North Carolina is first state to cut welfare amid federal shutdown
By Marti Maguire
RALEIGH, North Carolina
(Reuters) - North Carolina has become the first state to cut off welfare benefits to poor residents in the wake of the partial federal government shutdown, ordering a halt to processing November applications until a deal is reached to end the federal standstill.
More than 20,000 people - most of them children - receive monthly benefits aimed at helping them buy food and other basic supplies through North Carolina's welfare program, called Work First, which is fully funded by the federal government. Recipients must reapply each month.
The state's Department of Health and Human Services told its local offices in a letter dated October 10 not to process applications for November benefits until the federal government reaches a deal to restore normal operations.
"We are heavily dependent on federal dollars," said Julie Henry, spokeswoman for the state HHS department. "When these kinds of things happen at the federal level, it has an immediate impact."
Other North Carolina programs funded through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant also will be affected. That list includes childcare subsidies that cover more than 70,000 children and have already ceased being distributed in some parts of the state.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/16/us-usa-fiscal-northcarolina-idUSBRE99F00Y20131016
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