Section 672.100  Definitions

 

"Act" means the WIC Vendor Management Act [410 ILCS 255].

 

"Administrative Law Judge" means any person appointed by the Secretary to preside at an administrative hearing.

 

"Applicant" means the individual, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated association, limited liability company, or corporation applying to be a WIC Retail Vendor.

 

"Application" means the application forms and other required materials submitted by a business entity to notify the Department that the business entity desires to become a WIC Retail Vendor.

 

"Approved Product List" or "APL" means a master UPC list that the WIC EBT card is programmed to follow.

 

"Approved Source" means a wholesaler, retailer or manufacturer of infant formula listed by the Department as an approved purchase point for infant formula and WIC eligible nutritionals.

 

"Authorization" means the approval of an applicant who has met the WIC Vendor criteria and possesses a properly executed, valid WIC Vendor Contract as a WIC Retail Vendor.

 

"Balance Inquiry" means a type of transaction that allows WIC Cardholders to identify the remaining benefits left on their card.

 

"Benefits" means the food, formula, and WIC eligible nutritional item quantities that are loaded onto WIC Participant EBT cards.

 

"Business Entity" means the retail business which an applicant or authorized WIC Vendor operates at a particular Vendor Site.

 

"Civil Money Penalty" or "CMP" means a monetary fine that is imposed upon non-compliant vendors in lieu of disqualification when the vendor is necessary for adequate client access.

 

"Corporate Officer" means the identity of the officer of a corporation as set forth in its Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State of the state in which that entity is incorporated.

 

"Commodity Supplemental Food Program" or "CSFP" means a federal food assistance program through which the Department or the Department's Representative provides U.S. Government commodities to eligible elderly.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Human Services. (Section 3(a) of the Act)

 

"Department Estimated Cost" means estimated prices that are averaged and weighted by store type and region.  The estimated prices are based on indicators, including wholesale prices for WIC Foods and the self-reported Vendor prices on the Vendor Retail Price Survey.

 

"Department Representative" means an employee or authorized agent of the Department.

 

"Education Visit/Visit" means a survey of an applicant/Vendor Site where the monitor and the designated store representative review the criteria for authorization as a retail WIC Vendor.

 

"Electronic Benefit Transfer" or "EBT" means a method that permits electronic access to WIC Food Benefits using a card approved by the Secretary.

 

"Expired Food" means WIC approved infant formula available to WIC Participants on a store shelf that exceeds the stamped "use before" date printed on the food item.

 

"50% Vendor" means any Vendor that makes more than half of its SNAP eligible sales from the sale of food items from the transaction of WIC Food Benefits as defined in 7 CFR 246.2 (Above 50% Vendors).  It includes vendor applicants applying for an initial authorization who estimate that they will make more than half of their SNAP eligible sales from the sale of food items from the transaction of WIC Food Benefits.

 

"Fine" means an amount of money imposed as a penalty.

 

"Food Benefit" means a negotiable EBT card issued by a Local Agency that specifies the quantity, size and type of authorized foods available to a WIC Participant within a designated time period, which can subsequently be taken to a Vendor in exchange for the specified quantities of food.

 

"Illinois eWIC" means a card with a magnetic strip that contains WIC Food Benefits for a WIC household to purchase WIC-approved foods at authorized WIC Retail Vendors using EBT.

 

"Integrated System" means a network of cash registers in a store that is capable of processing WIC EBT transactions through a third-party processor (TPP).  Integrated cash registers must be able to provide a benefit balance prior to WIC purchase and a receipt including the remaining monthly benefit balance to WIC clients.

 

"Limited Liability Company" means a company organized and existing under the Limited Liability Company Act [805 ILCS 180].

 

"Local Agency" means a public or private, non-profit health or human services agency that provides health services, either directly or through contract, in accordance with the USDA WIC Regulations, the Act, or this Part.

 

"Minimum Supply of WIC Foods" means the Department published list of the minimum required quantities, sizes, and types of WIC Foods that must be maintained in stock at all times by a Vendor.

 

"Not-to-Exceed Price" or "NTE Price" means the maximum allowable price that is established by peer group for most supplemental foods sold by Vendors.

