“The federal government at the moment is really in turmoil, and it comes down to—what do we fundamentally believe federal funding should go to support?” CEA President Kate Dias told Where We Live host Catherine Shen this morning on WNPR.
Today’s Where We Live show featured Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves, Quinnipiac Professor of Political Science Scott McLean, and Dias discussing how the federal government shutdown could impact local government services, programs, and residents in Connecticut.
Dias said the shutdown and the uncertainty that preceded it has caused the education system to contract.
“We have seen reductions in hiring and pulling back of services, because when there’s instability in the system, the system goes into conservation mode,” she said.
With school lunches and Medicaid facing potential cuts, Dias said many children could soon be dealing with food insecurity and a lack of services.
“Medicaid cuts are devastating in schools and in ways that people don’t even understand,” she said. “A lot of our social work services are covered by Medicaid. Special education services often come through those channels as well. We’re going to continue to see a diminishment of opportunities for our families, and that’s really disheartening, because schools are such centerpieces of our communities.”
Dias said that Governor Lamont has expressed a willingness to figure out how the state can provide financial bridges in places where funding may merely be paused due to the shut down, but that the state can only do so much in the face of total cuts.
“The concern I have is that this shutdown is emblematic of things to come,” she said. “The state isn’t going to be able to make up for the loss of healthcare subsidies, for example. We just can’t. Once those are gone, they’re gone. People are going to have to live with that, and it inevitably impacts our most vulnerable.”
She added, “When you talk about cuts to SNAP, WIC, healthcare subsidies—this is, ‘Do I have a roof over my head and food on the table—am I able to take care of my family?’ It’s people with those concerns that I’m really worried about, who are already feeling like all of their safety nets, all of their support services are being threatened.”
