House Human Services urges extension of winter-weather emergency shelter rules through June 30

Rep. Teresa Wood, chair of the House Human Services Committee, told the House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 24 that her panel recommends extending Vermont's winter-weather emergency shelter provisions through June 30 to avoid a repeat of last year's ad hoc response.

The nut graf: The recommendation keeps in place winter-weather rules that suspend the 80-day limit and room caps for emergency motel placements while the Legislature and agencies finalize a permanent emergency-shelter program and related budget language. Committee members said the extension is intended to prevent immediate unsheltering while an improved program is developed this spring and summer.

Wood described last year's emergency response as costly and poorly used, saying that hastily created congregate shelters and motel placements required millions and left many people unsheltered. "It was a disaster," Wood said, noting both human costs and wasted resources. The committee recommended extending the winter-weather provisions because the permanent program would not take effect until the new fiscal year beginning July 1.

Committee materials and staff figures cited in the hearing put current motel placements and emergency-room "boarding" in context. At the time of the presentation the Department for Children and Families (DCF) had identified roughly 1,408 motel-placed households; Wood's staff used a planning estimate of 1,425 rooms for the remainder of the covered period. The committee also noted a $351,000 underutilization figure in non-housing general assistance lines (for burial assistance, limited personal care and similar items) that is separate from the emergency shelter tally.

Under the winter-weather rules described in the budget language, the 80-day counting rule does not apply and there is no fixed limit on the number of motel rooms that may be used when a household meets the statutory eligibility conditions (families with a child 19 and under, people with disabilities, Vermonters 65 and older, survivors of domestic violence and people evicted through no fault of their own). Wood said the committee is not proposing eligibility changes but is recommending keeping the winter-weather exceptions in place through June 30 to bridge to a permanent program.

Wood and other committee members said two family shelters (in Williston and Waterbury) are slated to close April 1; Rutland is negotiating for a year-round site and the administration has reported positive progress there. The committee stressed the need to avoid repeating last spring, when several hastily arranged congregate settings drew heavy criticism for lack of transportation and poor take-up despite substantial spending.

Wood said the city of Burlington used local and Housing Opportunity Program resources to mount its recent temporary response to very cold weather and that a combination of local and state funds has been used in other emergency responses.

The committee provided draft language and public documents (including a Joint Fiscal Office memo cited in its materials) that it said would be available to appropriators to enact the extension if the Appropriations Committee chooses to adopt the recommendation. If approved, that extension would apply only until June 30, the committee said, because a new permanent program is expected to be implemented starting July 1.

Ending: Committee members emphasized this extension is intended as a short-term measure while a statutory program and budget for emergency shelter are finalized; they said legislative hearings and a task force report scheduled for next week will guide a longer-term solution.