MAC Condemns 5-Day Limit on Overflow Shelter Stays

Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) condemns Governor Maura Healy’s most recent decision to end the long-established right to shelter in Massachusetts and implement a 5-day limit for temporary respite centers supporting newly arrived immigrant families with children. As we look towards the start of the new school year, these policies will have an acute and devastating impact on children, families, and communities, exacerbating the already dire housing crisis, further endangering the health and safety of immigrant children and families. Put simply, this policy will subject children and families to live in cars and on the streets.

In addition to the immediate human cost, all of this will exponentially increase barriers to education for students in ways that will impact them long into the future, inevitably resulting in deepening inequities in education in Massachusetts. Safety and stability are crucial for children to learn in school. Houselessness has a profound impact on a child's ability to focus, participate, and succeed in school. It has been proven to lead to chronic absenteeism, poor academic performance, and emotional distress. For a newly arrived immigrant student, who may be experiencing trauma due to what was likely a harrowing journey crossing the border or difficulty adapting to a drastically new environment, it is hard to comprehend the impact on their education and future. For children with disabilities and their families there is the additional worry that they will lose out on crucial services and supports during a critical developmental window.

While Massachusetts boasts opportunity and achievement in education, educational inequities are among the starkest in the nation. In 2023 a 4-year graduation rate of 89.2%, yet only 67.3% of English learners and 65% of unhoused students completed their high school education. Among our state’s English learner population, 20.7% have a disability for which they require specialized instruction and/or related instruction to learn in school. This data does not account for students whose special education referrals and eligibility determinations have been delayed due to unstable housing and lack of familiarity with the U.S. educational system, resulting in delays in critical services for eligible students.

We call on Governor Healey’s administration to reconsider this harmful policy and prioritize the well-being of immigrant children and families. As MAC’s founder, Hubie Jones, powerfully stated, “We do not merely have a social responsibility to assure that our children and youth have decent life changes and prosper. We have a sacred obligation to do so.” Immediate action must be taken to provide stable housing and to ensure that all children have access to the educational resources they need to thrive.

1 MA Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education School and District Profiles. Available at https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/grad/grad_report.aspx?orgcode=00000000&orgtypecode=0& (Accessed August 13, 2024).

2 2023-2024 School Year. Source: data request from the MA Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education; July 2024.