House Human Services Committee refines H.91 draft, stresses CoC integration, case management and implementation flexibility

The House Human Services Committee continued work on H.91, the End Homelessness Vermont framework, during an afternoon meeting focused on integrating existing Continuum of Care planning, clarifying case management roles, and preserving flexibility for providers on using hotels or vouchers as temporary shelter.

Committee members said the bill should explicitly use the collaborative planning processes already run by Continuums of Care (CoCs) and rely on existing HUD application work rather than create parallel state requirements. House Human Services Committee chair said, "we are picking up our continued work on H91," and urged drafting that leans on local processes that feed federal grant applications.

The committee and invited commenters discussed several recurring implementation concerns: whether the statute should require or merely prioritize eligibility rules versus leaving prioritization to providers; how to define participation expectations tied to case management; whether the bill should…