The State House's golden dome looks down on the Boston Common on Oct. 4, 2023. State House News Service photo

While it’s right-to-shelter law will remain in place, Massachusetts may not be able to guarantee shelter for immigrant families as soon as the end of this month as the state’s shelter system reaches capacity, Gov. Maura Healey said Monday.

The governor appointed a new emergency assistance director to lead operations “in this new phase” of the ongoing emergency shelter crisis. Lt. General Leon Scott Rice, former director of the Air National Guard and adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, will take the job to “work across our incident command structure in a close collaboration with local officials and stakeholders.”

There are close to 7,000 families, translating to close to 23,000 people, enrolled in the state’s emergency shelter system, Healey said Monday – over double the number of individuals enrolled at this time last year, and even up significantly from the 5,600 families being housed when Healey declared a state of emergency in August.

“We do not have enough space, service providers or funds to safely expand beyond 7,500 families, we expect to hit that limit at the end of the month,” Healey said during a press conference in Room 157 of the State House. “From that point on, we’ll no longer be able to guarantee shelter placement for new families entering.”

In an effort to move some people out of shelters, Healey also announced steps to place migrants in housing and jobs.

The administration is shifting its strategy to prioritize access to the home-base rehousing program, rental assistance, and private sponsorships for families who’ve been in shelter the longest, Healey said.

The governor once again called upon the federal government to streamline work authorizations for immigrants, to help them get on their feet, but changed her tune Monday – this time saying, “we are not waiting any longer.”

“We are connecting as many shelter residents as we can to work opportunities. First, we’re working with shelters and employers to help match work eligible residents with jobs. That work is being led by our MassHire Regional Offices and Workforce Boards, and they are getting results,” Healey said. “For example, MassHire South Shore is working with Dunkin Donuts to connect shelter residents to 30 open jobs.”

The governor said the state is also developing a new job training initiative with the nonprofit arm of the Commonwealth Corporation Workforce Agency.

The governor said her administration is not getting rid of Massachusetts’ “right-to-shelter” law, but will not be able to fulfill it when the system reaches its maximum capacity.

The state’s shelter system is also facing enormous financial pressure.

During an appearance Sunday morning on WCVB’s “On The Record” program, House Speaker Mariano said he still has “tons of questions” about the crisis, suggested that state officials are still in the dark on many fronts, and issued a call for congregate housing, with hotels and shelters at capacity and fall’s lower temperatures kicking in.

In mid-September, Healey offered a spending bill (H.4090) to the Legislature that included $250 million to put toward the escalating emergency shelter crisis. That proposal remains before a House committee, and Mariano said questions remain about aiding migrants as well as homeless individuals born in Massachusetts.

With thousands of families in the shelter system, a number that’s still rising, the $250 million “will help,” Mariano said. But he was quick to add, “It’s not going to solve our problems. It may not even get us to the end of this month. And we don’t see this stopping at the end of this month.”

Healey has said the $250 million would allow the state to continue to serve families and assist communities that are experiencing unexpected increases in students while the administration works on longer-term solutions.

As they push for elusive immigration system reforms, federal relief funding, and permits to help put migrants to work, the governor and other Democrats on Beacon Hill have expressed frustration with President Joe Biden. The president faces policy and political pressures over his administration’s response to states that are absorbing a crush of new arrivals.

Mariano was among the state officials who met with federal officials last week during their visit to check out the situation here with migrants. He said he mentioned the situation in the U.S. House, where Republicans helped oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California but can’t agree on his successor.

“Let’s be realistic,” he said, referencing the new level of instability in an already divided Congress. “As I said to them, I know the cavalry isn’t on the other side of the hill. Right now there’s a rudderless ship that controls the spigots of the help that we need. We need congregate housing facilities.”