Funding supports unsustainably high recent costs for only this fiscal year, as Department works with partners to advance essential reforms
AUGUSTA—The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced today that it will distribute $8.5 million in one-time funding to municipalities and Tribal Nations next week for General Assistance (GA) costs. This funding, proposed by the Governor and enacted in the biennial budget by the Legislature, will help Maine cities, towns, and Tribal communities offset an historic increase in demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher housing costs, and inflation for the cost of food and other necessities supported through this safety net program. The distribution amounts are based on each municipality’s GA costs for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022.
“General Assistance is a critical temporary support for Maine people, but reforms are needed in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program and to preserve its core mission of supporting basic needs for a short period,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “This funding will help Maine communities offset increased costs as we continue our work with partners to improve the program into the future.”
The Department is committed to working with cities, towns, Tribes, and community partners on long-term reforms to sustain GA and return to its original mission of providing temporary support as a last resort. To that end, DHHS held listening sessions in the spring and summer and posted a report reflecting the views and recommendations gathered. It has initiated some reforms this fall, including work to streamline the GA application, improve training, and develop a better data collection system to improve program administration and reporting.
Developed as a program of last resort over 40 years ago, GA provides temporary assistance to cover basic needs when individuals are not eligible for other programs or those programs are insufficient. Assistance is provided through vouchers for basic needs such as food, housing, and medication. GA is administered by municipalities and Tribes and overseen by DHHS, which reimburses 70 percent of eligible costs. Maine is one of 25 states that operate a GA program.
Costs for GA increased three-fold between SFY 2019 and 2023, from $13 million to $43 million, including both the state and municipal shares. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising housing costs caused the temporary housing component of GA to increase over tenfold, from $2 million in SFY 2019 to $26 million in SFY 2023.
Some of this increase also relates to a policy change in recent years (PL 2019, Ch. 515), which expanded the definition of a “qualifying emergency” to include homelessness and allows reimbursement for costs exceeding regular program maximums. The Mills Administration also implemented a 2015 law (PL 2015, Ch. 324), which extended GA to those lawfully present or pursuing a process for immigration relief.
To address needs in the current fiscal year through June 2024, the biennial budget passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Mills includes a one-time, lump-sum supplemental payment to municipalities and Tribes of $8.5 million, to be allocated based on their past GA claims.
Of this, $3 million is for unanticipated fiscal and operational costs of GA related to various programs that began in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and are now ending. Its intent is to offset past costs as Maine transitions away from these emergency programs. DHHS also proposed budget language – not accepted by the Legislature -- that would have set maximum hotel costs equal to those of other federal programs to help limit GA costs.
Another $5.5 million is for forward-looking costs that address projected municipal and Tribal obligations. Municipalities and Tribes have flexibility in the use of the $5.5 million and are encouraged to use the funds for purposes that reduce the need for GA in the first place, such as administrative and infrastructure costs for shelters, recovery residences, transitional and affordable housing options, and preventing loss of housing.
While DHHS received an extra $7.5 million in the biennial budget for the State’s share of GA costs, that funding will cover only recent, high GA costs. It will not sustain higher costs moving forward.
Based on SFY 2022 spending, the City of Portland is receiving $7.46 million, or 88 percent of the total $8.5 million. The next highest share is South Portland with $156,000. View a table with the full distribution (PDF).
This is the second year in which the Mills Administration has provided additional support to municipalities and Tribes for GA. The SFY 2023 supplemental budget allocated $10 million for the purpose of a one-time supplemental payment to help offset unanticipated fiscal and operational costs of GA during the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds were distributed during the week of August 15, 2022, proportionally based on municipalities’ share of GA costs incurred during SFY 2021.
Under current law, municipalities pay out GA assistance to eligible individuals and bill the state for 70 percent of their costs. Municipalities set maximums overall and for different categories of support. Benefits are based on period of up to 30 days that starts with the initial date of application and individuals may reapply each month. Eligible applicants receive a maximum benefit amount per month based on their need and income.