EA Placements and Terminations

How long does it take to be placed in emergency shelter?

If your family has no place to stay, including if you need immediately to leave your current housing for medical reasons, mistreatment, or sanitary code violations, you should be placed immediately.

If your family has only a temporary place to stay, you should be placed when the temporary location is no longer available.

If you have a temporary place to stay but you think it is unsafe, DHCD has 7 days to do a health and safety assessment. If DHCD finds it is unsafe or if DHCD fails to do the assessment within 7 days, you have a right to be placed in shelter on day 7.

106 C.M.R. § 309.050. See also DTA Field Operations Memo 97-1 (Jan. 3, 1997).

Advocacy Tips

DHCD should not delay placing you in shelter if you qualify and have no place to stay. Contact an advocate if DHCD tries to postpone placing you in shelter and you have no place to stay.

DHCD has entered into an agreement with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to do assessments of housing arrangements that families claim are not safe or no longer available. DCF assessments should not delay placements in EA shelter. Contact an advocate if you feel discouraged from seeking needed shelter because of a DCF assessment or if you have no where to stay and your placement is delayed pending a DCF assessment.