Targeting urgent reforms and enhanced safety, Governor Maura Healey has signed a supplemental budget that includes measures aimed at reducing costs and improving conditions within Massachusetts' family shelter system. The budget, worth $425 million for Fiscal Year 2025, addresses the Emergency Assistance (EA) program, which supports shelter-related services. As reported by the official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this move follows an in-depth security assessment at the behest of Governor Healey, conducted by former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.
In a statement available on the state's official website, Governor Healey outlines the steps taken to implement the recommendations from the security report. These steps include policy changes such as limiting presumptive eligibility for families entering the system. This is part of an ongoing effort that resulted in nearly 700 families exiting to stable housing last month—the highest number in over a decade. Governor Healey is quoted as saying, "This supplemental budget includes critical improvements that I proposed to reduce taxpayer costs for the family shelter system and make it safer for residents and our communities."
Further outlined in the supplemental budget are provisions to continue criminal history and CORI checks for all adults over 18 applying to the shelter system. These along with additional measures—like verifying identity, residency, lawful status, and familial relationships before placement—are expected to foster a more secure environment for shelter residents and the surrounding communities. There's also an ambitious initiative to not only reduce the system's caseload to 4,000 but also to close all hotel shelters by the end of 2025.
The review conducted by The Edward Davis Company presented numerous suggestions to improve the system, including enhancing staff training, improving intake procedures, and establishing consistent security standards across shelters. Many of these recommendations have been swiftly addressed by Governor Healey, either administratively or through legislative actions in the supplemental budget. Notably, the governor announced on the state's website that "all adult EA residents have now been CORI checked or will be terminated from the program if they do not consent." This reflects a strengthened stance on public safety and underscores the administration's commitment to a viable, temporary assistance program for families facing hardship.
