On October 1, legislation funding the federal government's discretionary programs expired. Due to the absence of FY14 appropriations, the federal government has initiated a shutdown of affected activities, including the furlough of certain personnel and the curtailment of agency activities and services.

A lapse in appropriations impacts those activities and operations at the federal level which rely on discretionary funding to operate. Programs that are funded by laws other than annual appropriations acts, such as entitlements and other mandatory spending, may also be affected by a funding gap, if program execution relies on activities that receive annually appropriated funding.

During the shutdown, previously-awarded ACL grant funds will remain available for draw down. However, funds that have not yet been awarded for FY14, due to their reliance on appropriations bills, will not be available. ACL explains this in their Notice to Grantees, excerpted below and available in its full form here. (Notice to ACL Grantees)

"Should a lapse in funding occur, HHS' Administration for Community Living staff will not be available to provide routine administrative support services. HHS will, however, maintain the Payment Management System in an operational status to continue processing grant drawdown requests so that payments can be made for excepted programs. The robust internal controls that currently exist would continue to ensure the integrity of grant drawdown requests and payments. For awards received prior to the gap in funding, you may also be able to continue drawing funds from prior awards during an appropriations lapse. If you received your notice of grant award with restrictive terms and conditions, or if your drawdown request triggers one of the Payment Management System edit checks and/or the drawdown limit controls, you will not be able to drawdown funds."

Though funds that have already been awarded will remain available, due to furlough requirements, grantees' ability to contact federal agencies and departments, and to receive technical assistance, will be compromised. As the shutdown continues, we encourage you to document the impact of the funding gap on your state, including administrative and programmatic functions. Please send this information to Lindsey Copeland, ADvancing States' Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs.