That Safety Net is very vulnerable to Y2K related failures and the organizations that provide the Safety Net programs and services are very late in addressing their risks. The vast majority of these services rely upon automated processes that are at risk of experiencing Year 2000-related failures. They provide grants to nonprofits that provide vital services such as homehealth visits and job training. They furnish public housing and support foster child services. Federal agencies are still trying to collect information from all of the states on the Y2K readiness of these systems.
Information is scant and worrisome.
In addition to the 50 state governments, there are 3,068 county government jurisdictions and approximately 87,000 other local government jurisdictions within the United States. Many state, county, and local governments have not taken adequate steps to solve their Y2K problems. Five states report they will not have their food stamp systems repaired until October at the earliest. This does not leave time for adequate testing. The level of emergency preparedness for potential Y2K problems also varies dramatically from community to community.