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BOSTON (State House News Service) — Gov. Maura Healey on Friday discussed an interest in realigning the state's right-to-shelter law "with its original intent," opening up a possible area of debate in talks over her shelter spending bill.
Healey's comments came after the top House Republican blasted her administration for its oversight and for failing to realize that emergency shelter residents were not being screened with criminal background checks.
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Minority Leader Brad Jones said the family shelter crisis is "wildly unsustainable and unmanageable for the Healey Administration" and called for the state to halt additional funding to shelters until reforms are made.
Healey told reporters later Friday that she had ordered criminal background checks conducted on all shelter residents, but was "recently informed" that those checks did not happen at all sites. "And that's absolutely unacceptable," she said.
"Whether it’s incompetence, intransigence or negligence, changes must be made. It’s time for heads to roll," Jones said in his statement.
The Boston Globe reported Thursday that Healey's administration acknowledged for the first time this week that it has not been running full criminal background checks on the people staying in family homeless shelters, after previously telling reporters that individuals entering the shelter system were being screened.
The governor told reporters Friday that every shelter resident has been subjected to sex offender and outstanding warrant checks. However, the administration had not been conducting CORI, or Criminal Offender Record Information, checks for every person coming into the system.
Healey said individuals entering overflow sites -- temporary shelters where families can stay for only a few days -- had CORI checks done.
"Those are the sites like Lexington and Chelsea and Cambridge and Joint Base Cape Cod, for example, we refer to those sites as overflow sites... that's where, in fact, the majority of migrants, new arrivals to Massachusetts, have been directed," Healey told reporters Friday.
She added that for the 6,400 migrants who the state helped get work authorizations through the Department of Homeland Security, they underwent additional vetting, including fingerprinting.
"Last spring, I ordered the unprecedented step to have CORI criminal background checks conducted on all shelter residents, not just at temporary respite sites, but across the entire system," Healey said. "I was recently informed by my team that that did not happen at all sites, and that's absolutely unacceptable."
Healey said she was again ordering CORI checks to be done on all shelter residents across the state. Earlier this week she also ordered inspections at all shelter sites. As of Friday afternoon, she said, inspections of hotels were complete and investigators were moving through the remainder of the shelter sites.
The governor said she also asked former Boston Police Department Commissioner Ed Davis to lead an independent outside review and determine if additional steps need to be taken "to protect our communities."
"I also plan to work with the Legislature to take a look at any changes and to make changes to better ensure that the right to shelter law actually aligns with its original intent," Healey said.
She said that law was written "to protect and take care of poor women and children" and "didn't imagine a broken immigration system and waves and waves of people arriving in Massachusetts."
Republicans have repeatedly called to restrict access to shelters with a requirement that an applicant already be a resident of Massachusetts for a certain period of time.
A reporter asked her about the residency requirements.
"The right to shelter law, in my view -- you asked about duration requirements -- I think that's important. I think that it's something to consider as we move forward, because I want -- and this is a conversation to have in the Legislature -- but the law aligning with the original intent and purposes of the law is important to me. But today is about what I'm doing in terms of ensuring safety within these sites," she said.
Jones in his statement called for the state not to invest more funding into the program "until meaningful reforms are implemented."
"The Healey Administration’s admission that it failed to carry out criminal background checks on applicants seeking emergency shelter assistance is completely unacceptable and represents a serious betrayal of the public’s trust. The Administration’s handling of the situation has been a total disaster, with the failure to carry out the most basic of public safety protocols needlessly placing other people in harm’s way by housing them alongside dangerous criminals," Jones said.
The topic has been in the news this week after an immigrant who entered the country illegally was arrested at a family shelter site in Revere with an estimated $1 million worth of fentanyl and a "loaded AR-15 with ammo," according to police. He had been "residing" at the Quality Inn for three months with his girlfriend -- who was registered through the state program, though he himself is not.
"The Administration has long maintained that it was conducting extensive background checks of all applicants seeking shelter assistance, but now we know that was not the case. The fact that the Administration has no idea how many individuals with a criminal record are currently residing in the state’s shelter system is cause for alarm," Jones said.
The arrest in Revere has thrust the issue of screening the applicants into the beleaguered shelter system just at a time when Healey has returned to the Legislature once again to ask for more money to fund the system. She filed a supplemental budget earlier this week to inject another $425 million into the family homeless shelters that have skyrocketed in costs and applicants over the past three years.
The House is beginning to review the spending bill -- and is on a short timeline. The shelter system is set to run out of money this month. Healey's newest bill includes additional regulations and restrictions to try to rein in costs at the system by shortening lengths of stay, but the issue of background checks and screening is emerging as a likely issue to be debated through this bill as well.
A consultant working with Sens. Peter Durant and Kelly Dooner said this week that the senators are seeking an amendment that would restrict the state shelter system to legal residents, similar to unsuccessful efforts last year to impose a six-month Massachusetts residency requirement for shelter applicants.
"So my understanding is that any participant in the emergency shelter system are legal residents of the commonwealth," Senate budget chief Michael Rodrigues said when asked about the Republican proposal. He added, "We'll take a look at that, and I think that raises constitutional issues, but we'll take a look at that. Yep, we'll take a look at anything that's proposed. It's our first bill out of the gate for this new legislative session, and we're excited to get to it as quickly as possible."
Written by Sam Drysdale/SHNS
WBZ's Kendall Buhl reports.