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MGH Community News |
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MGH Community News |
| December 2020 | Volume 24 • Issue 9 |
Highlights
Sections Social Service staff may direct resource questions to the Community Resource Center, Hannah Perry, 617-726-8182. Questions, comments about the newsletter? Contact Ellen Forman, 617-726-5807. |
Stimulus Package Provides New Stimulus Checks, Extends Unemployment, Extends Eviction Moratorium and More After some theatrics in which President Trump threatened to refuse to sign the new stimulus and government spending bill into law, he eventually relented, signing the package on Sunday night. The signature releases $900 billion in emergency relief funds into the economy and averted a government shutdown this week.Trump’s refusal to sign the stimulus law before Sunday initially raised the possibility that millions of Americans essentially might lose a week of pay because the $900 billion stimulus did not take effect in time. But the Labor Department said late Monday that it “does not anticipate” that unemployed workers will miss out on this money after all. Workers eventually will receive back-due benefits that they were eligible to claim once their states’ systems catch up. But it may take weeks for state agencies to implement the new policy — and boost other jobless workers’ pay — leaving some workers facing the real prospect that they will not receive their checks for an extended period. The Baker administration said Monday that new or extended federal benefits would kick in for the week ending this Saturday. But Massachusetts residents, like those of many states, will likely have to wait a week or more for their checks. The state Department of Unemployment Assistance said it was reviewing the unemployment provisions of the $900 billion relief bill and waiting for guidance from the US Department of Labor on how to implement them. The department said it was working “as swiftly as possible” to make changes to systems needed to deliver the payments. The Trump administration is scrambling to send one-time stimulus payments to millions of Americans starting as soon as this week. The Treasury Department is able to move more swiftly than usual to deposit checks for as much as $600 into Americans’ bank accounts as a result of its earlier work this spring, when it disbursed larger sums under an earlier stimulus program. Americans who previously obtained their federal tax refunds through direct deposit were among the first to receive their payments at the time. Those receiving paper checks had a longer wait for the aid. The electronic deposits could go out Wednesday and Thursday in large tranches, according to a senior official at the Internal Revenue Service, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the agency’s early plans. It remains unclear, however, whether other obstacles might result in delays — particularly given the holiday week and its impact on staffing at major banks. Highlights- What’s in the New Law Stimulus checks
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NOT Included in the Bill
Stimulus Checks Q&A
How does the U.S. government know where to send the money? If you have already received a payment from the first round of stimulus checks, then the IRS will deliver this second payment in the same way. When will the payments arrive? The goal is to get the money out as quickly as possible. The IRS should be able to start sending funds a week after the bill passes. Most direct deposits are expected to arrive in January, with paper checks to follow. What about people on Social Security? People on Social Security — retirees and those on disability and supplemental income — are eligible to receive the coronavirus relief payment as long as their total income does not exceed the limit. The Treasury Department has clarified that people on Social Security who do not normally file a tax return will automatically receive the payment. They do not need to file anything else. Americans who received regular payments from the Railroad Retirement Board or the Department of Veterans Affairs also qualify automatically for the $600 payments. Who won’t get a check? The main people excluded from receiving a payment are the wealthy, “nonresident aliens” and “adult dependents” who can be claimed on someone else’s tax return. This means that some young people ages 18 to 26 will not qualify for a payment.
Are the checks taxable? No. What happens to people who earned too much in 2019 but lost their job in 2020? This is a really tough situation. Unfortunately, these workers are not eligible for $600 checks right away. They would get the rebate when they file their 2020 taxes in the spring of 2021. If I owe past taxes, will my check be reduced? No. The payments cannot be garnished for back taxes or by private creditors or debt collectors. This time around, the payments also cannot be reduced for past-due child support. What if my income is higher in 2020? You do not have to pay the government back. If you get a payment and your 2020 income turns out to be higher than expected, the money does not have to be paid back. What if I don’t normally file taxes? Do I need to use the nonfiler tool again on the IRS website? No, if you provided information to the IRS on the nonfiler portal during the first round of stimulus checks, you are all set. I have a lot more questions. What should I do? The IRS created a website last time with the latest information. It is expected to be updated soon: irs.gov/coronavirus. Sources and for More Information
COVID-19 Eviction Legal Help Project for Massachusetts Residents Open and Has Capacity As reported last month (Coming Soon: COVID Eviction Legal Help Project), COVID Eviction Legal Help Project (CELHP) is scaling up statewide to provide more legal resources to prevent eviction during the pandemic. Help is now available and as of December 22nd had capacity to assist without waiting lists. Statewide the goal is to bring 48 new lawyers, and 48 new paralegals together with 24 senior lawyers to form teams across the state with an additional 17 intake workers to assist those impacted by COVID (defined broadly) with assistance at any stage of the eviction process, but the earlier in the process the better. CELHP will provide referrals, legal information, assistance and legal representation in Housing Court statewide and where capacity exists in District Courts and in administrative hearings to preserve housing subsidies. Eligibility
For More Information or to Refer To find out where your clients can get legal help, how you can refer tenants, and for more information about tenants' rights and resources go to evictionlegalhelp.org. Owner-occupants should contact the Volunteer Lawyer Project or call 617-603-1700.Community Advocate Referral - Quisquella Addison from MIRA, reported on a recent SNAP coalition call that advocates can refer via this referral form which relays information directly to a legal provider to allow for a warm handoff. Please note though that due to confidentiality requirements the legal provider cannot confirm to the advocate that a legal provider has taken the case. See a helpful PowerPoint: For Legislators: A Guide to CELHP - Adapted in part from COVID relief package & SNAP, eviction legal help project, vet benefits training, Victoria Negus, MLRI, December 22, 2020 with additional material from the websites For Legislators: A Guide to CELHP and evictionlegalhelp.org and from Legal help with evictions; a short survey; free training on criminal records, Rochelle Hahn, MLRI, December 4, 2020.
