Please see the Homes for Families action bulletin below:
We have complied the amendments critical to addressing homelessness, and need you to take this work a step further by calling your senator’s office to let them know where their priorities should be!
Please review this list, identify the amendments that are most important to you, and call your senator to share! They are responsible to represent their constituents, but they can only do it to the best of their abilities if you give them the facts, knowledge and reason!
Amendments Critical to Addressing Homelessness
Emergency Shelter (7004-0101)
ECO370,ECO 371: Senator Donnelly’s Amendments to correct shelter eligibility, so that families do not have to sleep in places not meant for human habitation and maintain otherprotections in the line item for families placed presumptively
ECO412: Senator Lovely’s Amendment to increase funding to the Emergency Assistance program by $20M. This will allow for the expansion of contracted shelter units and reduce the need for supplemental budgets in FY15 to cover motel costs.
ECO340: Senator Petruccelli’s Amendment to provide 12 month contracts to family shelter providers
HomeBASE (7004-0108)
ECO399: Senator O’Connor Ives’ Amendment to the HomeBASE Line Item (7004-0108) to increase funding by $4.8M and technical changes to increase the flexibility in the program.
Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (7004-9024)
ECO446: Senator Edridge’s Amendment to ensure that vouchers are distributed fairly and efficiently, provide DHCD with the resources to establish a statewide waiting list for MRVP that can lay the ground work for a wait list for all state programs and ensure that the new waitlist is done quickly and that vouchers are on the street as quickly as possible
Other Amendments
EHS895: Senator Wolf’s Amendment fund the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) Grant Payments (DTA 4403-2000) at $289.2 million to allow for a modest TAFDC grant increase and provide a safety net to families who need it most
ECO372: Senator Donoghue’s Amendment to fund the Employment Services Program (DTA 4401-1000) at $9.7 million with $2 million to establish pilot pathways programs that would assist low-income families in accessing post-secondary education and training leading to jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. This amendment would also level fund all programs currently funded under this line item.
EDU501: Senator Moore’s Amendment or a reserve to the department of early education and care to be distributed to increase reimbursement rates for center-based subsidized early education and care, for salaries, benefits and stipends for professional development of early educators or programmatic quality improvements
EHS722: Senator Finegold’s Amendment to provided necessary funding for the Teen Living Programs
GOV125: Senator Spilka’s Amendment on the Salary Reserve for Human Service Workers
ECO366: Senator Welch’s Amendment to the TPP program, a valuable prevention tool
EHS767: Senator Keenan’s Amendment to bring DCF line item 4800-1400 to $26.9
- The SWM budget recommends $23,201,437. With the recent implementation of chapter 257 rates for residential services, this funding is essentially level to FY14 in terms of services. An increase is needed to expand shelter room capacity and build community based service capacity.
- This line item funds Domestic Violence emergency shelter, transitional housing and community based services across the Commonwealth.
EHS926: Senator Eldridge’s Amendment to bring DPH 4513-1130 to $7.35 million will also add language to mirror the current and House budget language and include all programmatic areas.
- The SWM budget recommends $5,752,078, which is essentially level
funding to FY14 but still significantly below FY2009 funding (gap of
$639,599). - This line item funds Rape Crisis Centers throughout Massachusetts,batterer intervention programs, services for refugees, immigrant survivors and LGBQT survivors, as well as prevention funding.
Thanks for all of your efforts- all progress has been made possible by YOU- and future progress is only possible because of YOU!
