SANTA BARBARA COUNTY WIC

CHEER is proud to recognize Santa Barbara County WIC as our CHAMPion of the Week for its outstanding leadership and impact in advancing breastfeeding equity on California’s Central Coast. Serving approximately 19,020 participants each month, Santa Barbara County WIC primarily supports Latina families and agricultural communities and has achieved some of the highest breastfeeding rates in California and the nation.

As of March 2025, Santa Barbara County WIC had reported a fully breastfeeding rate of 41.6% among infants 1–12 months, nearly double the California state average of 22%. These remarkable outcomes reflect decades of sustained commitment and innovation under the leadership of Meg Beard, MPH, MCHES, RDN, IBCLC, who has led breastfeeding efforts within the County of Santa Barbara Health Department’s WIC program for 27½ years. The program’s success is supported by a robust lactation infrastructure that includes nine IBCLCs, a Regional Breastfeeding Liaison Program, and three Peer Counselors, as well as the strategic use of Medi-Cal CPSP billing to ensure stable funding for prenatal and postpartum lactation services.

Additional program strengths include an internationally recognized peer counselor texting program, multilingual staff, regional coalition leadership, and a long-standing commitment to workforce lactation training and continuous quality improvement. Together, these efforts ensure families receive culturally responsive, evidence-based breastfeeding support throughout the perinatal period.

A key component of this success is Santa Barbara County WIC’s strong collaboration with Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC) through the Regional Breastfeeding Liaison Program and the CHAMPS hospital initiative. Led by Shantal Hover-Jones, MPH, CLES, this partnership helped LVMC become the first CHAMPS hospital in California, contributing to increases in breastfeeding rates at both the hospital and the Lompoc WIC site. Since implementation, the Lompoc WIC site’s breastfeeding rate has risen to a program high of 40.5% (November 2025), up from 28.2% in August 2023, before CHAMPS — demonstrating the power of coordinated hospital and community lactation support.

This work matters deeply to the Santa Barbara County WIC team. Breastfeeding is a critical strategy for improving maternal and infant health outcomes, and the team sees firsthand how strong lactation support advances health equity for families facing systemic barriers to care. Their success reflects a true team effort across WIC leadership, lactation staff, healthcare providers, hospital partners, and state support — working together to build healthier families and stronger communities.

CHEER celebrates Santa Barbara County WIC for its exceptional leadership, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to advancing breastfeeding support and maternal-child health equity.