One southeast Iowa organization says it is doing all it can to maintain services during the ongoing shutdown of the federal government.
Community Action of Southeast Iowa serves residents in Lee, Des Moines, Henry & Louisa Counties.
Executive Director Sharon Ford says even though it relies heavily on federal money, services have remained on-track during the last week and a half.
She says participants are seeing slight changes, though, starting with WIC (Women, Infants & Children), which offers supplemental nutrition assistance.
"Normally we would give them checks 3 months at a time," says Ford, "but with the current situation with the budget, we could only print October."
Ford says roughly 4,000 people in the four counties participate in WIC.
She says administrators will have to decide how to proceed if the shutdown stretches into November.
Community Action of Southeast Iowa has also started signing residents up for home heating assistance through LIHEAP, so they can receive financial support as soon as it is available.
Ford says despite some initial concerns about funding, the Head Start programs in the four counties are operating as normal.
She says she hopes a resolution is found soon because of the volume of people affected by the shutdown.
