn't still be in a position to operate the program."

Sherrod told Erie News Now that they are still waiting for a response from the state regarding their proposal. It's unclear at this point why Erie County and its Health Department department decided to apply to run WIC, or what changes they may make in the program going forward, if they are awarded the contract. The existing contract is up at the end of September.