Latest news with #EmergencyAssistance
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State plans to close all hotel, motel shelters this summer
BOSTON (SHNS) – The state will close its remaining motel and hotel shelters this summer, Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday, as the governor and lawmakers have imposed restrictions on the emergency housing system over the past year and family enrollment has declined. Thirty-two hotel shelters remain, down from a peak of 100 in the summer of 2023. Healey set a goal this year to eliminate the use of hotels and motels in the Emergency Assistance shelter system by the end of 2025. A press release from the Healey administration says the total number of families in shelter recently dropped below 5,000 for the first time since July 2023, and is expected to drop below 4,000 families this summer. 'Since the start of 2025, double the number of families have exited shelter (approximately 2,500) than have entered shelter (approximately 1,100). Approximately 85-90 percent of families seeking shelter are now longtime Massachusetts families,' it says. Caseloads exploded at the end of 2022, as a surge of immigration strained the system. Healey declared a state of emergency in 2023. The state has spent about $1 billion annually on the system for the past two years, and Democrats have turned to more restrictive measures to control enrollment and curb costs. Healey unilaterally capped the number of families the system could hold at 7,500 in the fall of 2023 and state officials have tightened eligibility, limited how long families can stay, and implemented stricter security. 'When we took office, homeless families were being placed in hotel shelters across the state,' Healey said in a statement. 'A hotel is no place to raise a family, and they are the least cost effective. That's why we implemented reforms to lower caseloads and the cost of the shelter system. We also promised to close all hotel shelters by the end of the year. I'm pleased that we are ahead of schedule, with more families getting jobs and moving to stable housing.' Asked about the administration's announcement, Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues pointed to the Legislature's passage of reforms that he said led to 'real material changes in the number of occupants in the EA system.' 'We are appropriating the same as the House, $275 million, in that system this year,' Rodrigues said. 'We are hopefully not going to have to supplement that in the future. So kudos to the administration. We were expecting all of the hotels to be, stop using hotels for shelter sometime by the end of the calendar year, not by the end of summer. That's good.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
03-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
The Trump administration took away unspent relief funds from Mass. districts. Here's how much each lost.
'A school-based health center is long overdue in this region,' O'Leary said. 'We're going to have to review if we're going to execute the final contract.' Related : Advertisement Similar projects could be in jeopardy around the state, particularly in districts like Springfield, Fitchburg, and Everett, which are losing around 20 percent of their total relief fund allocations. Here's what to know. Advertisement Which districts were affected? Including New Bedford, a total of 20 school districts will lose their remaining federal funds unless, as district leaders hope, the cuts are reversed. In Springfield, the biggest loser — with nearly $50 million on the line — money was going to HVAC installations and outdoor classrooms. It's unclear how much of that work was completed. Fitchburg, with one-quarter of its $26 million in federal funds on the line, was planning to spend its money on HVAC and air quality improvements, The primary deadline to use the funds was Sept. 30, and the vast majority have been spent. But districts were 'By failing to meet the clear deadline in the regulation, you ran the risk that the Department would deny your extension request,' McMahon wrote. 'Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department's priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.' Related : How much did each affected district have left? Springfield: Lost $47 million, or 19% of their $244 million total allocation of ESSER funds. New Bedford: Lost $16 million, or 21% of their $74 million total Fitchburg: Lost $6.6 million, or 25% of their $26 million Everett: Lost $4.9 million, or 23% of their $21 million Revere: Lost $4.6 million, or 15% of their $30 million Boston: Lost $3.5 million, or 0.8% of their $432 million Leominster: Lost $1.9 million, or 10.7% of their $17 million Stoughton: Lost $1.5 million, or 25% of their $5.9 million Worcester: Lost $1.5 million, or 1.2% of their $123 million Chelsea: Lost $1.4 million, or 4.5% of their $33 million Lawrence: Lost $1.3 million, or 1.6% of their $85 million Holyoke: Lost $400,000, or 0.7% of their $58 million. Dracut: Lost $650,000, or 12.1% of their $5.4 million West