Nightly rates to house homeless families in hotels and motels can run hundreds of dollars, with agencies often baking in the cost of food and supportive services into the bill they hand to the state, according to contracts reviewed by the Herald.
Immigration
Massachusetts housing department approved four no-bid contracts for migrant shelter crisis
Massachusetts’ statewide housing agency inked at least four no-bid contracts in the past year to stand up services at state-run emergency shelters amid an influx of migrants, including a $6.8 million deal with a Cape Cod cab company to provide free transportation to shelter residents.
Budget cuts on the table amid runaway migrant costs, Speaker says
House Speaker Ron Mariano suggested Thursday that broad budget cuts could be on the table when lawmakers sit down next year to draft the fiscal year 2026 budget, painting a grim financial picture for Massachusetts fueled by the historically high cost of running state-run shelters.
Healey has shelter funding backup plan if Legislature is slow to find deal on spending bill
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is eyeing a backup plan to cover direct emergency shelter payments in the event lawmakers hammering out a spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year find themselves mired in negotiations, according to an administration official.
Senate approves up to $840M for state-run shelters, teeing up negotiations with House
Massachusetts senators voted Thursday to shuttle hundreds of millions of one-time use dollars to a state-run shelter system buckling under the weight of an influx of migrants from other countries and soaring costs that show little sign of slowing down.
Rep. Jim Jordan launches investigation into Haitian accused of raping migrant girl in Rockland
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who heads up the powerful House Judiciary Committee, launched an inquiry Tuesday into a Haitian charged with allegedly raping a migrant girl at a Massachusetts shelter last week, according to a letter obtained by the Herald.
