November is a critical month in the federal government shutdown if it drags on for at least a couple of more weeks — and Connecticut would feel the effects across a few federally funded programs, namely around nutrition assistance and child care.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would temporarily come to a halt starting Nov. 1 in Connecticut and other states. And two local Head Start centers face an imminent funding lapse in federal dollars next month, though at least one confirmed it plans to keep operating through November.
As the shutdown enters its fourth week, the federal workforce has largely felt the brunt of the government’s closure, with furloughed and essential employees starting to miss paychecks. But the pain of a shutdown will be felt more broadly if it stretches into the next month and imperils social services predominantly for lower-income households.
On top of that, open enrollment for health plans on the state’s insurance exchange, Access Health CT, begins on Nov. 1. Enrollees face possible premium hikes in 2026 if federal subsidies aren’t renewed before then. The expiration of those subsidies and their future are at the heart of the shutdown fight in Congress.
Of the federal programs that could face significant disruptions or cuts in the coming month, SNAP would take the biggest hit, unless the Trump administration can find a way to keep it going. Connecticut Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal joined other colleagues in a letter urging the USDA to use its contingency fund to pay out November benefits for SNAP.
But other benefits supported by federal dollars remain more in limbo or largely unaffected in the near term. The state said it has enough resources to keep the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program afloat for at least another month.
For Head Start, two programs in Connecticut won’t receive new federal grants expected on Nov. 1 if a shutdown persists. The state is looking for ways to temporarily support them, though exact plans haven’t been finalized.
The culmination of these funding cliffs on Nov. 1 could be a pressure point to jumpstart talks, but meaningful negotiations between the two parties have yet to come to fruition. The shutdown is currently the second longest in U.S. history.
More than three weeks into the shutdown, there has been little to no movement on reopening the government. Democrats are still pressing for extending the expiring health care subsidies in order to secure their votes, while Republicans say the issue should be dealt with separately and shouldn’t be attached to a funding bill.
The Senate has taken a dozen votes on the Republicans’ bill to fund the government through Nov. 21, but enough Democrats have opposed that bill to block it from advancing, including both of Connecticut’s U.S. senators. Meanwhile, the House has been out of session since late September since passing the short-term funding bill, referred to as a continuing resolution.
That standstill in Congress has officials and advocates in the state awaiting some of the toughest cuts so far. And while Connecticut will not feel the full force of shutdown disruptions next month, the state will inevitably face additional funding issues in a long-term scenario.
“As we stare down the barrel of this Nov. 1 date, to me, the fact that the House isn’t even in session tells me that here at the food bank, we have to be prepared for no SNAP on Nov. 1,” Jason Jakubowski, Connecticut Foodshare president and CEO, said.
Nutrition assistance
If SNAP pauses on Nov. 1, about 360,000 beneficiaries in Connecticut will not receive their monthly benefits for November and won’t be able to use their existing balances until a shutdown ends.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent states a recent memo warning “there will be insufficient funds to pay full November … benefits.” The federal guidance directs states to effectively shut down the Electronic Benefit Transfer or EBT cards. Benefits are loaded onto those cards, which are used by beneficiaries to help purchase groceries.
The lack of access to benefits, however, would be temporary. Recipients won’t lose any benefits currently stored on their EBT cards, according to guidance from the state Department of Social Services. But because of the uncertainty around the government reopening, DSS is recommending people spend the balances on their cards by Oct. 31.
By November, the EBT cards are expected to shut off. Once the shutdown ends, recipients will regain access to the benefits that remain on their cards.
Connecticut distributes about $75 million per month in federal SNAP benefits, with many households receiving about $190. The federal government covers the costs of SNAP benefits, while it splits the administrative expenses evenly with the state, though that funding structure is subject to change in the future due to reforms in President Donald J. Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”
Officials are looking into possible state interventions, but their options are limited. Connecticut was able to temporarily fund another federal nutrition program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. WIC serves about 52,000 people in the state, including women who are nursing or pregnant as well as young children. The expectation is that the state will get reimbursed by the federal government once a shutdown ends.
There are also talks among state officials and legislative leaders about beefing up emergency aid to food pantries and banks. If SNAP funding dries up next month, that will put increasing pressure on local food pantries to fill the need.
Connecticut Foodshare has been in daily talks with state officials about how the state might step in with nutrition assistance at risk. The group works with more than 600 food pantries across the state as well as 110 mobile sites.
