Hello!

I used to post on Lactnet occasionally a few years ago so I am  
reintroducing myself briefly.  I am an MSW social worker and I   
retook my IBCLC test last July so I've been a Lactation consultant  
for almost 11 years now.  I work at the Division of Health in DHHS in  
Arkansas, doing maternity clinics and working in WIC.

Here is what I would like some information about.  Does anyone know  
about WIC funding positions for IBCLCs, especially if they are not  
RDs or RNs?  This is what has happened to me.  I have been in a part- 
time position for a long time now, for reasons I won't go into. It is  
funded by Maternal and Child Health. For over a year and a half, I've  
been getting partial promises that WIC is going to pick up the  
remainder of my salary so I can go to full-time. They paid for me to  
retake my exam and are paying for me to go to the LLLI Physician's  
conference in July. Both a year ago in a mini-grant written to WIC by  
our region and currently would have involved me supervising  
breastfeeding peer counselors.  I am the one who developed the peer  
counselor program for our state about 12 years ago.  I was going to  
be moved into a position this time called Regional Breastfeeding  
Coordinator. I was told last week that the paperwork for this was  
being done. This Friday, at a WIC training in front of over 100  
people, without any word to me first, the nutritionist doing the  
portion of the training on breastfeeding announced "and we have some  
changes in our region, Christine X is going to be our new Regional  
Breastfeeding Coordinator and Lucy Towbin and Barbara X will be her  
assistants."  Christine is an RD who is very positive about  
breastfeeding and someone I like.  She has had some of the advanced  
breastfeeding training that WIC has put on some years ago.  But her  
knowledge level is not the same as an IBCLC by any means.  I was told  
at the lunch break when everyone realized that this had not been a  
good way for me to find out about it, that WIC regulations require  
that peer counselors be supervised by an RD or an RN.  An IBCLC isn't  
an option?  I've never seen these regulations.  I find it odd that  
nobody knew these regulations until a week after some of Christine's  
other job duties were taken away.  When I sat with the three RDs and  
discussed this, they said there still MIGHT be the option of WIC  
picking up the remainder of my salary, but I can't officially  
supervise the peer counselors. They said I can train them, check to  
see that they are doing their job, be a consultant to them for  
difficult cases, but not supervise them.  Sounds like I WOULD be  
supervising them, but not have the title and maybe not the money,  
don't you think?

Lucy Towbin, MSW, LCSW, IBCLC

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html