Amendment #350 to H5150

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Representatives Ferrante of Gloucester, Barber of Somerville and Vargas of Haverhill move to amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-0108, by adding the following:- “For a program of short-term housing assistance to help families eligible for temporary emergency shelter under item 7004-0101 in addressing obstacles to maintaining or securing housing; provided, that the assistance provided under this item shall include not less than 12 months of housing stabilization and economic self-sufficiency case management services for each family receiving benefits under this item; provided further, that a family shall not receive more than a combined sum of $10,000 in a 12-month period from this item and item 7004-9316; provided further, that so long as they meet the requirements of their housing stabilization plan, a family that received household assistance under this item whose income exceeds 50 per cent of area median income shall not become ineligible for assistance due to exceeding the income limit for a period of 6 months from the date that the 50 per cent level was exceeded; provided further, that a family shall not be deemed ineligible as a result of any single violation of a self-sufficiency plan; provided further, that families that received household assistance in a prior 12-month period, complied with their rehousing plan during the prior period of assistance, continue to include a child under the age of 21 or a pregnant person, and whose gross income does not exceed 50 percent of area median income or that have not had income in excess of said 50 percent level for a period of six months shall be eligible for further allotments of up to $10,000 in household assistance in subsequent 12-month periods to prevent their eviction from their existing housing or to relocate to another housing situation, without needing to first be evicted from their existing housing or otherwise needing to establish that they fall into one of the four categories of affirmative eligibility for emergency assistance shelter listed in item 7004-0101; provided further, that the department shall take all steps necessary to enforce regulations to prevent abuse in the short-term housing transition program, including a wage match agreement with the department of revenue; provided further, that a family that was terminated from the program or did not make a good faith effort to follow its housing stabilization plan during the term of its assistance shall be ineligible for benefits under said item 7004-0101 and this item for 12 months from the last date the family received financial assistance under said item 7004-0101 and this item; provided further, that a family’s housing stabilization plan shall adequately accommodate the ages and disabilities of the family members; provided further, that families receiving benefits under this program who are found ineligible for continuing benefits shall be eligible for aid pending a timely appeal under chapter 23B of the General Laws; provided further, that families who are denied assistance under this item may appeal that denial under said chapter 23B, including subsection (F) of section 30 of said chapter 23B and regulations adopted to implement said chapter 23B; provided further, that benefits under this item shall only be provided to residents of the commonwealth who are citizens of the United States or persons lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing under the color of law in the United States; provided further, that the department, as a condition of continued eligibility for assistance under this program, may require disclosure of social security numbers by all members of a family receiving assistance under this item for use in verification of income with other agencies, departments and executive offices; provided further, that if a family member fails to provide a social security number for use in verifying the family's income and eligibility, then the family shall no longer be eligible to receive benefits from this program; provided further, that the department shall administer this program through the following agencies, unless administering agencies are otherwise procured by the department: the Berkshire Housing Development Corporation, Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Inc., Community Teamwork Inc., the Housing Assistance Corporation; the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority; Way Finders, Inc.; Metro Housing Boston; the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development; the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc.; NeighborWorks Housing Solutions; and RCAP Solutions, Inc.; provided further, that the department shall reallocate financing based on performance-based statistics from under-performing service providers to above average service providers in order to move as many families from hotels, motels or shelters into more sustainable housing; provided further, that the department shall use funds provided under this program for stabilization workers to focus efforts on housing retention and to link households to supports, including job training, education, job search and child care opportunities available, and may enter into agreements with other public and private agencies for the provision of these services; provided further, that a stabilization worker shall be assigned to each household; provided further, that funds shall be used to more rapidly transition families served by the program into temporary or permanent sustainable housing; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not less than 90 days before promulgating or amending any regulation, administrative practice or policy that would alter eligibility for or the level of benefits under this program to less than the benefit level available on June 30, 2019, the department shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate a report setting forth the justification for such changes including, but not limited to, any determination by the secretary of housing and economic development that available appropriations will be insufficient to meet projected expenses; provided further, that the department shall submit quarterly reports to the house and senate committees on ways and means, which shall include, but not be limited to, the: (i) number of families served with the total number of household members served, broken out by dependents ages 0-17, dependents ages 18-20, and non-dependent adult household members ages 18 and older; and the total number of household members served, broken out by race and ethnicity; (ii) type of assistance given; (iii) average, minimum and maximum cost per family of the assistance; (iv) number of families assisted through this program; and (v) total number of families receiving benefits under 7004-0101 that have received assistance under 7004-0108 during the previous 1, 2, and 3 years, with data on the race and ethnicity of families receiving assistance under 7004-0101 and those denied assistance under 7004-0101 after exiting the short-term housing assistance program; provided further, that the department shall expend funds under item 7004-0108 on families residing in temporary emergency shelters and family residential treatment or sober living programs under items 4512-0200 and 4513-1130 if the families otherwise meet all eligibility requirements applicable to emergency shelter under item 7004-0101, except that, solely for the purpose of this item, the fact that a family is residing in a temporary emergency domestic violence shelter under item 4513-1130 or in a family residential treatment or sober living program under item 4512-0200 shall not preclude the family from receiving assistance; provided further, that this item shall be subject to appropriation and, in the event of a deficiency, nothing in this item shall give rise to, or shall be construed as giving rise to, any enforceable right or entitlement to services in excess of the amounts appropriated in this item; and provided further, that household assistance funds shall be advanced to the administering agencies at the end of each month and before the next month's disbursement, the amount of which shall be estimated based on the prior month’s expenditure with a reconciliation not less than annually;”.

and in said item by striking out the figures “$25,825,000” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$70,825,000”.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #350 to H5150

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