Families in the state’s emergency shelters could soon face time limits on how long they stay in shelters, and the head of the state’s immigration office says she’s confident that officials will find “viable options” for those who exhaust their stays.
House Democrats voted Wednesday to steer another $245 million toward the overwhelmed emergency family shelter system while capping how long people can receive its services, along the way rejecting a Republican proposal to limit program eligibility.
Continuing to fund a record level of emergency shelter services “becomes harder and harder to support” while tax collections lag expectations, the top House Democrat said Wednesday while suggesting he’s out of the loop on the governor’s spending plans.
Emergency shelter costs will approach $1 billion annually this fiscal year and next fiscal year, according to the Healey administration, which plans to drain a $700 million state escrow account to cover a portion of the unanticipated expenses.
