10/02/2025
Center for Living & Working has been monitoring issues in Washington and how the shutdown may impact us and those we work with.
SNAP and housing benefits will be ok through October—WIC is more at risk, but Massachusetts will sustain it for a bit. Medicaid and Medicare health coverage will also continue. In the short-term things should be somewhat stable but obviously the longer it goes on the more dramatic the impact. We will continue to monitor and update.
SNAP - Despite the federal shutdown, October SNAP benefits will be issued on time based on current information from USDA FNS. DTA is monitoring the situation and will issue guidance as soon as it knows more in the case of an extended shutdown
Housing - In spite of the shutdown, tenants in federally subsidized housing programs like Sections 8 will continue to receive those benefits, at least through October, according to legal experts.
WIC - A federal government shutdown immediately puts the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at high risk of rapidly running out of funds. The impact on families depends on the length of the shutdown and whether states have reserve funds.
Initial impact
• Immediate risk of funding depletion: Unlike other benefit programs like SNAP, WIC is funded annually and does not have long-term carryover funds. The National WIC Association indicates that the program's $150 million contingency fund would only last about a week before states run out of federal funding.
• Contingent on previous fiscal year: Because the current shutdown threat is at the start of the 2026 fiscal year, states have not yet received their annual federal funding, making the situation more precarious than previous shutdowns.
• Initial continuation of benefits: For a brief shutdown, recipients should continue to use their benefits and attend appointments as long as funds are available. Some states, like Massachusetts, have stated that benefits will continue normally for a brief period.
