• Senator Jehlen has filed Amendment #835 on renewing HomeBASE short-term transitional housing benefits for families that otherwise would time out/have timed out of HomeBASE before securing permanent housing; decoupling RAFT and HomeBASE benefits for the entire fiscal year to allow families to maximize both programs; bringing HomeBASE funding up to $45 million; and improving HomeBASE data collection to better track the race and ethnicity of families participating in HomeBASE, and those denied access to EA with the first, second, and years after exiting HomeBASE. Without renewals, families that are stably housed with HomeBASE can lose that support and end up being evicted or back in shelter after exhausting the $10,000 in HomeBASE benefits, even though evictions and shelter stays are more costly emotionally, physically, socially, and economically. The goal should be to preserve stable housing at all times, but especially during the pandemic and eventual recovery that will last for years to come.
• Outcome: Not adopted (Rejected via "No" bundle #4)
• Senator Jehlen also has filed Amendment #371 on creating state-level eviction protections like the ones currently in place through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) The amendment would extend the protections statewide until December 31, 2021. (The CDC moratorium is scheduled to end in June, but has been challenged at the federal level. While the protections still are in place, a judge has temporarily stayed an order to end the protections.) This amendment is especially critical as other COVID-19 resources and protections are slated to end when the Massachusetts state of emergency is lifted.
• Outcome: Withdrawn
• Senator Chang-Díaz has filed Amendment #804 on improving Emergency Assistance (EA) data collection to inform and drive better service to children and families experiencing homelessness. This amendment would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to track and report additional, vital data on the EA family shelter program and related HomeBASE program, building upon the numerous important additions made by Senate Ways and Means. It also would make sure that quarterly reports to the Legislature include data from each month of the previous quarter, not just the most recent month. The amendment also seeks to capture more data on families that request Emergency Assistance, but are not ultimately approved or denied, building upon the language from Senate Ways and Means; more data on families that have to stay in places not meant for human habitation while they are applying for EA shelter; and more data on families seeking disability-based reasonable accommodations. In addition, the amendment also explicitly would require DHCD to track and report race and ethnicity data across more categories within the reports. All of this additional information is critical for better serving children and parents who are experiencing homelessness, examining racial and ethnic inequities in the program, and addressing the unmet needs of families during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Outcome: Amendment redrafted on May 27th to remove reference to state of emergency so that data on families staying in congregate and shared shelter settings and families out on extended leave due to COVID-19 would be collected throughout all of FY2; adopted as redrafted
• Senator Crighton has filed Amendment #756 on improving the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program (RAFT), by increasing the appropriation to $26.7 million; keeping the $10,000 benefit cap for the entire fiscal year (not just during the state of emergency); and decoupling RAFT and HomeBASE benefits for the entire fiscal year to allow families to maximize both programs.
• Outcome: Amendment redrafted on May 26th to include decoupling language and extension of $10,000 cap until December 31, 2021, with a $7,000 cap for the second half of the fiscal year; redraft did not include higher appropriation for RAFT; adopted as redrafted (Part of "Yes" bundle #5)
• Senator Keenan has filed Amendment #444 to increase direct Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) funding from $130 million to $160 million.
• Outcome: Not adopted (Rejected via "No" bundle #3)
• Senator Cyr has filed Amendment #744 on the YouthWorks program, which would provide for language changes adding emphasis on LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and other young adults experiencing homelessness; expand the definition of at-risk youth; and open up opportunities for more young adults experiencing homelessness to access opportunities through YouthWorks.
• Outcome: Adopted as redrafted (Approved as part of "Yes" bundle #4)