WIC/Food Stamp eligibility and not vaccinating

[mrledee]

Hello,

My wife and I are expecting our first children (twins) in a few months and are very excited.  She is currently on WIC and when the children are born we should be eligible for Food Stamps.  My wife and I do not want to vaccinate our children and are concerned that this may affect our eligibility for benefits.

I am in the Navy currently stationed in San Antonio, TX and we will be relocating to Florida in the middle of 2012.  If anyone has any knowledge of religious exemptions regarding government assistance in either Texas or Florida, along with any knowledge or experience of Military requirements for vaccine exemptions (documentation, Tricare, deployments, overseas travel, etc) I would be very appreciative!

Thanks to all and Merry Christmas

[AugustLia23]

I can't speak to army requirements (though I'm pretty sure the vaccines are only required for the person ON duty), but I know with absolute certainty that vaccines are NOT a requirement to be eligible for WIC or Foodstamps. If she is breastfeeding, which she *should be if you plan on not vaccinating (well, she she should anyways), than wic continues to be the staples for her until the babies are old enough for solids. 

For my unvaccinaed children it has only rarely come up in regard to getting benefits, and never did until they were a bit older anyways, like over a year. I think that it really only came up when I was asking for child care assistance, in which I simply checked the box that said something like "check if your children are up-to-date on their scheduled immunizations", since they were up to date according to MY schedule. It was never an issue, and I have never had to show anybody a shot record, which is great, because I don't have any :)

Even with headstart, I simply told them we don' vaccinate and had no problems.

Good to be thinking about it now, and congrats on the twins!

edited to fix grammar...

[mrledee]

Thank you for your response, especially on Christmas.  I know the last time we went to the WIC office (Texas) I overheard other mothers there being asked for their shot records for their children.  I wasnt' sure if it varied from state to state.

[AugustLia23]

You're right, I've gotten WIC in Oregon and Mass, and in both those states vaccines were not really brought up. I'm pretty sure the federal ruling on that issue overrides whether the state department asks for it. From a cursory search, it looks like the WIC clinics offer free vaccinations, so that may be why they ask for records. Your mileage may vary, and if they give you trouble for providing an exemption, just ask for the law that requires you to vaccinate to receive WIC.

[mrledee]

Would you happen to know what federal ruling regarding the vaccinations I can use as a reference if the need arises?  I like having all the info at hand just in the event I need it.

[frugalmama]

I can speak as to the WIC clinics in San Antonio, as I'm local to there. Never had a problem using a TX exemption form to exempt from WIC other than the 1st person didn't have a clue what the form was and I had to explain it. They did want a copy of the state form {not the original - we just did a regular copy} to put in the chart at the 2 clinics I used locally, just to cover them if audited by the state and to show it wasn't medical negligence on my part either {I'm a single mom}. Mostly they just wanted it as a form of ID as well. 

FWIW, this was at the clinic on Rittamin, and also the clinic on Walzem {since you said Navy I'm assuming you're out of Ft. Sam which is a few miles from both those clinics}.

[frugalmama]

Oh and for food stamps, vaxs have never come up. Only way they ask about vax's for government assistance is if you are going to draw TANF - then they do ask I'm told. 

[mrledee]

Could you direct me to a link where I can access the state form?  Also, does anyone here have any experience with Florida rules regarding government assistance?

[frugalmama]

The Texas state form is here, but you won't be able to request them until your children are born, as they require the child's information. They come pre-filled out with each child's information, and you just tick off the boxes you want to exempt from they sign in front of a notary. 

[emmy526]

http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/benefitsandservices/immunization.HTM

Immunization Screening and Referral in WIC Immunization records and/or an infant/child’s immunization status are in no way tied to the receipt of WIC benefits. For information on WIC’s role in immunization promotion, contact your State WIC agency. Heres also a guide to Texas Laws on Vaxes.. http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/immtrac/parents_public.shtm#immremove it has an opt out of the tracker too...towards the bottom.

[mrledee]

Wow thanks for all those great links everyone.  I saw the one on the USDA site for WIC and I will be sure t print that one up and take it with me if anyone hassles me.  I was looking on the USDA site for something similar regarding SNAP and immunizations but I couldn't find anything.  Does anyone know if such literature exist somewhere?