Overview
During the course of our audit, we noted the combination of issues identified in the report - seeking emergency procurement rather than regular procurement, even though the Commonwealth’s maximum shelter capacity had been exceeded months earlier; nonidentification of several questionable expenditures, such as the 223-foot ride within a parking lot operated by Cape Destinations, which is also owned by the owner of Mercedes Cab Company / Pilgrim Transit; and a failure to make in writing amendments to the list of approved shelter hotels. We believe these point to a lack of administrative oversight at the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) during the emergency shelter crisis. This creates an avoidable risk for the Commonwealth in responding to this and other emergencies.
Due to a lack of administrative oversight, proper procurement files were not developed or maintained for Spinelli Ravioli MFG CO, Inc. or Mercedes Cab Company / Pilgrim Transit. This creates and perpetuates concerns regarding the improper contracting that we have been unable to resolve. This only allows these concerns to continue, which undermines the public’s faith and trust in the Commonwealth’s response. These and other issues are avoidable, and steps should be taken to prevent these errors in the future.
To that end, we recommend the Commonwealth identify standing “crisis administration” or “crisis management” teams that can be assigned to bolster administrative support when emergencies occur. As done in federal government responses to emergencies, this model can reduce administrative pressures for responders—procurement, accounting, legal, etc.—allowing them to focus on solving the substantive crises while simultaneously improving the quality and sophistication of administrative support. This additional support may have helped EOHLC prevent the issues we identified in our audit. We note that this model is also used in large scale public safety responses to emergencies in Massachusetts and believe it should be adopted in other areas to improve emergency responses, protect responders, better serve the public and help preserve and grow the public’s faith in their government.
Auditee’s Response
EOHLC was in the midst of a crisis during the audit period. Since then, EOHLC has built a stronger, more sustainable shelter program, and increased staffing to appropriately accommodate the system to ensure it runs efficiently and achieves our goal that shelter be rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Many of the actions and policy reforms address the issues identified by the [Office of the State Auditor (SAO)] report.
In June of 2023, Family Welcome Centers were opened to provide case management and day services to newly arriving families who were otherwise congregating at public transit hubs and crowding hospital emergency rooms already burdened with existing capacity constraints. By August of 2023, when [Emergency Assistance (EA)] caseload had finally surpassed its 2014 record and EOHLC’s contracted service providers could no longer expand their capacity to meet increased demand, Governor Healey declared a state of emergency. EOHLC subsequently instituted a 7,500-family capacity limit, the first such reform ever made to curb expansion of the EA system. The system and its social service providers could not afford to safely expand any further. By November of 2023, the system reached its capacity limit. In the same month, the Administration coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security to secure work authorizations for newly arrived families that were in shelter.
Today, the EA system is providing shelter to 4,673 families, down from the 7,500-capacity limit, and caseload continues to decline following the Administration’s successful implementation of length of stay limits combined with intensive rehousing efforts. Families are no longer seeking shelter at Logan Airport, South Station, or emergency rooms because now they are effectively connected to appropriate support through a new two-track, needs-based model of shelter. Furthermore, EOHLC has implemented new eligibility requirements addressing criteria such as qualifying immigration status and criminal history. There is now a six-month length of stay limit, and that policy is paired with more intensive case management resulting in more families exiting from EA than ever before. In April 2025, 814 families exited shelter, in March 766 families exited shelter, since August 2023, 8,340 total families have exited shelter, and the average length of stay is now less than one year.
In total, 6,967 sheltered families have been connected with work authorizations, 5,243 have been placed into jobs, and 1,485 families since January 2023 have been diverted from long term shelter, interventions never deployed by prior administrations. The EA system is now also more transparent than it has ever been, with an online dashboard tracking town-by-town caseload, biweekly spending reports to the Legislature and the media. Additionally, last year’s Special Commission on Emergency Housing Assistance Programs offered policy recommendations that informed many program changes implemented by the Healey-Driscoll Administration over the course of this emergency response.
In addition to stabilizing the EA shelter system, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is working hard to bring down the cost of housing for all residents. At any given time, only 1.6% of homes are available for rent or purchase, which is why this Administration has prioritized building more affordable and market rate housing to meet existing and future demand. It is why this Administration created EOHLC, why this Administration developed and passed the Affordable Homes Act in partnership with the Legislature, why we initiated the End Veterans Homelessness Campaign, proposed to eliminate renter paid broker fees, and implemented the MBTA Communities Act with increasing urgency.
EOHLC appreciates the SAO’s suggestion to increase sufficient administrative oversight from those that existed during the audit period. EOHLC believes the monumental changes we have made to our system, all while continuing to provide services to tens of thousands of homeless families and children, achieves the SAO’s intent of this recommendation. EOHLC is committed to minimizing risk, providing continued transparency, and ensuring we can manage future crises from the many lessons learned over the last few years.
Auditor’s Reply
EOHLC stated that it is taking measures to address the issues identified in this Other Matters section. EOHLC acknowledged in its response that its EA shelter caseload surpassed its 2014 record. If the Commonwealth had the administrative oversight we recommended in this finding, then EOHLC may have been better prepared to address the challenges that arose in 2023.
As part of our post-audit review process, we will follow up on this matter in approximately six months.
| Date published: | May 20, 2025 |
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