 

"Participant" means authorized pregnant women, breast feeding women, postpartum women, infants or children who are receiving supplemental foods or Food Benefits under the WIC Program.

 

"Participant Access" means the determination by the Department of the availability of authorized Vendors within a geographic area.

 

"Peer Group" means the classification of authorized Vendors into groups based on common characteristics or criteria that affect food prices, for the purpose of applying appropriate competitive price criteria to Vendors at authorization and limiting payments for food to competitive levels.

 

"Pharmacy" means any store, shop, department, or other place, at a fixed and permanent location, having the capability to dispense and sell or offer for sale at retail value by a licensed pharmacist drugs, medicines, poisons, and liquid foods, prescribed for an individual by dentists, veterinarians, and physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches.

 

"Pharmacy Vendor" means any free-standing pharmacy that has been authorized by the Department to accept Illinois eWIC as a WIC Retail Vendor and to provide only infant formula and medical food to WIC Participants, proxies of WIC Participants or Department representatives.

 

"Personal Identification Number" or "PIN" means the unique number selected by WIC clients to authorize transactions on their WIC EBT cards.

 

"Posted Shelf Price" means the displayed price of WIC Foods charged to the general public, identifying the price of the specific WIC Food item, including any sales price or discounts.

 

"Probation" means a period of time during which the Vendor will be under increased scrutiny by the Department.

 

"Retail Vendor Price Survey" means the current prices, reported to the Department, by a Vendor or a Department representative, as charges for WIC Foods.

 

"Rural-Urban Commuting Area Code" or "RUCA" means a code assigned by the USDA Economic Research Services (ERS) to determine the rural or urban status of a postal ZIP Code.

 

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services or designee.

 

"SNAP Eligible Sales" means revenue from food that legally may be purchased with the SNAP EBT Card.

 

"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" or "SNAP" means the program funded by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to provide nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and families.

 

"United States Department of Agriculture" or "USDA" means the federal agency that oversees the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, SNAP, and other food, nutrition, and agricultural programs that benefit residents of the United States.

 

"Universal Product Code" or "UPC" means a 12- or 13-digit code affixed, by barcode, to food, formula, and WIC eligible nutritional items.  The Illinois APL contains a comprehensive list of all WIC eligible UPCs and permits WIC EBT transactions.

 

"USDA WIC Regulations" means the Regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Service, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (7 CFR 246 (1999)).

 

"Vendor" or "WIC Retail Vendor" means the individual, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated association, limited liability company, or corporation authorized by the Department to accept Food Benefits and to provide supplemental food to WIC Cardholders.

 

"Vendor Site" means a fixed and permanent location, operating as a business entity, listed in the WIC Vendor application, that has been authorized by the Department for purposes of delivery of WIC Foods to WIC Cardholders.

 

"Violation" means an infringement of federal regulations as defined in 7 CFR 246.2, or State rules or statutes, or local laws.

 

"WIC Cardholder" means the person presenting a WIC EBT card at the time of purchase and who is able to enter a correct PIN to complete a WIC balance inquiry and/or sale.

 

"WIC Food Centers" are WIC food distribution sites through which the Department or its representative provide the direct distribution of WIC foods.

 

"WIC Food List" means the published list of the State of Illinois authorized WIC Foods.

 

"WIC Foods" means those competitively priced foods that have been placed on the WIC Food List and have been determined by the Department to be nutritionally qualified for the WIC Program in the State of Illinois.

 

"WIC Participant" means a person receiving WIC benefits, who may or may not also be a WIC Cardholder.

 

"WIC Retail Vendor Contract" means an agreement signed by the WIC Retail Vendor and the Department for the provision of WIC Foods to Participants, the Proxies of WIC Participants or Department Representatives.  A valid WIC Retail Vendor Contract is binding only between the Department and the officer, partner or sole proprietor who originally signed the Vendor Application.  It authorizes the contractor to operate as a WIC Vendor.

 

"Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program" or "WIC" means the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children authorized by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended (42 USC 1786).

 

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 2491, effective January 30, 2024)