Another N.C. Threat to Program for Poor  October 15, 2013 | The
Charlotte Observer |  Link to article  Why does North Carolina
seem as if it's looking for ways to get out of helping the poor?
Last Tuesday, the state Department of Health and Human Services
announced that due to the federal shutdown, it was halting
benefits for the WIC program, which helps pregnant women and new
mothers buy healthy food and formula for their children.  It
turned out that North Carolina was the only state in the country
to stop those benefits, and after media started asking why
Thursday, DHHS secretary Aldona Wos promptly announced she'd
found money to keep the program going. It helped that the feds
had been offering contingency WIC money to states all along.
Also last week, however, social service agencies across the
state learned from DHHS that funding had run out for North
Carolina's Work First program. Work First provides welfare
money, Medicaid coverage and work training with funds from the
federal Temporary Assistance to