What Counties Need to Know When a Government Shutdown Happens

Funding for programs that do not rely on the regular appropriations process will remain available. Examples of programs outside the appropriations process that receive automatic funding include:

• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Medicaid
• Mandatory portion of the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)

However, many mandatory programs require an active authorization to receive funding in the new fiscal year. The following programs are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2025, and will not receive new funding absent congressional action:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• The mandatory portion of Community Health Centers
• National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) 

Most of these programs will not have access to new funding during a shutdown, but states will be entitled to reimbursement once funding is enacted and made available. Counties responsible for administering these programs will need to work with their state to receive reimbursements. Examples include:

• Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
• Promoting Safe and Stable Families
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

These programs continue to have access to any carryover funding from previous years. 

A handful of discretionary (not mandatory) programs will not be immediately affected by a shutdown because they received FY 2026 funding in the FY 2025 year-long CR. Examples of these programs include:

• Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies
• Special Education Grants to States
• Career and Technical Education state grants
• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I formula grants 

• USFS plays a major role in land and forest management, wildfire preparedness, permitting and outdoor recreation across more than 193 million acres of federal lands. Counties routinely partner with USFS on wildfire mitigation, search and rescue, recreation management and economic development. During a shutdown, many of these shared responsibilities and services will be disrupted, shifting additional burdens to county governments.
• Under a shutdown, firefighter training, prescribed burning and fuels management may be suspended, increasing wildfire risks.
• Contracts for firefighting equipment and other preparedness resources may go unpaid unless previously obligated.
• Many federal land sites, including visitor centers, campgrounds, and recreation areas, will close or operate with reduced staffing, leading to canceled trips, reduced visitation and increased risk of illegal activity such as unauthorized campfires.
• Special-use permitting (e.g., energy, grazing, timber, mining) will halt, exacerbating existing permit backlogs.
• While emergency response and fire suppression will continue under life and property protection exceptions, federal staffing will be limited, potentially shifting more search and rescue and public safety responsibilities to counties.

• USDA Rural Development provides critical sources of financial and technical assistance for rural counties and our residents, helping counties invest in essential infrastructure, broadband, entrepreneurship and more.
• Under a shutdown, new loans, grants and guarantees are suspended.
• Most state and field office staff will be furloughed, halting technical assistance and fieldwork.
• Only a limited set of functions, such as servicing existing loans, managing escrow accounts and fulfilling legally required obligations, will continue.
• Counties should expect immediate delays in RD-backed projects awaiting approval, technical support or closing.
• Even where funding is still available (e.g., multi-year appropriations), a lack of staff may limit the ability to access or manage resources, leaving counties without guidance during the lapse.
   

• As the largest federal nutrition program reaching nearly 42 million households, SNAP is a foundational part of the social safety net.
• Counties are responsible for administering the program in 10 states that represent approximately 34% of total participants, or 14.6 million people.
• During a shutdown, SNAP administrators will not be able to access new funds. However, operations will continue at least through October 2025 using multiyear carryover funds and contingency reserves. On October 10, USDA FNS issued guidance to states stating that they believe there will be insufficient funds to last through November.

• WIC provides nutrition support to low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and young children deemed nutritionally at risk.
• WIC is administered through 1,900 local agencies in 10,000 clinic sites. Nearly 50% of local WIC agencies are part of local government, including counties, while clinic sites include county health departments and other county agencies.
• Because WIC is a discretionary program, it will receive no new funding during a shutdown. Federal contingency funds are expected to last approximately two weeks after Oct. 1. After that, states will likely need to rely on their own funding streams to keep the program running in the short term, which they will be able to do to varying degrees. 

• Counties employ over 533,000 hospital and healthcare workers and own or support more than 900 public hospitals that provide inpatient medical and specialized care critical for low-income and uninsured individuals.
• The Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program provides critical financial support to hospitals that serve disproportionately large proportions of the nation’s most vulnerable populations, including children, low-income individuals, people with disabilities and older adults.
• The Medicaid DSH cut for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 is $8 billion and will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2025, unless Congress acts. The program is scheduled to be reduced by another $8 billion for each of FYs 2027–2028 ($24 billion total over the next three fiscal years). 

• TANF is a federal entitlement program providing federal funding to states, tribes and territories for a wide range of benefits, services and activities to address both the effects of and the root causes of poverty. Nine states delegate TANF administration to county agencies, which contribute significant local funds to administrative and supplemental costs of running the program.
• The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program expired on Sept. 30, 2025. Given that TANF’s reauthorization is tied to the funding extension, the program cannot issue first-quarter payments.
• To ensure residents continue to receive TANF benefits, states may use unspent funds or Maintenance of Effort (MOE) dollars to continue the program. However, the ability of states to sustain TANF funding may vary based on their financial situations.  

• Title IV-B includes mandatory and discretionary funding to support child welfare programs with the goal of keeping families together. These dollars can support state programs that protect and promote the welfare of all children, prevent the neglect, abuse or exploitation of children, support at-risk families, promote the safety, permanence and well-being of children in foster care and adoptive families and provide training, professional development and support to ensure a well-qualified child welfare workforce.  
• Authority for Title IV-B expired on Sept. 30, 2025. Given that Title IV-B reauthorization is tied to the funding extension, the program cannot issue first-quarter payments. While states may be able to bridge the gap using their own dollars, the financial circumstances around their ability to do so may vary.

• Head Start targets children under age five from low-income families with comprehensive programming to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs and bolster school readiness.  
• County governments often play an important role in the operation of Head Start and Early Head Start programs, whether by directly serving local grantees and/or by contributing supplemental funding to support the program.
• At this time, there are six Head Start grantees serving an estimated 6,500 children and families whose grants begin on Oct. 1, 2025, meaning they will be impacted by a shutdown. The ability of these programs to stay open will vary by grantee. 

• At the FDA, routine inspections, guidance development, staff training and technical assistance programs that would otherwise support local health inspectors will be curtailed.