The commissioner of health shall:

(1) develop a comprehensive state plan for the delivery of nutritional supplements to pregnant and lactating women, infants, and children;

(2) contract with existing local public or private nonprofit organizations for the administration of the nutritional supplement program;

(3) develop and implement a public education program promoting the provisions of sections 145.891 to 145.897, and provide for the delivery of individual and family nutrition education and counseling at project sites. The education programs must include a campaign to promote breast feeding;

(4) develop in cooperation with other agencies and vendors a uniform state voucher system for the delivery of nutritional supplements;

(5) authorize local health agencies to issue vouchers bimonthly to some or all eligible individuals served by the agency, provided the agency demonstrates that the federal minimum requirements for providing nutrition education will continue to be met and that the quality of nutrition education and health services provided by the agency will not be adversely impacted;

(6) investigate and implement a system to reduce the cost of nutritional supplements and maintain ongoing negotiations with nonparticipating manufacturers and suppliers to maximize cost savings;

(7) develop, analyze, and evaluate the health aspects of the nutritional supplement program and establish nutritional guidelines for the program;

(8) apply for, administer, and annually expend at least 99 percent of available federal or private funds;

(9) aggressively market services to eligible individuals by conducting ongoing outreach activities and by coordinating with and providing marketing materials and technical assistance to local human services and community service agencies and nonprofit service providers;

(10) determine, on July 1 of each year, the number of pregnant women participating in each special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) and, in 1986, 1987, and 1988, at the commissioner's discretion, designate a different food program deliverer if the current deliverer fails to increase the participation of pregnant women in the program by at least ten percent over the previous year's participation rate;

(11) promulgate all rules necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 145.891 to 145.897; and

(12) ensure that any state appropriation to supplement the federal program is spent consistent with federal requirements.

History: 1975 c 346 s 4; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 404 s 8; 1988 c 689 art 2 s 45; 1989 c 282 art 1 s 17; 1990 c 568 art 3 s 5; 1997 c 7 art 2 s 20