With Nov. 1 approaching, Jakubowski said the focus is on the existing network of pantries and ensuring they have enough food to meet the increased demand. But if the shutdown goes beyond that, he said, they’ll need to seriously consider setting up emergency food distribution sites for the month of December — similar to what they did during the pandemic.
Advocates see cuts to food aid not only having a direct effect on families and other beneficiaries but also a larger economic impact on the stores and retailers that accept SNAP. Connecticut has about 2,500 SNAP retailers, with those dollars making up 5% to 15% of their business.
And they worry about how other shutdown-related cuts could have a ripple effect.
“Those don’t directly affect us, but there’s absolutely an indirect effect of those things,” Jakubowski said about cuts to heating aid and other federal programs. “There is definitely a residual effect. That’s less money they have to spend on groceries.”
Head Start centers
More Head Start centers — early childhood services that serve low-income children from birth to age 5 — could also feel the financial pinch of the shutdown heading into November. And that could cause disruptions in the coming weeks across the country.
These programs get federal grants on different timelines. Only half a dozen have been operating without federal funding this month. But an additional 134 programs will face a similar outcome in November in an ongoing shutdown, including two in Connecticut, according to the National Head Start Association.
In Connecticut, two centers won’t get access to federal resources when their grant cycle starts on Nov. 1 in the event of an ongoing shutdown: EdAdvance, a Regional Educational Service Center that serves western Connecticut, and Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County in Stamford. Between those centers, they have a combined 395 slots that serve children in Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood is working to fund these programs temporarily for one month, though the plans haven’t been finalized, according to Maggie Adair, the communications and legislative program manager for the OEC.
EdAdvance was supposed to get its five-year federal grant starting on Nov. 1. But to help with an expected funding lapse, it will get some of its allotted state funding for the year early, executive director Jonathan Costa said. That will help EdAdvance stay open through November, though he noted they will need to evaluate things if the government remains closed heading into December.
As of this week, all Head Start centers across the country remained open amid the shutdown. But one program in Florida is poised to closed down on Monday, according to National Head Start Association deputy director Tommy Sheridan.
During the 2013 shutdown, Connecticut was one of half a dozen states that saw closures of Head Start centers, including one in Bridgeport.
Winter heating assistance
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, also faces funding issues next month. But Connecticut will be in the clear, at least in the short term.
DSS administers LIHEAP grants to largely fund the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, which provides subsidies to low-income households to help with their heating bills during the winter months.
The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program has more than $7 million in funds that were unspent from the past winter. The state anticipates that funding to last them midway or through the end of November, and it indicated they are looking into other options if the shutdown dips into December.
“The state of Connecticut has about $7 million in carryforward funds to assist eligible households with their home heating costs. We anticipate funding will last through mid-to-late November and are working on making sure families continue to receive the help they need to stay warm this winter and are evaluating options if the Federal Budget impasse continues past November,” DSS spokesperson Christine Stuart said in a statement.
Demand is expected to grow this winter, with the Lamont administration projecting more than 100,375 households needing heating assistance.
Other states are seeing a more immediate effect on their LIHEAP funding. Pennsylvania announced this week it’s delaying the opening of its energy assistance program by a month because of the budget impasse in Washington.
Open enrollment for Obamacare plans
Funding disruptions caused by the shutdown are happening at the same time that households are receiving notices about how much more they could pay for health plans next year if premium subsidies expire.
About 150,000 Connecticut residents purchase coverage through Access Health CT, and about 90% of those benefit from a federal subsidy.
Even without that tax credit, enrollees in Connecticut will still have access to some financial support, but residents with exchange plans could expect to pay $1,700 more on average every year for health insurance, according to Access Health CT.
Connecticut could see some of the highest premium increases in the country if the enhanced premium subsidies go away, particularly for enrollees over the age of 60, according to a report from KFF.
Open enrollment for 2026 plans runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15 for those who want their plans to begin in January. For those who want to enroll in a plan that starts in February, residents have until Jan. 15.
As people weigh their options, officials in the state recommend holding off on immediately enrolling to see if Congress resolves the shutdown and the impasse over the Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“If you could, wait a little bit longer,” Access Health CT CEO James Michel said Tuesday. “Instead of enrolling on Nov. 1, give it more time, because I know there’s conversations going on right now to try to get the subsidies resolved.”
CT Mirror reporters Keith M. Phaneuf and Katy Golvala contributed to this story.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
