Audit Says Louisiana Lax In Oversight Of WIC Program

A new audit by Louisiana's Legislative Auditor shows that Louisiana's public health office has done a poor job of monitoring the WIC program.

The federal nutrition program provides food to poor women and children and is administered in our state by the Office of Public Health..

The audit cites several areas where the Office of Public Health do not do a good job of monitoring including:

• Overpaying for food
• Not verifying prices charged for food
• Not following regulations for the program
• Failing to sanction vendors for unsanitary conditions in stores or those that had expired products

The Department of Health and Hospitals requested the audit.  The program cost taxpayers $126 million last fiscal year.

After the audit findings were released, DHH says it will be revamping the Office of Public Health's oversight of the program, and they also plan to change the way they monitor prices and vendors.