sgusers7的部落格

Source: The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.自存倉C.Oct. 09--Applicants to the Onslow County Women, Infants and Children program will be placed on a waiting list after the government shutdown caused the program to discontinue benefits.N.C. Department of Health and Human Services officials announced late Tuesday the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC, will discontinue benefits starting today because of the federal government shutdown.According to the Onslow County Health Department, applicants will be placed on a waiting list for cash vouchers, formula and other rations from the program."We were hoping that the government shutdown would not affect this program. Onslow County has one of the largest WIC programs in North Carolina and we know that it fills an important need within our community. Unfortunately, it is also completely federally funded, so without those dollars, we have no local resources dedicated to this program," said Angela Lee, Onslow County health director, in a press release.From Jan. 1 to Oct. 1 more than 10,000 new clients were added to the WIC program in Onslow County, according to information from the county. Total enrollment numbers were not immediately available Tuesday.About 80 percent of North Carolina's eligible clients already have been issued food benefits for the month of October, according to DHHS.Lee said applicants who enrolled by Tuesday and already received their food vouchers or other food benefits can use those vouchers."Vendors do not have to worry about taking the vouchers that have already been issued, so we want to ask stores to continue to honor them. It is business as usual for vouchers that have already been given out," Lee said.WIC clients should keep their nutrition appointments and continue redeeming October vouchers and WIC vendors should continue normal operations to accept existing vouchers, officials said."The WIC offices at the Health Department and at Tarawa Terrace will still see participants. WIC participants and new applicants should keep their appointments. WIC staff will still be providing nutrition education and breastfeeding education and support. Staff will continue to assist participants to complete the WIC certification process. That way, when the funding starts again, these participants/applicants will have already completed the certification process and will be ready to receive vouchers," said Debra Smith, WIC Director for the Onslow County Health Department.N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will continue to monitor the daily availability of federal funds and will announce changes if they become necessary."Some of our most vulnerable citizens, pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants and young children, will be affected by the interruption of WIC services due to the federal shutdown," sai迷你倉 DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos in a press release Tuesday afternoon.DHHS encourages families impacted by this change to apply for North Carolina's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps.Health Department and WIC staff also will be able to provide information about food banks and other support services to WIC clients who are in immediate need of assistance."We want to ensure that people have the information and resources that they need to keep themselves and their families healthy," Lee said.Referrals will include area food banks and organizations in the community though the list of where participants will be referred to was not finalized at deadline.The WIC program has an annual budget of $205 million and is 100 percent federally funded, according to DHHS. The program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for almost 264,000 women, infants and young children each month.According to DHHS, WIC-eligible clients may also be eligible to enroll in North Carolina's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Eligibility requirements can be found at ncdhhs.gov/dss/foodstamp.Onslow County Finance Officer David McCole said despite the federal government shutdown that already is more than a week old, it's too early to quantify its full impact on Onslow County.McCole said while many departments receive federal funding and eventually could be effected in a small way, the Department of Social Services, Health Department and Senior Services each receive "a decent portion of funding from the federal government."Department of Social Services last week experienced the shutdown's effects when childcare subsidies for 1,900 area children were cut. However, the Onslow County Partnership for Children has stepped in to fund subsidies for the area's 1,300 non-school aged children enrolled in the subsidy program. Many area childcare facilities were working with parents to ensure children remained enrolled in the program during the shutdown while other facilities were offering afterschool care for children, including Onslow County Cooperative 4-H, Jacksonville Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club.Department of Social Services officials also recommended that parents affected call 910-938-0336 for the Onslow County Partnership for Children's childcare resource and referral information line.While McCole said he hopes to see a resolution soon and the shutdown lifted, the county is looking at contingency plans."We are looking at different areas, what we would do if this continues," he said.Amanda Hickey is the government reporter at The Daily News. She can be reached at amanda.hickey@jdnews.com.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.) Visit The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.) at .jdnews.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage