Massachusetts’ family shelter system has struggled to meet its mandate of quickly re-housing homeless families, with over 40% of families staying in shelter longer than one year. To improve outcomes for this population, the GPL helped Massachusetts better understand the state of the current shelter system by analyzing contract spending and interviewing stakeholders, including shelters providers and families who have used the system, and helped release a Request for Information to identify current challenges and brainstorm solutions for system improvement. The GPL is now working with the state to use this information to help Massachusetts reprocure its $155 million family shelter system, which serves roughly 12,000 people in families with children each year, to focus on outcomes and prepare for active contract management.
