WIC EBT Feasibility Study and Cost‐Benefit Analysis

Virginia Department of Health WIC EBT Feasibility Study and Cost-Benefit Analysis
The time to perform basic issuance functions was captured using a time study conducted over
one week at three different clinics and through the web-based survey. Estimated time for
transactions include:
• 3.8 minutes to print (issue) the FIs for a household
• 1.6 minutes to provide the client with the household’s FI and for the client to sign the
stub
• 1.7 minutes to train new clients on the use of FIs
• 3.9 minutes to process a void transaction
• 6.11 minutes per day to initial, date and file FIs or voids
In the web-based survey, agency and clinic staff were asked to
indicate the top three challenges for a WIC clinic using the
paper-based process. The speed of issuing a FI was considered
the greatest challenge. It is noted that printing speed is
dependent upon response times from the WICNET system and
the internet access of the local clinic. During interviews,
clinics indicated that there were “time of day” issues, where
either the system or the internet in general was slower than
other times of the day. The following chart illustrates the
responses to this survey question.
Top Challenges for the Paper‐Based
System
Speed of Issuing a Food …
Issuance Errors, Including …
Processing Voids
Managing & Storing Stock
Processing CAP Requests
Processing Lost, Stolen Fis
Other
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
“The printer is so slow; the one
who is printing cannot perform
any other functions, like making
appointments, while the checks
are printing.”
Rating Percent
45 V 1.2 August 20, 2008 Appendix B: Baseline Analysis