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WIC Funded Through April In N.M.

U.S. Department of Agriculture
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UPDATE 1/11: The Department of Health now says it'll be able to stretch its funds for the WIC program through April 2019.

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The partial federal government shutdown is impacting some services in New Mexico, including its Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. But the state’s Department of Health now says they're going to keep the WIC program running through the end of March.

The department initially said it would only have enough federal funding for WIC through the end of this month.

DOH spokesman David Morgan said the department has been working around the clock to change that.

“We are keeping WIC open, business as usual, because we do not want the uncertainty of a shutdown discouraging our clients from reaching out to New Mexico WIC for support,” he said.

DOH hasn’t received any new funding since the shutdown began, Morgan said they’re just stretching their dollars further.

He said the department might have to implement waiting lists, freeze applications and even close some clinics if the shutdown drags on until April.

 

May joined KUNM's Public Health New Mexico team in early 2018. That same year, she established the New Mexico chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and received a fellowship from the Association of Health Care Journalists. She join Colorado Public Radio in late 2019.
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