Inyo County warns of potential November CalFresh disruption as board OKs expanded foster‑care health funding

Anna Scott, director of Health and Human Services, told the board that the federal government shutdown has disrupted federal payments to state agencies and that Inyo County must pause November CalFresh issuances until federal funding resumes.

"We are starting to receive some information about some of the impacts of the federal shutdown, to the benefits that we provide to community members," Scott said, and reported that about 1,200 Inyo County residents currently receive CalFresh. She said staff must manually review and reconnect cases to prevent improper November issuances, and cautioned that when the shutdown ends there could be delays in vendor processing of EBT benefit deposits.

The board also considered an administrative item to expand the Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care after the county received a significant increase in funding. Scott said the program — which provides nursing support and case plan development for medical and dental care of children in foster care — historically has been staffed by a part‑time nurse and that the new allocation (now above $300,000) will enable the county to add paraprofessional administrative support and improve case management.

Board members asked clarifying questions about how this funding relates to other foster‑care funding streams. Scott said the change in foster‑care funding methodology is separate from the federal CalFresh issue and that staff will return with more detail on staffing requests once the department finalizes a plan.

The board approved the item to accept the increased allocation and to proceed with implementation and administrative adjustments; the motion carried with no roll‑call tally recorded in the minutes.