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Shelter monitoring committee reports 43 complaints in quarter, urges contract and membership changes
Summary
The Shelter Monitoring Committee reported 20 site visits and 43 complaints in the quarter (81% staff-related) and recommended allowing clean-blanket substitution for shelters without laundry, changing a Board seat eligibility criterion to ease retention, and staggering committee officer terms; department staff said they agree.
The Rules Committee on March 10 heard a quarterly report from the Shelter Monitoring Committee that flagged recurring client complaints and proposed short-term changes to shelter contract standards and committee membership rules.
Jonathan Bonauto, chair of the Shelter Monitoring Committee, said the committee made 20 site visits during the quarter and recorded 43 complaints, a level consistent with the previous year. "There were 43 total complaints, during the quarter," Bonauto said, and the committee reported that about 81% of complaints fell under a broad "staff" category that ranges from missing ID badges to allegations of disrespectful language or unsafe conditions.
Policy analyst Howard Chen told supervisors the staff category is broad and that the committee tracks which individual staff members are named in complaints; if a pattern emerges staff names are shared with the contract monitor. Chen said large shelters (including sites like MSC South and Providence) typically receive more complaints, and a sample issue included missing Spanish-language no-smoking signs at one large site.
On the basis of site visits and complaint patterns, the committee recommended three changes: allow shelters without laundry facilities (for example some church-run shelters) to substitute a clean blanket for a clean sheet when compliance is assessed; revise the Board of Supervisors seat-1 eligibility rule so candidates who at any point in their lifetime lived with a homeless child under age 18 may serve (to improve retention); and stagger committee officer terms so half are appointed in even years and half in odd years to maintain continuity. The committee described those recommendations as intended to improve practical administration and committee stability.
Departmental staff present said they have been coordinating with the Shelter Monitoring Committee and indicated agreement with the proposed changes. The committee’s hearing was filed by the Rules Committee for follow-up; departmental staff were asked to coordinate next steps with the committee.
What’s next: the department and contract monitors are to review the recommended contract-language change (clean blanket substitution) and return with implementation details; the committee will work to identify a process to revise appointment language for seat-1 and to stagger officer terms.
