Leslie Fried, JD

Senior Director, Center for Benefits Access

Office: 571.527.3992

xxxxxx@ncoa.org

National Council on Aging

Improving the lives of millions of older adults

251 18^th Street South, Suite 500

Arlington, VA 22202

ncoa.org | @NCOAging

Good Morning All,

I hope you are well. We have received a number of questions on the annual funding so here is some initial guidance. If a funding lapse does occur, ACL will provide more communication on Monday.

As you may be aware, the current federal funding will lapse at midnight tonight. While there is activity in Congress to continue funding the government through February 16^th , it is not clear if it will continue to progress through Congress and ultimately be signed by the President before midnight.

While the potential lapse in funding will affect ACL staff, it will not have an immediate impact on SMP/SHIP/MIPPA grantees. The funds you are currently using will still be available to you through the end of your grants (SHIPs – through March 31^st ; SMPs – through May 31^st ; MIPPA – through September 29^th). In addition, the data systems should be up and running through out any lapse in funding for the near future. The SMP Resource Center, SHIP TA Center, and NCBOE will be able to continue providing the support that they have traditionally provided. The bottom line is that during any lapse in funding, there is no work stoppage for any grantee.

Due to how funding is allocated to these programs, ACL staff should be available to continue to support the SMP program grantees but would not be available to support the SHIP grantees during a funding lapse. In either case, there will likely be delays in the availability of ACL staff.

If you have specific questions, please let Rebecca Kinney (SHIP/MIPPA) or Stacey Platte (SMP) know.

Thank you for all that you do,

Josh

Josh Hodges

Acting Deputy Administrator

Center for Integrated Programs

Administration for Community Living

US Department of Health and Human Services

Washington, D.C. 20201

O: (202) 795-7364

C: (202) 853-5561

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