This bill amends section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to let individuals complete WIC certification, recertification, and nutritional risk evaluations by phone, video, or other Secretary-approved two-way real-time formats, while requiring remote options comply with ADA and Section 504. When certifications occur remotely, State agencies must collect required anthropometric data on a 30/90-day schedule, and may temporarily certify participants based on income until the risk evaluation is completed.
The bill also explicitly authorizes delivery of food instruments — including mailed items and electronic benefit transfer cards — through remote issuance methods, removes certain regulatory constraints, and directs USDA to report to Congress within one year on remote technology use, impacts, and best practices. The changes expand access for participants but shift operational, data-collection, and oversight burdens onto State agencies and the federal regulator.
At a Glance
What It Does
Permits in-person, telephone, video, or other two-way real-time formats for WIC certifications and nutritional risk evaluations; requires ADA-compliant access. Allows State agencies to mail or remotely issue food instruments, including EBT cards, and removes a specified regulatory paragraph.
Who It Affects
State WIC agencies (operations and data-collection), WIC participants—particularly those with transportation or scheduling barriers—EBT vendors and technology providers, and USDA for oversight and reporting responsibilities.
Why It Matters
This bill institutionalizes remote enrollment and benefit delivery in WIC, potentially reducing access barriers while creating new compliance, data-security, and program-integrity requirements that states and vendors must implement quickly.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill rewrites the statutory definition of “presence” for WIC appointments so a participant may choose in-person, telephone, video, or other Secretary-approved two-way, real-time communication for certification, recertification, or nutritional risk evaluation. It adds an explicit cross-reference requiring any offered remote format to meet Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 accessibility obligations.
Practically, that means State agencies must ensure remote platforms include accommodations such as captioning, interpreters, or other accessible features when required.
When a participant uses a remote format, the State agency must plan to collect the anthropometric measurements and other data used to determine nutritional risk within 30 days of the appointment and must complete collection within 90 days. To prevent immediate enrollment barriers, the bill allows states to temporarily certify applicants who meet income eligibility without waiting for the nutritional risk assessment, but it caps that temporary certification: if the state fails to collect required data, temporary certification ends after 91 days, or earlier if the individual is found ineligible.On benefits, the bill replaces language that assumed voucher pickup by mail with broader authority to deliver “food instruments” by mail, remote issuance, or other means, and it explicitly names electronic benefit transfer cards as an option.
The legislation directs the Secretary to amend regulations (specifically removing paragraph (4) of 7 C.F.R. §246.12(r)) to align federal rules with the statutory change, reducing the regulatory barrier that required participants to obtain instruments in person in some cases.Finally, USDA must produce a report to two congressional committees within one year describing how remote technologies are used for certification, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support; assessing impacts on certifications and participant satisfaction; and identifying best practices for certification, service integration, and secure data management. The report requirement signals continued federal attention and possible future regulatory or funding action based on observed outcomes.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill authorizes telephone, two-way video, or other Secretary-approved two-way real-time formats for WIC certification, recertification, and nutritional risk evaluations.
If certification occurs remotely, the State agency must plan to collect anthropometric data within 30 days and complete collection within 90 days of the appointment.
State agencies may temporarily certify applicants who meet income eligibility immediately, but that temporary certification terminates 91 days after issuance if the required nutritional risk data are not collected.
The statute explicitly allows delivery of food instruments — including mailed items and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards — through remote issuance, eliminating the requirement for participants to travel to a local agency to obtain instruments.
USDA must submit a report to Congress within 1 year on remote technology use in WIC, including impacts, best practices for certification and education, and secure participant data management.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short title
Establishes the Act's name as the "21st Century WIC Act of 2026." This is formal but signals Congressional intent to modernize WIC delivery and enrollment methods.
Redefines 'presence' and sets remote-certification rules
Replaces the prior statutory language with a four-part framework: (i) an applicant may choose in-person, telephone, video, or other Secretary-designated two-way, real-time appointment formats; (ii) any offered format must comply with ADA and Section 504 accessibility requirements; (iii) if certification is done remotely (i.e., not in-person), the State agency must plan to collect anthropometric and other nutritional-risk data within 30 days and complete collection within 90 days; and (iv) the statute permits provisional certification based solely on income with explicit timelines—State agencies may provisionally enroll and must finish the nutritional risk evaluation within 90 days, and provisional eligibility lapses after 91 days if the required data are not collected or the applicant is found ineligible. For practice, this creates a predictable compliance timetable that states must operationalize into scheduling, outreach, and follow-up protocols.
