Senate Health & Welfare hears DCF on Act 113 emergency-housing rules, caps and operational strain

The Senate Health & Welfare Committee on Nov. 29 heard Department for Children and Families (DCF) officials and Legislative Counsel explain how the 2023 budget provision known as Act 113 governs General Assistance (GA) emergency housing, and why DCF is operating at capacity.

Legislative Counsel Katie told the committee that the budget language requires emergency housing to be provided in a community-based shelter whenever possible and, if none is available in the household’s AHS district, in a hotel or motel within that district until shelter space becomes available. Miranda Gray, deputy commissioner of DCF’s Economic Services Division, described how DCF has implemented the language and the operational limits the agency faces.

The committee was told that the statute establishes eligibility categories (including age 65 or older, documented disability, households with a child 19 or younger, pregnancy, loss of a spouse/domestic partner/minor child, natural disaster, court-ordered eviction or constructive eviction, and exposure to violence or trafficking). Katie said the statute requires households to attest they lack a “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” and that DCF may require documentation, including a provider certification, to verify some disability-based claims. “The emergency housing is to be provided in a community-based shelter whenever possible,” Katie said.