Committee advances V‑HEARTH planning in H.91; seeks faster reports, advisory committee and funding to shift from hotel‑based shelter

The Health & Welfare committee on April 22 reviewed H.91, legislation that would codify a statewide V‑HEARTH program to coordinate community action agencies, regional needs assessments and a multi‑phase implementation plan for homelessness services.

H.91 would require Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to develop regional needs assessments and planning processes—using data such as Vermont’s point‑in‑time counts, coordinated‑entry assessments and community input—and to submit those plans to the Department for aggregation and reporting to policy committees. The draft sets guidance for hotel and motel use as emergency shelter, requires compliance with the Department of Health lodging rules and Vermont Fire and Building Safety Code, and asks the department to propose hotel/motel rates annually as part of its budget.

Funding and timeline: the bill as described in committee includes a one‑time FY26 appropriation of $10,000,000 from the general fund: $6.5 million to the Department for distribution to CAAs and their network, $500,000 for contractual and system‑transformation assistance, and $3,000,000 for continued development of shelter capacity. Committee members emphasized the desire to accelerate…