By Chi Steadman

On October 1st the federal government entered a partial shut down. The shut down occurred because Congress failed to pass a full-year budget or continuing resolution.

The last shut down to occur was in 2019, lasting 35 days. The shut down in 2018-2019 occurred because of a funding disagreement for building a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

The 2025 shut down will not immediately affect younger audiences. School funding receives the majority of their funding from the state and local sources. Only about 8-10% of the funding is from the government. If the shut down is a longer duration, some places may experience delayed services.

“We feel good about one to two weeks,” said Ali Hard, public policy director for the National WIC Association. “After that, we are very worried.”

One aid that helps women, infants, and children–WIC–will not be affected by a short term shut down. WIC offers access to healthier foods for families we are expecting a child up to when that child turns 5.

The Education Department (ED) is going to be furloughing almost 87% of its 2,447 employees. While the ED has the third largest discretionary budget, it also has one of the smallest staffing of the 15 Cabinet agencies.

The ED does not directly affect schools, as it helps schools with federal funding and oversight. It establishes policies and enforces civil rights laws. Schools are commonly forward-funded, meaning funds for 2025-2026 are already disbursed over the summer.