Block grant nutrition services in Wisconsin: an empirical view

This research applies standard nomenclature and data collection techniques to block grant-funded nutrition services in Wisconsin in 1985 and 1986. We discuss the way public sector nutritionists spent their time and the health conditions of the clients they saw. Analysis reveals both positive and negative factors associated with block grant support of nutrition services. Block grants have afforded some local agencies the needed flexibility to hire nutritionists. Moreover, distributions of clients by demographic characteristics and diagnoses clearly reveal that the nutrition services reached their intended targets, among them several groups that were not likely to have been reached any other way. Especially noteworthy were the limited services provided to the homebound. On the other hand, because the funding was narrowly applied in the case of Maternal and Child Health Block Grants and was of very limited size in the case of Prevention Block Grants, needy groups continue to be missed. These include adolescent and adult males and the developmentally disabled. A final section of our analysis examines the average time spent by nutritionists per client visit. These results are presented in the context of service delivery and diagnostic categories. We conclude that use of block grant funding can add flexibility in meeting the need for nutrition services, but that it is restricted in scope.