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Advocates tell committee to wait for evaluation before codifying DC Flex
Summary
Children's Law Center and the Washington Legal Clinic urged the Committee on Human Services not to make DC Flex permanent until DHS and the DC lab publish a full evaluation; they warned proposed subsidy amounts and eligibility criteria may be inadequate or too vague.
Multiple advocacy organizations testified that while they support DC Flex's aim to keep families stably housed, they urged the committee to delay permanent legislation until the pilot evaluation is available. McKenna Osborne, Senior Policy Attorney at the Children's Law Center, said the evaluation (expected early 2026) should inform how annual assistance levels, eligibility, and program structure are calibrated.
"Children's Law Center supports the goal of this act to make DC Flex a permanent program within DHS's spectrum of housing assistance," Osborne said, but added the bill as written "will not achieve that" without adjustments. Joshua Drumming of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless similarly called moves to make the pilot permanent "premature," arguing the current and proposed subsidy levels are too small for many DHS clients and the eligibility standard "potential to grow income" lacks objective criteria. Both advocates offered recommendations for clearer metrics, increased transparency on award levels and outcomes, and more robust subsidy amounts to reduce reliance on emergency assistance programs.
