Mass. emergency shelter residents limited to 9 months in system after Gov. Healey signs bill

BOSTON — Massachusetts emergency shelter residents will only have nine months to live in the system after Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation Tuesday that also hands her administration a much-needed cash infusion to pay for struggling services.

Only days after the Legislature approved a spending bill largely along party lines, Healey inked her signature to a proposal that limits time in shelter, a move Beacon Hill Democrats have argued is necessary to curb demand amid an influx of migrants.

Healey said the spending bill she signed in full “dedicates resources to balance the budget and maintain critical services and programs.”

“It also implements a length of stay policy for emergency assistance shelter, which is a responsible step to address our capacity and fiscal constraints as Congress has continued to fail to act on immigration reform. We will be finalizing details of this policy in the coming weeks and ensuring that families and providers are informed of the requirements and the services that we have available to help them secure work and stable housing,” she said in a statement.

The move to limit the amount of time families can live in state-funded shelters represents the first reforms the state Legislature has made to the system since Healey declared a state of emergency in August, and could open the opportunity for additional changes in the future.

Families will have a chance at two 90-day extensions once they have reached the end of their nine months if they meet certain criteria like having a job, participating in a training program, being a single parent or being a veteran who is not already enrolled in other services.

The law Healey signed requires her administration to come up with an “individual rehousing plan” for and provide case management to each person in shelter, though exact details were not made clear in the proposal lawmakers passed last week.

The state’s housing department can revoke shelter eligibility if a family who has been in the system for at least two months is not complying with “case management and rehousing efforts,” according to the text of the law.

Healey also gained access to $426 million in one-time dollars leftover from the pandemic to spend on the emergency shelter system at a time when the state’s finances have struggled to meet expectations.

Most of the money is slated for use this fiscal year, when costs are expected to reach $932 million, while a smaller portion is set aside for costs incurred in fiscal year 2025, when officials expect expenses will amount to $915 million.

Republicans have pushed back, with no success, on spending more money on the shelter system, with some arguing Democrats are throwing money into a “bottomless pit.”

But the Healey administration has argued policy changes like boosting access to HomeBASE, which helps cover rent, and pushing the federal government for help on work permits is leading more people to exit the shelter system.

Over the last five months, 1,129 families have exited shelters, according to data provided by the Healey administration that was last updated April 26. Nearly 3,600 migrants have applied for work permits and officials help 626 immigrants “into jobs,” according to the administration.

Lawmakers also required Healey to seek a waiver from the federal government to permit “expedited, temporary, and provisional work authorizations for newly arriving migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers,” according to House Speaker Ron Mariano’s office.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Healey requested such a waiver, arguing work authorizations are pivotal in moving immigrants out of Massachusetts’ emergency family shelter system that is already stretched past capacity and for long-term success as residents in the United States.”

“We need more federal assistance to support these families and connect them with job opportunities,” Healey wrote. “Granting a waiver to meet the growing demand of work authorizations will help address the burdensome and costly application process.”

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