County staff warn federal shutdown could delay reimbursements, raise demand for services
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Summary
Child support, emergency management and the county—s CJCC told the Judicial and Law Committee that a federal government shutdown could delay federal reimbursements and SNAP benefits, potentially increasing calls for child support assistance and complicating grant reimbursements for emergency and treatment-court programs.
Multiple county departments told the Dunn County Judicial and Law Committee that a federal government shutdown could delay federal reimbursements and disrupt benefits and services.
Josie (Child Support) said the governor had notified counties that SNAP (FoodShare) benefits could be delayed in November and that, even if a shutdown ended quickly, the November benefits could still be affected. "I prepared my staff for an influx of calls," Josie said, noting recipients commonly contact child support offices when household budgets tighten around the school year and holidays.
Committee members asked if the county—s 66% federal reimbursement was at risk. Josie responded that the 66% referenced is part of state grants for revenue and explained the county receives quarterly reimbursements, with the third-quarter report submitted on or before Oct. 23. She said the county expects the third-quarter reimbursement but noted staff furloughs or processing delays at the federal level could postpone receipt.
The county—s Emergency Management office raised similar concerns about grant timing and date changes in plan-of-work funding. The emergency manager said there is uncertainty whether reimbursements for January through September will be paid and that grant periods had been rewritten to begin Oct. 1 in the new award language. The manager also explained EPCRA as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the state statute that provides public access to information about hazardous chemicals handled by local facilities.
The county—s CJCC representative said five state grant quarterly reports were submitted and five renewals were filed; one federal family treatment court grant remains frozen because the federal submission site was down, preventing the county from requesting reimbursement until federal systems resume operations.
All three presenters said they were hopeful but cautioned that processing delays and furloughs could slow reimbursements and increase demand for local assistance.