The only permanence that exists is uncertainty, at least when it comes to the fallout of the federal government shutdown’s impact on families on this 35th day of the budget impasse.
Clockwise from left, Dean Judy Postmus, Lauren Schuyler, Seante Hatcher, Stacey Stephens, Kaya Swann
The federal government shutdown coupled with new work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is revealing just how fragile the nation’s social safety net can be, according to University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) faculty who spoke during a virtual media panel hosted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) on Nov. 4.
The federal government still needs to pass a budget bill to reopen the government leaving questions as to what standard of service Americans can expect from social programs.
”I think that the shifting sands are causing more stress, more strain, more anxiety, more depression, more trauma,” said UMSSW Dean Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW. “I mean, we could just keep going down this list that our families are going be experiencing, which then says they need to get help and those services may or may not be available to help them.”
The discussion explored how policy shifts and funding delays are affecting Maryland families, ranging from food insecurity and child development to domestic violence and community stability. The full recording is available for media access on UMB’s YouTube channel.
“This is the face of Marylanders,” said Stacey Stephens, MSW, LCSW-C, clinical associate professor and director of B’more for Healthy Babies (BHB) Upton/Druid Heights/Mondawmin.
“These are frontline workers who are childcare providers who may be family support workers who are employed in many of our home visiting agencies,” Stephens said. “They may be the person who is at the grocery store supporting you as you are receiving your groceries for your household. They may be the childcare provider who is welcoming your family when they're coming to childcare facilities. They may be community health workers who are working part-time and may be going to school.”
Stephens described the cascading stress that uncertainty creates from expectant mothers facing elevated health risks to caregivers struggling with access to food banks and transportation. BHB has worked for more than a decade to reduce infant mortality in Baltimore by 75 percent through partnerships addressing food, housing, and mental health needs.
Lauren A. Schuyler, PhD, assistant research director with UMSSW’s Family Welfare Research and Training Group, shared data underscoring the scope of the challenge.
“Forty percent of Maryland’s SNAP recipients are children. That’s about 350,000 kids,” she said.
For adults, the most SNAP recipients are employed.
“The majority of working age adults receiving SNAP are employed while receiving their benefits, right? We're talking about the working poor and 44 percent of those who are working and receiving SNAP are employed in retail accommodation or food services.”
Schuyler warned that new work requirements under the federal H.R. 1 law could remove vulnerable adults including older workers and veterans from eligibility, with ripple effects on child nutrition, school meal programs and education funding school districts receive in Maryland.
Federal employees who are furloughed are not satisfying work requirements placing them in jeopardy or losing benefits, she explained, unless they volunteer or attend training for 20 hours per week.
“If you think about somebody who might be in like an environmental services position who still might qualify for SNAP benefits and they currently aren't working right, they are expected to still meet the requirement or they will lose their SNAP benefits,” Schuyler said.
Seantè Hatcher, MSW, LCSW-C, assistant dean of continuing professional education and chair of the Financial Social Work Initiative, emphasized that shutdowns are not just economic disruptions but emotional ones.
“When systems fail, it’s not just frustrating, it’s actually traumatic — financially traumatic,” she said. “ This triggers the survival instinct and fear. And we know that churches and nonprofits can't feed everyone. We will need to lean on each other. And so we do that by building community supports. This isn't a time to fight one another. This is a time to share resources. We can transform a lot of the emotion and the anger into collective empowerment.”
Kaya Swann, MSW, LMSW, co-director of the Parent, Infant, and Early Childhood Program, described how food insecurity creates challenges in childcare and early learning environments for both the children and the childcare providers.
“When SNAP is cut, it often results in fewer resources, fewer supports for not only the children, but also the staff,” Swann said. “This can lead to a dangerous cycle: SNAP loss, resulting in food insecurity, child stress and developmental delays, increased educator burnout, unstable childcare environments.”
Postmus tied these issues to her research on intimate partner violence, where financial strain can lead to coercive control of money, SNAP benefits and other resources.
”I've been studying and looking at financial strain and how it impacts the relationship. And we've seen that there is a direct relationship between the increase in financial strain and stress in a marriage or in a partnership,” Postmus said. “That may lead to additional forms of violence, including physical as well as economic abuse.”
Cutting funding for victim services can prevent victims from leaving their situation safely and gain economic tools for independence.
Postmus added that the School of Social Work is positioned to help address these challenges through research, advocacy, and community partnerships.
”A school of social work prepares students to work in a number of fields and basically from cradle to grave. We are teaching, research, engagement services. We are engaged in a wide array of activities.”