- May 6, 2013
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The government shutdown cannot end soon enough for poor residents of North Carolina, as the state has become the first in the country to cut off welfare benefits due to the gridlock in Washington.
The decision came from North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which ordered its local offices on October 10 to stop processing applications for November until the federal government is back up and running.
The state’s welfare program, called “Work First,” services more than 20,000 people, primarily children, and requires participants to reapply for benefits every month. Work First is funded entirely by the federal government, and helps poor residents purchase food and other supplies necessary for day-to-day life.
But Work First isn’t the only North Carolina service hampered by the government shutdown. According to Reuters, other programs will also be affected - including one that provides childcare subsidies covering more than 70,000 children. In various parts of the state, the delivery of those subsidies has already come to a halt.
http://rt.com/usa/north-carolina-cut-wellfare-275/
The decision came from North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which ordered its local offices on October 10 to stop processing applications for November until the federal government is back up and running.
The state’s welfare program, called “Work First,” services more than 20,000 people, primarily children, and requires participants to reapply for benefits every month. Work First is funded entirely by the federal government, and helps poor residents purchase food and other supplies necessary for day-to-day life.
But Work First isn’t the only North Carolina service hampered by the government shutdown. According to Reuters, other programs will also be affected - including one that provides childcare subsidies covering more than 70,000 children. In various parts of the state, the delivery of those subsidies has already come to a halt.
http://rt.com/usa/north-carolina-cut-wellfare-275/