On yesterday’s 9:30 Call, we heard from Danielle Ewen of Sixth Street Associates. She shared comprehensive updates on the federal policy and budget action that are impacting early childhood programs, including the federal government shutdown.

While there’s not much news to report since the shutdown began last week, Ewen shared three helpful links from national organizations that have analyzed the shutdown’s impact:

• The First Five Years Fund has published an overview of the shutdown and thoughts about how early childhood programs might be impacted: State of Play: Federal Shutdown and Child Care/Early Learning Programs. 

• FRAC has posted information about how food programs might be impacted: How Will a Government Shutdown Affect SNAP Benefits?, and

• First Focus has a brief with an overview of the impact of a shutdown on children: “How a Government Shutdown Hurts Kids”

Other resources include:

• NAEYC has shared a blog post: “What a Government Shutdown Means for Early Childhood Programs”

• The National Head Start Association (NHSA) shared this post,

• Start Early is hosting a government shutdown webinar on October 8th, and

• an article from NPR explains:
  
  “Among the first to feel the pinch during this shutdown could be the mothers and young children who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food program.
  
  ” ‘A prolonged federal government shutdown of more than one week puts WIC families at risk,’ says Georgia Machell, president and CEO of the National WIC Association.
  
  “Whether WIC can continue under a prolonged shutdown varies depending on whether states can access other contingency funds. Lucia Graves of Lebanon, N.H. told NPR’s Jennifer Ludden she is counting on the benefits to feed her family, especially as the cost of groceries is on the rise.
  
  “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) has a bit more runway, but could also run out if the shutdown drags on.”

Please check out these resources and share them with your professional networks.