Committee hears plan to keep hotel-motel emergency program for two years while planning regional transfer to community action agencies

The Health & Welfare committee discussed a phased plan to preserve the current hotel‑motel emergency housing program while preparing to move administration and funding to regional community action agencies.

Commissioner Chris Winters, Department for Children and Families, told the committee that “we agree that HOP should continue as is for at least the next 2 fiscal years,” and described a planning timeline intended to avoid disruption of existing shelter and homelessness services.

The committee was told why the change matters: the proposal aims to combine several emergency housing funding streams and shift day‑to‑day administration from a single state hub to five regional community action agencies (CAPs). Supporters said regional control could tailor services (shelter beds, medical respite, family shelter, low‑barrier shelter and extreme‑weather responses) to local needs, while critics warned of added administrative cost and uneven capacity across CAPs.

Most important details

- Timeline and structure: Commissioner Chris Winters said HOP would remain administered through the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Planning would proceed so that, in fiscal year 2028, emergency housing funds and HOP funds would be combined into a single continuum under regional administration. Committee discussion referenced a possible funding/operational transfer date of July 1, 2026, as a planning target.

- Reporting and milestones: Committee…