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Witnesses press DBH to adopt voucher checklist and portal or leverage DCHA/DHS systems
Summary
Advocates urged the Committee on Health to require a standardized checklist and an online portal to increase transparency in DBH's behavioral-health voucher process; DBH and others recommended integrating with existing DHS/DCHA infrastructure rather than building a costly standalone system.
Advocates from Children's Law Center, Disability Rights DC and others told the committee that Department of Behavioral Health voucher administration lacks transparency and that the Behavioral Health Housing Voucher Transparency Amendment Act of 2025 would reduce delays and document loss. "We encourage the committee and DBH to review DCHA's materials," McKenna Osborne said, pointing to DCHA and DHS checklists and portals as possible models to avoid duplication.
Jacqueline Verner of Disability Rights DC described a discontinued HEAL waiting-list practice and said DBH's current reliance on caseworker flags "takes away really any structure of transparency and fairness" from voucher selection. DBH Director Barbara Bazaron told the committee DBH funds about 750 subsidies and typically awards about 20 new vouchers per year; the department said documents are filed on secure servers and it will estimate the cost of a portal if required.
Committee members pressed witnesses and DBH about whether DBH should administer a separate portal or integrate into DCHA/DHS systems. Several witnesses and DBH staff favored integration or coordination with the DCHA/DHS infrastructure to avoid heavy technical and staffing costs. The committee asked DBH to provide clearer written information on limits of its program and to work with DHS and DCHA on potential technical solutions.
