At 12:01am on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, government funding ran out without Congress passing a bill to extend it, leading to a federal government shutdown. The last shutdown that resulted in furloughed federal staff was in 2019 and lasted thirty five days, making it the longest shutdown in history.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) brought the House-passed Republican continuing resolution (CR) to the floor for a fourth time on Friday; the bill failed 54-44, short of the 60 votes needed to pass. Democratic Senators Cortez-Masto (NV), Fetterman (PA) and King (I-ME) voted in favor; Republican Senator Paul (KY) voted against it.

Federal agencies released shutdown plans detailing the number of workers that would be furloughed and the operations that would continue:

Rather than trying to resolve the shutdown and reach a compromise with Congressional leadership, the President has threatened to make the shutdown as painful as possible for everyone involved. The Office of Management and Budget released a memo to agencies to prepare for further reductions in force (RIFs), planning to fire thousands of federal employees instead of furloughing them with the promise of returning to work once the shutdown ends. Unions have filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of layoffs during the shutdown.

Websites for federal agencies and out of office reply emails blame “Radical Left Democrats” for the shutdown, heightening tensions and hampering negotiations. Meanwhile, Democrats are demanding that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Enhanced Premium Tax Credits be extended before health insurance premiums skyrocket for many Americans. They also want to see additional safeguards ensuring that the Administration can’t rescind appropriated funds.

What happens to child welfare programs during a shutdown?

Mandatory programs. Many of the programs that fund child welfare or provide services to children and families are permanent and have mandatory funding. These programs, such as Title IV-E, parts of Title IV-B, Medicaid, and Social Security, are not subject to appropriations and therefore benefits and payments should continue as normal during the shutdown. However, because of HHS and other federal staff being furloughed, there could be delays or lapses in payments, and new grants or benefits would not be approved during the shutdown. If a state or individual runs into an issue, they may have a hard time getting in touch with someone to resolve the issue.

Mandatory programs with lapsed authorizations. Some mandatory programs, like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), are not permanent and require reauthorization by Congress. Both TANF and SNAP’s authorizations have lapsed, meaning that without Congress extending their authorizations, either via a full reauthorization or a short-term extension, funds will not be dispersed.

For TANF, this means that new federal funds will not be released during a shutdown. States can use their Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds and any reserves they have to ensure that individuals still receive assistance until the shutdown is resolved (see state fact sheets for TANF reserve amounts).

For SNAP, recipients should receive their EBT payments for October 2025, but a prolonged shutdown could mean that individuals and families won’t receive their SNAP funds, disrupting food security for people who are vulnerable, unless states step in to cover the cost of benefits.

Programs subject to appropriations. Many human services programs are subject to annual appropriations, and these programs will not receive funding until the shutdown is resolved. Part of Title IV-B, CAPTA and CBCAP, and many mental and behavioral healthcare programs, including the mental health and substance use block grants, are all subject to appropriations. States may opt to cover some of the costs of vital services, but most states will not be able to fill all the gaps of federal funding if the shutdown lasts for any length of time. Schools are already raising the alarm about the impacts of the shutdown.

Special note on WIC. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is one such program that is particularly vulnerable during this shutdown. The WIC program provides food benefits to pregnant and postpartum mothers, infants, and children, and is a vital source of nutrition for children who are vulnerable. WIC has a small contingency fund, which is being dispersed to help cover the lapsed funding, but the National WIC Association notes that funds will begin to run out if the shutdown lasts more than a couple of weeks. There are additional steps that the Administration could take to ensure that mothers and children do not lose access to WIC during the shutdown, but states will likely need to put forward state dollars to keep the program running as it should. We know that food insecurity is detrimental to the health and wellbeing of all children, and a lapse in benefits would be particularly devastating for parents who rely on WIC funds to purchase infant formula for their babies.

What happens next?

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has cancelled House votes this week, extending the House recess for yet another week, signaling that they will not negotiate with Democrat leaders. At the same time, White House aides have begun discussing potential proposals to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, which the minority party is demanding in exchange for ending the shutdown. Additionally, there is a group of Republican Senators that have been working on a plan to extend the ACA tax credits as well, although this has been kept separate from the debate about funding the government and is not part of the ongoing negotiations.

It’s expected that Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) will continue to force votes on the two continuing resolution bills that have been introduced in hopes of peeling off moderate Democrats to vote for the House-passed bill. The shutdown will end when both the House and Senate pass an identical continuing resolution, and the President signs it.