From the Arkansas Advocate:
The Arkansas Department of Human Services delayed its plan to furlough hundreds of employees and temporarily close offices next week if the federal government shutdown does not end before then, the agency announced Thursday.
In the meantime, DHS has not yet issued federal nutrition assistance for November, the agency’s press release states. DHS staff began working on calculating recipients’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits under a new set of federal guidelines issued Thursday morning before a federal court order required benefits to be issued in full.
SNAP funding was expected to cease Nov. 1 before two federal court orders created leeway for the program to continue while the government shutdown continues. On Saturday, U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay at least a portion of SNAP benefits to the program’s 42 million recipients nationwide.
On Thursday, McConnell ordered USDA to issue the entirety of November’s $9 billion in SNAP benefits. The ruling came after Arkansas Human Services officials took questions from lawmakers about DHS’s ability to administer SNAP.
Arkansas usually receives roughly $41 million in SNAP funds per month, Secretary Janet Mann said at Thursday’s Joint Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee meeting. More than 222,000 Arkansas individuals and over 118,000 households received SNAP benefits as of Sept. 1, according to DHS.
“We are hoping for benefits to go out the door next week, but that is a day-by-day thing considering [USDA] made a change on us this morning,” Mann said.
The formula USDA initially sent to states Tuesday in response to McConnell’s Saturday order would have resulted in about a 50% cut to the maximum monthly benefits and left some households without benefits.
A Wednesday filing in McConnell’s court revealed that USDA miscalculated its adjustments to SNAP benefit payments. The agency’s new formula released Thursday reduced the cut to 35%, meaning SNAP households were expected to receive nearly two-thirds of what they typically would. Under this formula, USDA would have complied with McConnell’s order to spend the entirety of a $4.65 billion SNAP contingency fund.
A coalition of cities and nonprofit organizations sued to force the federal government to pay SNAP benefits this month. The subsequent court rulings do not apply past Nov. 30, and USDA has issued no guidance to states regarding whether or how to issue SNAP benefits in December if the government remains shut down then, Mann said. At 37 days, the shutdown is the longest in American history.
Before last week’s court orders, DHS had planned to temporarily close its offices in all 75 Arkansas counties and furlough 1,500 Division of County Operations employees starting Nov. 10. Thursday’s news release said the plan had been delayed to Nov. 22 unless the government reopens.
When asked if Thursday’s order to issue full SNAP benefits averts the planned furloughs or changes DHS’ goal of releasing benefits next week, spokesperson Gavin Lesnick said DHS needs guidance from USDA “before we determine next steps or any potential changes.”
The agency went ahead Friday with its plan to furlough 34 federally-funded employees in the Office of Payment Integrity; Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services; and Division of County Operations, according to Thursday’s news release.
DHS furloughed 37 employees in the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance on Oct. 1, and they remain furloughed as of Thursday.
The agency suspended Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) initiatives due to a lack of federal funding.
