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603426 - FY26 RFA for Iowa WIC Program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)
Funding Opportunity Details
Nutrition and Physical Activity
Final Application Deadline: Apr 24, 2025 4:00 PM
Status Closed
Posted Date Mar 13, 2025 11:59 AM
Award Amount RangeNot Applicable
Project Dates 10/01/2025 - 09/30/2028
Award Announcement Date 06/17/2025
Categorical Area
Recurring Opportunity No
Program Officer John McMullen
Phone (515) 416-8565 x
Description
It is the responsibility of the Applicant to review all Attachments listed below for additional details regarding this Funding Opportunity.
The issuance of this Funding Opportunity in no way constitutes a commitment by HHS to award a contract.
Excerpts from the RFA:
Purpose
The purpose of this RFA is to provide guidance for current contractors to submit continuation applications to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (referred to as Agency) to renew service provisions as described by and within the project period established by the RFP #58823001. Services covered by this application include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which includes the Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program.
Schedule of Important Dates (All times and dates listed are local Iowa time.)
The table below lists critical dates in the application and contract award process. Contractors are encouraged to review the entire RFA for detailed information about events, dates, times and sites.
EVENT
DATE
RFA Issued
March 13, 2025
Written Questions and Responses
Round 1 Questions Due
Interim Responses Posted by
March 27, 2025
April 3, 2025
Final Questions Due Final Cumulative Responses Posted by
April 10, 2025
April 17, 2025
Applications Due
April 24, 2025 by 4:00 p.m. Local Iowa Time
Post Notice of Intent to Award
June 17, 2025
| Description | File Name | Type | Size | Upload Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Iowa WIC Program FY26 RFA | A. Iowa WIC Program FY 26 RFA.pdf | 449 KB | 03/13/2025 03:41 PM | |
| B. HHS Application Instructions Guidance | B. HHS Application Instructions_Guidance New IG.pdf | 2 MB | 03/13/2025 11:26 AM | |
| C. FY26 Iowa WIC Program Draft Contract | C. FY26 Iowa WIC Program Draft Contract.pdf | 344 KB | 03/13/2025 11:29 AM | |
| D. FY 26 Iowa WIC Program Draft Review Tool | D. FY 26 Iowa WIC Program Draft Review Tool.pdf | 355 KB | 03/13/2025 11:29 AM | |
| E. FY 26 Iowa WIC Program Draft Budget Review Tool | E. FY 26 Iowa WIC Program Draft Budget Review Tool.pdf | 286 KB | 03/13/2025 11:30 AM | |
| F. Allowable Costs for Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Programs | F. Allowable Costs for Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Programs.pdf | 1 MB | 03/13/2025 11:30 AM | |
| G. FY 26 Nutrition Services Plan and Evaluation Example | G. FY 26 Nutrition Services Plan and Evaluation Example.xlsx | xlsx | 41 KB | 03/13/2025 11:30 AM |
| H. RFA Amendment 1 Iowa WIC Program FY26 RFA | H. RFA Amendment 1 Iowa WIC Program FY26 RFA.pdf | 64 KB | 03/14/2025 12:17 PM | |
| I. RFA Amendment 2 Iowa WIC Program FY26 RFA | I. RFA Amendment 2 Iowa WIC Program FY26 RFA.pdf | 131 KB | 04/17/2025 04:10 PM |
| Submitted Date | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 2025 12:36 PM | Please explain the Agency Participation on page 23. It states YTD FY24 Participation, should this be FY 25 YTD or the entire year of FY 24? In the FY 2025 RFA it states that it is the Average of YTD FY24 Participation Oct, Nov, Dec. Please clarify how this number was calculated. | The “YTD FY24 Participation” figure on page 23 refers specifically to the average monthly unduplicated participation from October 2023 through September 2024. |
| Mar 26, 2025 11:48 AM | It appears that the agencies with the highest percentage of caseload are receiving a funding decrease. Can you tell us why that is the case? This decrease in funding could impact their ability to maintain the high levels of caseloads they have achieved. In addition, several of these agencies have a high percentage of non-English speaking clients making their interpretation costs very high. This will be difficult to offset with the decreased funding. | Funding is allocated based on the Iowa WIC allocation formula, which includes a base amount per county served (7.5%) and a variable amount (92.5%) based on average participation. |
| Mar 26, 2025 12:58 PM | Attachment "B. HHS Application Instructions Guidance", page 2, states contractors may "Copy Existing Application" rather than start a new application. This seems advantageous as previous information can simply be updated. Are there any instances where it would NOT be recommended to copy the existing application versus starting a new one? | Copying an existing application can save time, but updated forms will not carry over and must be completed separately. Regardless of the method, applicants should review all content and ensure they are using the current RFA instructions, forms, and attachments. |
| Mar 31, 2025 10:36 AM | Are the Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action components still a requirement, or is there an anticipated amendment? | Yes, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action is a requirement of WIC. |
| Mar 31, 2025 10:36 AM | Are the Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action components still a requirement, or is there an anticipated amendment? | Yes, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action is a requirement of WIC. |
