State Legislature Limits Emergency Assistance Shelter Stays

State legislators voted Thursday to pass a bill imposing a nine-month limit on families staying in state-run Emergency Assistance Shelters effective June 1.

The bill aims to mitigate the financial burden on the state’s Emergency Assistance program, which organizes shelter for unhoused and migrant families eligible for housing under the state’s 1983 “right to shelter” law. The program has consistently been at its maximum capacity of 7,500 families since November of last year and currently faces a $224 million deficit.

The new limits will affect families staying in both EA shelters and state-run temporary overflow sites across the state, including those staying in the Registry of Deeds Building in East Cambridge.

The bill is the latest burden facing families in the Cambridge and Roxbury overflow sites, who already have to report their engagement in case management, employment, and rehousing efforts monthly to remain eligible for shelter according to a March regulation issued by Governor Maura T. Healey ’92.

The Cambridge site, which opened in December to handle the increasingly large volume of families in need of shelter, was intended to temporarily house families for just a few days. However, the site has been near capacity for months as staff struggle to transition families into permanent housing options.

Despite the limits, the bill leaves open the possibility of up to two 90-day extensions for eligible families.

Eligibility for extension is determined by a number of factors, including pregnancy or disability status, employment or enrollment in job training programs, and those at risk from domestic violence. Additionally, extensions may be available if leaving a shelter would disrupt a child’s education, or if a guardian cannot work because of barriers to child care.

Families will also be able to apply for a hardship waiver, which permits additional time in shelter, but these must be certified by the state housing secretary.

The bill also requires the Healey Administration to complete a rehousing plan and case management for all families and pregnant women in the EA program.

The bill is a part of the supplemental budget for fiscal year 2024, and comes as a compromise between the House’s $260 million budget and the Senate’s $825 million, which both passed last month.

Now totalling $426 million, the compromise bill allocates $251 million from the state’s transitional escrow budget for fiscal year 24 — which ends on June 30 — to help pay for shelter system costs. It additionally allows $175 million to be pulled from the account fiscal year 25.

A portion of the budget will be allocated to workforce development to aid families exiting the shelter system, including $10 million for an approved training program.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.