Three weeks into the federal government shutdown with no end in sight, the future of several social service programs is unclear, threatening the health and well-being of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
While funding for the Woman, Infants and Children program will continue until Dec. 1, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program faces an immediate halt come Nov. 1 if the shutdown continues.
On Wednesday, staff members from La Plata County Public Health and the Department of Human Services briefed county commissioners on the status of the programs.
Last month in La Plata County, 2,834 households and 4,943 individuals received SNAP benefits, said Martha Johnson, Human Services director. The total benefits amounted to $962,643, or about $195 per person.
“When you think about your grocery bill for a month, $195 per person is not very much, but it adds up to almost a million dollars of economic benefit for our residents and our county every month,” Johnson said. “And so at this point, it’s almost a million dollars that will not be coming to La Plata County, at least for November, unless the shutdown gets remedied.”
The WIC program is in a more stable position.
In October, Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee approved a supplemental funding resolution that allocated $7.5 million to support WIC benefits statewide. Those funds were expected to run out at the end of the month, but a federal emergency funding resolution recently passed will extend the program through November.
“If the government shutdown continues beyond the end of November and funds are not available, grantees like our office will receive a full stop-work order,” said Theresa Anselmo, director of La Plata County Public Health. “We will not be able to conduct WIC appointments for existing or new clients, and clients will not have access to their WIC food and infant formula benefits.”
As of this year, 805 residents in La Plata County are enrolled in WIC, said Jenny Howell, the county’s Public Health WIC director. About 80% are infants and children, while the remaining 20% are pregnant or postpartum women. About 33% of WIC participants in the county are also enrolled in SNAP.
“It just speaks to the volume of food insecurity in our community that our families often do need to get support from both of those programs,” Howell said, speaking to county commissioners.
Many WIC families rely on the program to help cover the cost of infant formula, which can be extremely expensive. Howell said some formulas cost as much as $40 a bottle.
WIC also contributes to the local economy, Anselmo said. Five stores in La Plata County accept WIC cards, and the program’s annual redemption totals about $420,000.
Uncertainty dominated the discussion. County staff members repeatedly emphasized that no outcome is guaranteed if the shutdown continues.
Additional funding is possible, especially as the state pursues more emergency funding in case of a prolonged shutdown.
In preparation for potential funding halts, commissioners plan to explore local alternatives to fill gaps in the months ahead.
The current situation, said Commissioner Marsha Porter Norton, can be described as a “food security human-caused disaster.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
A previous version of this story misspelled the first and last name of Jenny Howell, who is director of La Plata County’s Woman, Infants and Children program.