| Apr 3, 2025 1:56 PM | When completing the WIC Budget NSA #1 the total salary and fringe for all other programs listed-Is that including non-WIC programs? or is this Cat #1 and Cat #2 only combined salary and fringe? Please clarify | If “WIC Budget NSA #1” is referring to the forms “WIC Salary and Fringe Details – Category #1” or “WIC Salary and Fringe Details – Category #2”, in the first column, then the "total salary and fringe for all other programs listed" includes the full salary and fringe paid by the agency for all programs the staff member works on. |
| Apr 4, 2025 4:11 PM | In regards to this question that was asked previously: "It appears that the agencies with the highest percentage of caseload are receiving a funding decrease. Can you tell us why that is the case? This decrease in funding could impact their ability to maintain the high levels of caseloads they have achieved. In addition, several of these agencies have a high percentage of non-English speaking clients making their interpretation costs very high. This will be difficult to offset with the decreased funding." My agency is concerned with the decrease in funding for FY26 which is significant. Are we expected to cut back on services, how can we expand or start new clinics when the funding has been decreased. We continue to exceed assigned caseloads. Will there be amendments for agencies that are receiving less funding. I noticed that the State WIC FY26 budget is the same as FY25; do we not expect an increase in funding? | Funding is allocated based on the Iowa WIC allocation formula, which includes a base amount per county served (7.5%) and a variable amount (92.5%) based on average participation. The FY26 WIC budget remains level with FY25. |
| Apr 4, 2025 4:26 PM | Our agency FY26 funding is quite a bit less than FY25 [almost 7%] but our assigned caseload increased by 4%. We have always met caseload assignments, new clinic sites & numerous outreach events. I don't feel our efforts are being rewarded when funding is 7% less for next year. What strategies do you recommend? | The WIC budget is related to funds noted to be certain before providing additional funds based on performance. |
| Apr 9, 2025 10:33 AM | In the section titled "Outreach Strategies - FY25 Progress" there is a table to list priority populations and/or locations, how these were determined, tools and resources used, steps/activities planned to address them, timeline for implementing steps/activities, why these will work and plan for assessing the effectiveness. Should the information in this table be copied over from FY25 or does it need to be completely new information? | The priority participant types and/or location for each FY 25 outreach strategy should be listed in the column titled “Priority participant types and/or locations” of the table. Progress regarding the topics in the other columns of the table should be described as noted in the table and in the Outreach Strategies – FY 25 Progress” section of the RFA on page 31. |
| Apr 9, 2025 12:57 PM | Is it appropriate to use and cite data from the Estimated Eligibility Report in the RFA? | If the “Estimated Eligibility Report” is referring to the “Iowa WIC Estimated Eligible Population Final Report” and the “Iowa WIC Estimated Eligible Population: County Profiles”, then yes. The “Outreach Strategies” section on page 13 of the RFA states “Applicants will be required to use the “WIC Nutrition Education Needs Assessment (NENA) Technical Assessment Tool”, information from the “Iowa WIC Estimated Eligible Population Final Report”, “Iowa WIC Estimated Eligible Population: County Profiles”, State Office outreach strategic plan initiative resources (branding, marketing, and communication plan), and other available resources and tools to develop outreach strategies specific to the needs of the applicant’s service area to reach new participants and maintain current participants.” |
| Apr 10, 2025 12:01 PM | I have met with our fiscal office to go over the budget. We have to adjust the FTE to fit the budget. When completing Salary and Fringe Details for Cat #1 and Cat # 2 our fiscal office is wondering if in the column that says "Enter total annual salary and fringe paid by agency for ALL programs worked.", if we should put what it would be if we were getting all funding upfront, and then in the last column put what pay reflects the FTE we entered into the grant? Essentially, if a staff is only being paid from one program should the 2nd and 4th columns match? Or should the 2nd reflect what we actually need to cover staff and the 4th reflect the FTE we have entered to meet the budget guidelines for the grant? | In the second column (“total annual salary and fringe paid by agency for ALL programs worked”), enter the full salary and fringe amount the agency pays for that position across all funding sources. This reflects the true cost of the position, regardless of how much WIC is funding. In the fourth column, enter the portion of salary and fringe that will be charged to the WIC grant based on the FTE you’ve budgeted. If a staff member is funded 100% by WIC, the second and fourth columns will match. If they’re only partially funded by WIC, the fourth column should reflect that portion. |
| Apr 10, 2025 12:41 PM | Since subcontracts with individuals is no longer allowed. How would you like us to list interpreters in WIC Personnel? | Please see the amendment “I. RFA Amendment 2 Iowa WIC Program FY 26 RFA”. Subcontracted interpreters should be documented on the Iowa HHS Subcontract Plan form. |
| Apr 10, 2025 1:50 PM | If we submitted an infrastructure request in a previous RFA that was not funded, do we need to submit it again with this RFA for it to be considered if funding becomes available? | Yes, if you would like the infrastructure request to be considered for FY26, it must be resubmitted with this RFA. Requests not funded in a previous cycle will not carry over automatically. |