As the federal government debated on
the fiscal matters, on October 1, 2013 was the official first day of the 2013 –
2014 a partial federal shutdown began that impacted many programs and
service. The longer the shutdown the
greater the impact will be upon our youngest non-voting citizens.
Here are some of the anticipated
impacts for children in North Carolina.
1.
Federal government pays for the majority
of child care subsidies. The funds come
from two sources, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Neither of these programs
authorized beyond September 13, 2013. The
NC Department of Health and Human Services has indicated
that both CCDBG and TANF funds will run out before the end of October.
2.
Child Care Regulators were furloughed
as of October 3, 2013. These are the
persons who monitor and license all child care programs.
3.
The WAGE$
program has been frozen and administrative staff furloughed.
4.
Child Care Resource and Referral
(CCR&R) Programs are frozen.
Programs help parents find quality child care programs and teachers in
improving quality and assist organizations interested in starting child care
programs.
5.
The Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental food, health care
referrals and nutrition education for almost 264,000 women, infants and young
children each month. Initially, the NC
Department of Health and Human Services stated the program would shut down in
October when funding ran out.
Advocacy is important and the key to
let your representatives how your thoughts and the impact directly or
indirectly are having in your county, state and nationwide of the federal
government. Urge them to end the
shutdown immediately. If unsure how to contact them you can find your
Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives.find/
and Senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/sentators_cfm.cfm.
No comments:
Post a Comment