Connecticut officials are encouraging low-income families to take advantage of the Women’s Infants and Children program, otherwise known as WIC, despite the federal government shutdown.
The state is keeping both WIC and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funded through the shutdown to ensure eligible pregnant people, breastfeeding parents and children up to age 5 continue to have the food assistance and medical benefits they need, according to Governor Ned Lamont.
“We are able to continue funding this program even during a federal shutdown, because we have been fiscally responsible,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said. “We have a very large rainy day fund, and we are not going to let women and babies and children go hungry in our state.”
State Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said it costs $200,000 a day to keep the WIC program running. On October 1, Lamont said the state can cover these costs with its emergency state reserves at least through the month of October.
“We anticipate the federal government will reimburse us, but you're never quite sure,” Lamont said Wednesday.
When asked what happens if the federal government doesn’t reimburse the funding when it reopens, Lamont didn’t have an answer.
“Can I take one step at a time?” Lamont said. “Right now, we're taking care of people. I'd like to think that this shutdown ends pretty soon.”
Republicans lawmakers in Washington are eyeing October 15 as a deadline to get a funding bill passed and reopen the federal government, according to MSNBC. That is the date government workers and active-duty troops would miss their first paycheck if the shutdown is not resolved before then.
“October 15 is a pretty tough date for an awful lot of people [who] all of a sudden aren't going to get paid,” Lamont said. “In the meantime, we're taking care of you, and you're taking care of kids.”
As of Wednesday, Juthani said there have not been any issues so far with people accessing their benefits, like medical appointments, as a result of the shutdown.
“People have been able to utilize benefits as expected, and we have continued to work with our partners who are doing the work on the ground,” Juthani said. “It seems like people are continuing to come in. We have not seen any major challenges yet.”
For the Latino community
The message about WIC and SNAP still being accessible is especially important for Latino communities, said Jessica Fourquet, the Deputy Director of the Department of Health and Human Resources for the City of Hartford.
“We invite the entire Latino community to know that services are still available and this will help them have healthy meals for their families,” Fourquet said in Spanish.
According to a report the Office of Legislative Research published in 2024, more than half of WIC enrollees are Hispanic, with 56.7% of them identifying as such.
The City of Hartford's Health and Human Services Director Ebony Jackson-Shaheed said the government shutdown will not impact ongoing efforts to ensure low-income Hispanic and Latino families have access to healthy foods and medical care.
“This network of support helps ensure that the mother's pregnancy is a healthy one, and that the child receives great medical attention and need,” She said.
