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WIC to remain open through federal shutdown
The Women, Infants, and Children program on Saipan remains “open for business” through the federal shutdown, according to the program’s administrator.
While not specifying until when, WIC program administrator Erin Camacho told Saipan Tribune that they would be remaining open through the federal shutdown that is plaguing the U.S. mainland for over a month.
“We have enough reserve funding to remain open during the shutdown,” Camacho noted. “If it does not become protracted,” she continued, referring to the federal shutdown that left over 800,000 federal employees unpaid since Dec. 22, 2018.
“Our clinics remain open for normal schedules. Appointments will not be cancelled and our WIC clinic staff are available to assist them,” Camacho assured. “Our WIC grocery stores and food benefits will be processed normally,” she continued.
The federally funded program did not specify how long they would be “open for business.” According to Camacho, the program for fiscal year 2018 served an average 3,205 participants monthly.
“We want to stress to our participants and our vendors that WIC is open for business during the shutdown,” Camacho reiterated.
Other government agencies noted a similar reaction to the federal shutdown.
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Robert Hunter told Saipan Tribune in a previous interview that their Nutritional Assistance Program and Enhanced Nutritional Assistance Program seems to provide no indication of funding shortage at least until March 2019. He previously noted that the program has funds to use at least until March 2019.
The Board of Education, through former Tinian representative Florine Hofschneider, remained worried about the shutdown affecting the schools, however former board chair Marylou Ada noted that the Public School System already has a contingency plan for worst case scenarios regarding the federal shutdown.
