Oregon DHS outlines $4.87 billion self-sufficiency budget, warns of staffing and funding gaps

Claire Seguin, director of Self Sufficiency Programs at the Oregon Department of Human Services, told the Joint Subcommittee on Human Services and Ways and Means on March 6 that the agency’s Self Sufficiency Programs (SSP) serve “about 1 in 6 Oregonians” and are funded primarily with federal dollars under the governor’s proposed budget for Senate Bill 5526.

Nut graf: The department asked lawmakers to support targeted investments to shore up staffing and ongoing program funding after describing caseload increases across SNAP, TANF, refugee services and youth homelessness programs, and warning that several current positions are funded only temporarily and could expire by June 30 if lawmakers do not act.

Seguin said SSP’s proposed budget is $4,870,000,000 and that roughly 83% of the SSP budget is federal funding, “primarily for SNAP benefits.” She described core programs that provide food and cash assistance, refugee resettlement services, supports for survivors of domestic violence and services for youth experiencing homelessness. “These essential lifelines help individuals and families in Oregon build stability and resilience,” Seguin said.

On SNAP, Seguin told the committee more than 400,000 households — more than 700,000 individuals, by the department’s figures — receive food assistance. The department reported monthly SNAP benefit spending of $140,500,000, or about…