Agency to close county offices to public access, furlough 1,500+ employees if shutdown lasts through early November
The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) is announcing additional immediate and near-term impacts due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
If no resolution has been reached before this weekend, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November will be disrupted, 34 additional DHS employees will be furloughed, and multiple programs that receive federal funding through grants administered by DHS will have to cease those services.
If the shutdown continues through the end of next week, DHS will have to furlough an additional 1,500 employees and temporarily close offices in every county in the state due to a lack of federal funding that supports these operations. Those furloughs and closures would officially begin on Monday, November 10.
The shutdown has paused critical funds that support multiple programs both within and outside DHS. While some operations were able to continue through the first month of the shutdown using reserve or alternate funding sources, those options are no longer sustainable going forward in many instances.
“The government shutdown has put enormous strain on many services we offer, and we are deeply concerned that important benefits Arkansans rely on will suffer as a result,” DHS Secretary Janet Mann said. “First and foremost, this will be painful for the beneficiaries we serve, and we regret that we have been placed in this position. It will also be painful for the hundreds of employees within our agency who will not be paid for as long as this shutdown continues. My message to federal partners who continue to vote against reopening the government: Reopen now, and let us turn our full attention back to our critical mission of helping Arkansans in need.”
DHS previously warned that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would be disrupted or delayed if the shutdown dragged into November. If there is not a last-minute resolution to reopen the federal government, those benefits will not go out, though it now appears that the EBT system will remain operational to spend saved benefits in November. Additional impacts effective Nov. 1 include:
● Funds administered to community partners through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) programs will be suspended, and partner agencies will be directed to cease services reliant on federal funding provided through DHS and to hold all invoices. This includes funds that support programs within the Arkansas Department of Education, Area Agencies on Aging, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission, Community Action Agencies, the Division of Services for the Blind, and multiple TANF subgrantees.
● 34 additional employees within the DHS Office of Payment Integrity, the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services, and the Division of County Operations will also be placed on furlough due to a lapse in funding. These furloughs are in addition to 37 employees within the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance who have been furloughed since the beginning of the shutdown, and who remain furloughed now.
● Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA)/Work Pays cash assistance programs will be suspended for newly approved beneficiaries.
If the shutdown remains in effect after Nov. 7, the following impacts are expected:
● Due to a lapse in necessary administrative funding to the SNAP program, DHS offices in every county in the state will close to public access.
● Approximately 1,500 employees within the Division of County Operations (DCO) will be placed on furlough. Remaining staff will process Medicaid applications and renewals as Medicaid is funded through the end of the year. SNAP applications and renewals would be paused after Nov. 7 pending the reopening of the federal government. This will create a backlog, and delays in processing cases are expected when full operations resume. Beneficiaries will be able to manage their cases online at Access.Arkansas.gov, and the Medicaid call center administered by AFMC at 888-987-1200 will stay open.