Committee hears testimony backing expanded funding for Family Homeless Prevention Assistance Program

Senate File 1511, an appropriation for the Family Homeless Prevention Assistance Program (FHPAP), drew testimony from state housing officials and providers who said the program prevents eviction and shortens the time families spend in emergency shelters. The Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in an omnibus package.

Committee author Senator Erin Bolden opened the hearing by describing FHPAP as a flexible emergency rental-assistance program that “helps stabilize families in their existing homes” and targets households at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines and those at imminent risk of homelessness. The committee heard from Minnesota Housing, legal and provider groups, and local administrators about the program’s use and limits.

Dan Kitzberger, legislative director at Minnesota Housing, told the committee the agency’s recent estimate of emergency rental-assistance need relied on multiple household surveys and acknowledged data gaps: “This is a fairly difficult population to track,” he said, describing use of the American Community Survey and the PULSE household survey to estimate need. The MHFA report included in committee materials estimated an annual need of about $350,000,000 for emergency assistance for income-eligible renters in Minnesota, Kitzberger said.

Margaret Kaplan, president of the Housing Justice Center and co-convener of the statewide ERASE (Ending Rental Arrears and Stop Evictions) campaign, described rising eviction filings and asked for more funding. “This is a very scalable program — any dollar that goes into it can be put to work on the ground somewhere here in the state,” Kaplan said, adding that eviction filings to date this year exceeded 3,000.

Frontline service providers described near-immediate depletion of local allocations. Renee Rock, a policy fellow with Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless who said she used FHPAP personally, described calling providers and “sitting and wait[ing] for a response,” and learning only at housing court that local funds had already been spent. Randy Callahan, director of community supports at 3 Rivers Community Action, told the panel his agency administered $5,000,000 in FHPAP funding during the current biennium and said funds often deplete within the first two weeks of a quarter.

Greater Twin Cities United Way associate vice president Stephanie Lewis said January eviction filings were “85% above the 2024 monthly average” and that 90% of those filings were for nonpayment of rent; she said local prescreening partnerships still cannot meet demand. Committee members asked for eligibility context: the committee was told the 200% of poverty threshold for a four-person household is $64,300 a year and for a single-person household is $31,300 a year.

Committee discussion emphasized the broader effects of preventing homelessness on education, health and the workforce. Senator Clark said preventing displacement reduces busing burdens for schools; Senator Bolden argued the program is “fiscally responsible” because avoiding homelessness reduces downstream public costs.

The committee recorded no final appropriation vote; instead the chair announced Senate File 1511 is laid over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill.

Ending note: Committee members signaled bipartisan interest in the program but also noted limited state resources and the need to refine administrative data collection to target assistance more efficiently.