Springfield: Lost $350,000, or 2.3% of their $15 million Lynn: Lost $340,000, or 0.52% of their $66 million Fairhaven: Lost $250,000, or 6.1% of their $4.1 million Greater Fall River Regional Vocational Technical: Lost $120,000, or 2.5% of their $4.6 million Ludlow: Lost $83,000, or 1.7% of their $4.9 million Blue Hills: Lost $21,000, or 1.6% of their $1.3 million Mashpee: Lost $2,500, or 0.11% of their $2.3 million Other impacted school funding Two private religious schools also lost funds due to similar cuts to the separate 'Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools' program in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Mater Dolorosa Catholic School, Holyoke: Lost $120,000, or 15% of their $780,000 American Rescue Plan Act allocation. Saint Stanislaus School, Chicopee: Lost $173,000, or 13% of their $1.3 million allocation. According to the state, a total of $106 million in relief funds were terminated. The above schools and districts combine for about $93 million in lost funds, meaning about $13 million in unspent funds were due to other agencies, such as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Advertisement Federal money was supporting teacher training and regional centers that help teachers with emergency licenses get needed certification to continue working in Massachusetts public schools, the state said. Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Healey signs $425M bill to fund Mass. emergency shelter system, prompting MassGOP response
Gov. Maura Healey signed a $425 million bill Friday to fund the emergency shelter system through June and make temporary and permanent reforms to address the cost and security of the system. The House and Senate took the last votes needed on the mid-year spending bill Wednesday with all Republicans in both chambers and a handful of Democrats (Reps. Colleen Garry of Dracut and David Robertson of Tewksbury, and Sens. John Velis of Westfield and Mark Montigny of New Bedford) opposed. The new law is designed to recapitalize the system, which ran out of funds about a month ago, and to shrink its high costs and the number of families served by it. It features a shorter shelter stay limit, pared-down eligibility criteria, a cap on families the state will serve in 2026, stricter security measures, and more. Healey's office also released a 53-page assessment she had former Boston Police Department head Ed Davis undertake of the Emergency Assistance program's security and security-related protocols. The administration said Davis and his firm The Edward Davis Company will now be retained 'to assist with the implementation of the report's recommendations, many of which are already underway.' 'We all know that urgent action is needed to lower the cost of the system and make sure it is a viable, safe and temporary option for Massachusetts families who have fallen on hard times,' Healey said. 'We're grateful for the hard work of the Legislature for passing this important bill and to Ed Davis and his team for their review of the security of our system – and we're ready to get to work on implementation.' Healey's office said one of Davis' 'key recommendations' is to limit the state's policy of presumptive eligibility, a mandate added to the EA system line item in 2005 requiring the state to place families based on self-attestations of eligibility. The supplemental budget Healey signed Friday addresses that by allowing the state to verify eligibility for EA benefits during the application process. The Massachusetts Republican Party blasted the law soon after Healey signed it, saying its 'reckless spending—pushed through under the guise of reform—does nothing to stem the flow of migrants into the state, nor does it improve the dangerous and unsustainable conditions in overcrowded shelters where crime has run rampant.' 'This is yet another example of Democrats prioritizing politics over public safety and fiscal responsibility,' MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said. 'They claim this supplemental budget includes reforms, but in reality, these so-called changes are purely for show. They fail to address the root cause of this crisis and leave Massachusetts taxpayers on the hook for billions.' The announcement of Healey's signing included new information on the status of the EA system that has been a major humanitarian and financial challenge for Massachusetts for the last two-plus years. Almost 700 families exited the shelter system to stable housing in January, which the administration said was the highest number in more than a decade. The EA system currently serves about 5,800 families, a 22% decrease from the peak levels of 2023 and 2024. The number of hotel shelters, which the administration pledged to eliminate by the end of 2025, has been reduced by half in recent months. Following an influx that led Healey to declare a state of emergency in August 2023, migrant families now account for less than a quarter of the EA system's applicants. The Healey administration said that 'more than 75 percent of families now seeking shelter are long-time Massachusetts families.' The administration added that all 'adult EA residents have now been CORI checked or will be terminated from the program if they do not consent.' Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Massachusetts Democrats agree to $425M emergency shelter reform bill
