Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 760 CMR - HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF › Title 760 CMR 67.00 - Eligibility for Emergency Assistance (EA) › Section 67.10 - In the Event that the Shelter System Is Unable to Serve All Eligible Families

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) Notwithstanding
			 760
			 CMR 67.01 through
			 760
			 CMR 67.09, in the event that the Director
			 (the Secretary) determines that, in light of legislative appropriations, the
			 shelter system is no longer able to meet all current and projected demand for
			 shelter from eligible families considering the facts and circumstances then
			 existing in the Commonwealth, the Director (the Secretary) shall issue a
			 written declaration detailing that determination and the basis for it. The
			 declaration shall identify a maximum program shelter capacity which the
			 Director (the Secretary) determines the shelter system can attain and that the
			 shelter system shall not be required to exceed during the term of the
			 declaration. The declaration shall have an initial time limit of 120 days after
			 it is issued but may be extended for additional periods of up to 120 days if
			 the Director (the Secretary) determines that the shelter system is still unable
			 to meet all current and projected demand for shelter from eligible families in
			 light of legislative appropriations. In the event that a declaration lapses,
			 nothing in these regulations shall preclude the Director (the Secretary) from
			 subsequently issuing an additional declaration under this provision. The
			 declaration shall be made available publicly when it is issued and promptly
			 posted on the website of the Department (now the Executive Office of Housing
			 and Livable Communities).
(2) Upon
			 the issuance of a declaration under
			 760
			 CMR 67.10(1), and
			 notwithstanding
			 760
			 CMR 67.01 through
			 760
			 CMR 67.09, in light of legislative
			 appropriations and facts and circumstances existing in the Commonwealth, the
			 Department shall take all reasonably available steps to ensure that available
			 shelter resources are distributed so as to support as many eligible families as
			 possible and to prioritize support for those eligible families most in need.
(a) The Department shall issue written
			 guidance setting forth the particular steps that the Department will take in
			 response to each declaration under
			 760
			 CMR 67.10(1), which may
			 include:
1. How the Department will prioritize
			 families for access to shelter. The prioritization system shall take into
			 account the basis that led to the secretarial declaration and the health and
			 safety risk facing the family seeking shelter, which may include the family's
			 medical vulnerability and any risks to the family arising from domestic
			 violence. The prioritization system may include protocols to establish priority
			 category groups that are ranked based on levels of health and safety risks and
			 to establish how households will be ranked within each priority category group.
			 In determining how to prioritize families for access to shelter, the Department
			 may consult as appropriate with the Department of Public Health and other
			 agencies.
2. Whether the Department
			 will establish a shelter placement waitlist and the policies and procedures the
			 Department will use to administer the waitlist if one is established.
3. Upon not less than 30 days prior notice,
			 setting a limit on or establishing the timeframe during which an EA shelter
			 eligibility determination shall remain effective. If such a limit or timeframe
			 is adopted, the guidance may create a process by which a family may seek an
			 additional period of eligibility. The guidance issued under a secretarial
			 declaration and
			 760
			 CMR 67.10(2)(a)3. may permit
			 a family to reapply for shelter even if that family would not be eligible to
			 apply for an additional period of shelter in the absence of a secretarial
			 declaration, and may set out a prioritization framework for applications from
			 previously sheltered families seeking an additional period of
			 shelter.