Here’s how the government shutdown is affecting Kitsap County

Published 11:34 am Tuesday, October 1, 2013

(This version corrects the number of employees furloughed at Naval Base Kitsap.)

POULSBO — Here’s how the government shutdown is affecting Kitsap County.

— Puget Sound Naval Shipyard: Approximately 3,500 civilian employees furloughed, according to Mary A. Mascianica, public affairs officer.

— Naval Base Kitsap: 97 of 453 civilian employees furloughed, according to Chief Petty Officer Daniel Pearson, public affairs officer for Navy Region Northwest. Employees assigned to fire and emergency services are not furloughed; Naval Base Kitsap has six fire stations and two police stations.

— Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest: “137 employees will be receiving a furlough letter sometime today,” said Leslie Yuenger, public affairs officer. NAVFAC NW headquarters is located on Naval Base Kitsap — Bangor.

— U.S. Navy Region Northwest: Approximately 16,000 Navy civilian employees will be furloughed in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, according to Pearson.

— DSHS: “At this time, benefits for state Department of Social and Health Services clients receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Basic Food benefits will continue through the end of October,” reports Kathy Spears, DSHS public affairs media relations manager.

“In addition, Medicare, Medicaid and child support payments are not affected by a federal government shutdown at this time. All DSHS offices remain open. As discussions continue in Washington, D.C., information on other federal programs administered by DSHS is evolving.”

— Employment Security and WorkSource: “WorkSource centers and most of the employment services will remain available beyond next Monday, since the bulk of the funding is currently available to us,” reports Sheryl Hutchison, communications director of the Employment Security Department. “We’ve decided to use our limited state funds to continue processing unemployment claims for the time being. We will have to revisit this decision if the shutdown lasts more than a few weeks.”

Hutchison added, “Throughout this week, we will continue to assess which Employment Security and WorkSource functions will or won’t continue to operate if the federal shutdown continues beyond Oct. 7.”

ESD will post updates as more information comes available. Go to the “Federal shutdown info” alert on www.esd.wa.gov.