Representatives voted along party lines Tuesday to advance inter-branch compromise emergency shelter reforms, which are now on track for potential enactment this week along with $425 million in supplemental funds for the cash-starved Emergency Assistance system. A 128-23 vote advanced the bill (H 58), which aims to fund the shelter system until fiscal 2025 ends June 30. It would also place a 4,000-family cap on family shelters for all of calendar year 2026, along with other reforms such as requiring Massachusetts criminal background checks for all people entering the system on a permanent basis. A spokesperson for the Senate Ways and Means Committee said Tuesday that the branches had indeed reached an 'agreement in principle' after passing separate versions of the legislation. The Senate will hold a formal session Wednesday and plans to take it up then. The bill moving back to the Senate institutes a competitive bidding process for EA program services, requires the Healey administration to report on how it plans to phase out the use of hotels and motels as EA shelter sites, and grants an automatic 30-day stay in a temporary respite site while EA applicants gather documentation for housing approval, according to an updated summary shared by the House Ways and Means Committee. A 6-month cap on family shelter stays is in the bill, although the Executive Office of Housing would be able to grant additional time for veterans, domestic violence victims, people with children under 6 years old, families that include a person with disabilities, and people with high-risk pregnancies or who have just given birth. Gov. Maura Healey asked for the funding to recapitalize the program on Jan. 6, calling it 'both timely and necessary,' and funds for family shelters then ran out at the end of the month. The governor also asked the Legislature in January to bake more systematic reforms into the legislation she had filed. The bill could get back to Healey's desk this week. The Senate plans to take it up during a formal session Wednesday, according to its tentative agenda, and both branches plan to meet Thursday. Each branch would need to take two more votes, on emergency preamble language and on enactment, to finish work on the bill. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats agree to $425-million shelter reform bill
BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–Representatives voted along party lines Tuesday to advance inter-branch compromise emergency shelter reforms, which are now on track for potential enactment this week along with $425 million in supplemental funds for the cash-starved Emergency Assistance system. A 128-23 vote advanced the bill (H 58), which aims to fund the shelter system until fiscal 2025 ends June 30. It would also place a 4,000-family cap on family shelters for all of calendar year 2026, along with other reforms such as requiring Massachusetts criminal background checks for all people entering the system on a permanent basis. Senate Dems advance legislation to lower costs and increase transparency A spokesperson for the Senate Ways and Means Committee said Tuesday that the branches had indeed reached an 'agreement in principle' after passing separate versions of the legislation. The Senate will hold a formal session Wednesday and plans to take it up then. The bill moving back to the Senate institutes a competitive bidding process for EA program services, requires the Healey administration to report on how it plans to phase out the use of hotels and motels as EA shelter sites, and grants an automatic 30-day stay in a temporary respite site while EA applicants gather documentation for housing approval, according to an updated summary shared by the House Ways and Means Committee. A 6-month cap on family shelter stays is in the bill, although the Executive Office of Housing would be able to grant additional time for veterans, domestic violence victims, people with children under 6 years old, families that include a person with disabilities, and people with high-risk pregnancies or who have just given birth. Gov. Maura Healey asked for the funding to recapitalize the program on Jan. 6, calling it 'both timely and necessary,' and funds for family shelters then ran out at the end of the month. The governor also asked the Legislature in January to bake more systematic reforms into the legislation she had filed. The bill could get back to Healey's desk this week. The Senate plans to take it up during a formal session Wednesday, according to its tentative agenda, and both branches plan to meet Thursday. Each branch would need to take two more votes, on emergency preamble language and on enactment, to finish work on the bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