Authorizes remote delivery of food instruments and removes a regulatory constraint
Alters statutory language to let State agencies deliver food instruments by mail, remote issuance, or other means that don't require participant travel to a local office; explicitly includes electronic benefit transfer cards. The bill also mandates a regulatory change by deleting paragraph (4) of 7 C.F.R. §246.12(r), aligning the Code of Federal Regulations with the new statutory flexibility. Operationally, states can expand home mailings or implement remote EBT activation and issuance systems, but they must also update State plans and internal controls to prevent loss, fraud, or delivery errors.
USDA reporting requirement on remote technologies
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to produce a report to the Senate Agriculture Committee and House Education and Labor Committee within one year describing how remote technologies (video, telephone, online platforms) are used for certification, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support; the report must analyze impacts on certifications, appointments, and participant satisfaction and identify best practices for remote certification, service integration, and secure data handling. The deliverable gives USDA a fact base to inform future rulemaking or funding decisions and creates an accountability mechanism for evaluating the statutory changes.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Healthcare across all five countries.
Explore Healthcare in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Low-income participants with transportation, childcare, or work-schedule constraints — they can complete certification or recertification remotely and receive benefits without in-person visits, lowering access barriers.
- Rural participants and those in health-professional shortage areas — remote certification and mailed or remotely issued EBT reduce the need for long travel to local WIC clinics.
- State agencies with mature digital systems — agencies that already have telehealth, EBT, or remote-engagement infrastructure can scale operations and reduce in-person caseload bottlenecks.
- Technology and EBT vendors — expanded statutory permission for remote issuance and two-way platforms creates demand for telehealth platforms, secure data solutions, and remote card issuance/activation services.
- Participants needing ADA accommodations — explicit ADA/Section 504 language requires accessible remote options, which can improve participation among people with disabilities.
Who Bears the Cost
- State WIC agencies — must build or expand remote-certification systems, implement follow-up workflows to meet the 30/90-day data deadlines, update State plans, and strengthen fraud controls; these operational costs fall first to states unless supplemented by federal funding.
- Local WIC clinics and staff — will have to adapt intake and data-collection practices (including scheduling in-person anthropometric follow-ups), manage increased outreach for provisional cases, and possibly retrain staff on remote platforms.
- USDA (federal oversight) — must revise regulations, monitor state compliance, and produce the required report within one year, tasks that require analyst time and technical guidance.
- Participants without reliable internet/phone access or private spaces — may face new barriers if states emphasize remote workflows without parallel in-person pathways or targeted digital-access support.
- Data security and privacy administrators — agencies and vendors must invest in secure systems and processes to satisfy the report’s call for secure participant-data management and to limit liability from breaches.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between widening access through remote certification and benefit delivery, and preserving the clinical accuracy and program-integrity controls that in-person processes provide: the bill reduces participation barriers but shifts the burden of collecting essential health measurements, safeguarding data, and preventing fraud to states and vendors—without prescribing funding or technical standards to ensure equitable, secure implementation.
The bill expands flexibility but leaves several operational and equity questions open. The 30/90-day schedule for collecting anthropometric and other nutritional-risk data imposes clear deadlines, but the statute does not fund the outreach, transport, or clinic capacity needed to complete measurements within those windows.
States with limited staffing or no mobile-measurement programs may struggle to meet the timelines, creating the risk that eligible participants lose provisional benefits when agencies cannot complete follow-up. The statutory remedy (termination after 91 days if data are not collected) protects program integrity but may produce uneven access across jurisdictions.
The legislation requires ADA and Section 504 compliance for remote formats and asks USDA to report on secure data management, but it does not specify technical standards or minimum security controls. That combination risks divergent implementations: some states may deploy robust, privacy-preserving platforms while others use ad hoc solutions that increase data-breach risk.
The bill also gives the Secretary discretion to approve “other” two-way, real-time formats, which helps future-proof technology choices but concentrates substantial interpretive power at USDA; absent regulatory detail, states will need prompt guidance to avoid inconsistent enforcement. Finally, removing the regulatory paragraph in 7 C.F.R. §246.12(r) aligns rules with statute but could create a temporary gap between statutory permission and practical regulatory guidance on issues such as proof of delivery, EBT activation security, and vendor responsibilities.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.