SPMWIC is a 9-digit floating point variable.
9999999.0 = NIU (Not in universe)

Description

SPMWIC records the estimated dollar value of benefits received by the family from the Supplementary Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This information is used to construct the Supplemental Poverty Measure.

For additional information on the estimation of WIC benefits, see Garner and Hoyakem.

In March 2014, the Census Bureau revised estimates for the value of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on the 2010, 2011 and 2012 ASEC files. The poverty status indicators using these new WIC estimates were also recalculated and are reflected in SPMPOV. The old estimates are no longer available on IPUMS-CPS.

SPMWIC originally estimated WIC participation based on the number of WIC family cases and not the actual number of individual participants. Working papers have shown that this method likely leads to an undercount of WIC benefits. In order to address this problem, the Census Bureau now assigns WIC participation at the household level and then designates as beneficiaries all eligible women and children in the households that report WIC participation.

For more details on this change, see Macartney.

SPM variables prior to 2010 are created by Columbia University's Center on Poverty and Social Research. Details about the methodology used by CPSP to construct the Historical SPM are described in the Historical SPM user note.

Comparability

Prior to 2010, SPM variables are constructed by CPSP using data from the CPS ASEC and other sources to calculate household resources and poverty thresholds. These variables are created using the best possible data available, but some must be imputed due to incomplete data coverage (particularly in the earliest years of the Historical SPM). Users are encouraged to read the Historical SPM documentation for information about CPSP's methodology and use caution when comparing pre- and post-2010 values.

Aside from the effects of inflation, SPMWIC is comparable across years from 2010 to 2018.

In 2019, the Census Bureau implemented a new processing system to accommodate survey changes. These changes affect income and relationship variables, making poverty measurements before and after 2019 incomparable. For more information on this overhaul, see our guide to the 2019 ASEC updates.

In 2021, the Census Bureau made some changes to SPM calculations that included changing the valuation of Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits to be based on state average WIC receipts rather than the national average. For more details about the 2021 changes to SPM, see Burns and Fox, 2021.

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Unharmonized Variables