Shelter Commission Wraps Without Major Change Recommendations to Massachusetts Emergency Shelter System Costing Over $1 Billion Annually

By Alison Kuznitz

With emergency family shelter costs projected to continue topping $1 billion annually, a commission created to tackle the problem approved a report Tuesday that lacks recommendations about concrete steps for making the system more sustainable.

Without discussion, 12 commission members voted to approve the 40-page report during a virtual meeting chaired by Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and two members said the “call to action” will now fall on the new Legislature once it’s sworn in on Jan. 1.

“I’m sorry we don’t have a ‘ta-da’ moment in person, but just want to say thanks for all the hard work, the ideas, the stakeholder gathering, and the information that’s going to lead us forward in forming a new opportunity to support our emergency assistance program,” Driscoll said as she wrapped up the meeting. “And so thanks so much for all the participation.”

The report contains 10 recommendations, including slashing the reliance on hotels and motels used for shelters, providing more targeted resources to families, more clearly communicating shelter policies, and making the system fiscally and operationally sustainable.

The report resembles the draft the commission reviewed last week, but also incorporates a recommendation that the administration and lawmakers continue to meet with experts and stakeholders “to continue the work of this Commission and inform implementation of Commission recommendations.”

Rep. James Arciero, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Housing, and Rep. Jay Livingstone, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, abstained from voting. Their Senate counterparts, Sens. Lydia Edwards and Robyn Kennedy, accepted the report, as did Republicans Rep. Paul Frost and Sen. Ryan Fattman.

The report contains an appendix with additional recommendations from Fattman and Frost, including establishing a six-month Massachusetts residency requirement for EA shelter applications, shortening shelter stays, and codifying a Gov. Maura Healey directive that ensures placement “is prioritized for families facing a no-fault eviction, sudden or unusual circumstances in Massachusetts beyond a family’s control.” Families who can currently stay in shelter for nine months with two potential 90-day extensions should instead only be permitted to stay six months while maintaining those extensions, Fattman and Frost recommend.

“Overall, the inclusion of these three recommendations as made by us are positive signs for the future of this program and the impact it can have on all residents of the Commonwealth,” Fattman and Frost said in a statement. “Therefore, because of this, both of us voted to support this report today. Now the call to action must fall on the legislature as we address these recommendations in greater detail at the start of the next legislative session in January to ensure that the time and effort put into this Commission does not fall to the wayside.”

The commission, created in response to the surge of migrant families overwhelming the EA family shelter system, was under a Dec. 1 deadline to submit a final report to the Legislature.

Healey has taken several steps on her own to try to control shelter access and costs, and the Legislature will soon be asked to refill accounts that pay for the shelter system.

Existing shelter money is expected to run out in January, and Administration and Finance Secretary Matt Gorzkowicz said last Tuesday officials are planning to seek $400 million in additional funding from the Legislature.