Baker, Lawmakers Tout $668m Small Biz Grant Program Gov. Charlie Baker is urging restaurants, bars, retail establishments, and certain other types of small businesses in Massachusetts to apply for a $668 million grant program to help deal with the economic fallout of COVID-19. The grant program, funded using state and federal money, is part of an existing program run by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. On Monday, the corporation awarded $49 million to 1,158 businesses, or an average of $42,313 per business. At a State House press conference, Baker estimated roughly half of the $668 million will go to companies that applied but didn’t get funding in that initial round, with checks going out as soon as next week. The remainder will be available to new businesses that file applications between December 31 and January 15. Application information and to Apply. The program is open to restaurants; bars; caterers; indoor recreation and entertainment establishments; gyms and fitness centers; personal services business such as barbers and nail salons; and retail stores. Grants will cover three months of operating expenses, but no more than $75,000. Funding for the grants is a bit unclear. Baker said the stimulus legislation approved by Congress but not yet signed by President Trump gives the state the flexibility it needs to use existing federal funds for the program. Baker said state funds will also be used, but he didn’t know how much. “We’re working on it, but it’s there,” he said. If Trump refuses to sign the stimulus package, Baker said the program would still go forward. “That just makes it a lot more complicated to make the math work,” he said. - See the full Commonwealth Magazine article.
Social Security Administration Pandemic Updates On December 2nd, 2020 a Community Resource Center staff person attended a Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Social Security Benefits training. Here are some advocacy tips based on that training and discussion. The Social Security Administration (SSA) continues to update their website with any COVID-19 related changes. Field Offices In-Person Appointments Hearings Deadlines Overpayments - Thanks to Hannah Perry for this article.
DTA Cash Assistance- Basics of TAFDC & EAEDC During COVID Greater Boston Legal Services and Mass Law Reform Institute presented a training this month on TAFDC and EAEDC during COVID. Below is a summary of advocacy tips and related materials. Note that we are not including basic program descriptions and eligibility criteria, but that information is reviewed in the Recording of the 12/17/20 training and the Powerpoint. Advocacy tip: and often overlooked benefit for veterans and their dependents (including in some cases their parents), consider MA Chapter 115 benefits which can provide 2-4 times the benefit of TAFDC or EAEDC to eligible individuals/families. Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) DTA staff are working remotely due to the pandemic. All operations and member interactions with DTA will be via an online portal or over the phone. When calling DTA, those who only receive SNAP can speak with any case manager. Those receiving cash assistance (TAFDC, EAEDC) have an assigned case manager to whom they should direct any questions. TAFDC Advocacy Tips and Updates In addition to cash assistance, TAFDC benefits include
Financial Eligibility Tips
The value of one vehicle that is used for transportation no longer counts towards the TAFDC asset limit. Advocates suggest families apply even if they will only be briefly eligible as transitional benefits will apply.
The TAFDC grant amount is scheduled to increase by 10% effective January 1, 2021, though it may take longer to actually rollout. This is the result of many years of advocacy by the “Lift Our Kids” campaign. The last time TAFDC benefits were increased was in 1988. Benefits will still be below the “Deep Poverty Level”, but every dollar helps. TAFDC Rules & COVID
Child Support Cooperation
EAEDC Eligibility Factors- Disability
Eligibility – Income The requirement to apply for SSI is currently waived, nor do applicants need to appeal SSI denials. Note that income is evaluated prospectively, with one note - if there was income during the application period and that income ended, that income may be relevant in the short term (it depends on the case specifics, and often doesn't count during COVID), but in terms of evaluating ongoing eligibility, current income and the income expected to come soon is what should be considered. Public Charge Reminder that the vast majority of immigrants eligible for TAFDC/EAEDC are not subject to public charge. Reminder too that benefits reci Legal service staff advise that if client is not applying or wants to stop benefits due to public charge to consult legal service. Reminders:
Protections for Specific Populations – Reminders and COVID Protocols
Applying and Checking Case Status During the pandemic there are only two options to apply:
Post-Application Process
Check case status:
Eligibility Reevaluation for TAFDC & EAEDC Eligibility is reevaluated every 6-12 months. If one also receives SNAP this may not happen at same time as SNAP recert and can be confusing (members may think they just completed this process for example and may think there is an error.) Members will receive an appointment notice for a phone interview. During COVID some information may be verified verbally and one can “sign” verbally. DTA will send a verification checklist for any remaining needed verifications. DTA will then send notice either approving reevaluation or stopping TAFDC/EAEDC if the reevaluation is incomplete or if no longer eligible. Reporting Changes – TAFDC/EAEDC Those receiving DTA cash assistance (TAFDC or EAEDC) must report changes within 10 days of starting to get new income (earnings, unemployment, SSI child support, etc), someone moves in or out, new assets, change of address or phone. It is best to report these changes in writing and to keep copies and/or mail return receipt requested. Note that these reporting requirements are more strict than for those only receiving SNAP. Problem Solving - Advocacy Tips If you call the main number with questions about cash assistance (TAFDC or EAEDC) they will say they can’t help with cash cases.
Appeals DTA notices of a denial or change in benefits should include appeal request information. Appeals may be written or verbal and must be submitted within 90 days of the notice. More information. Clients are also encouraged to contact legal services. Sources and for More Information
TAFDC & EAEDC Benefit Increases Among Other Approved State Budget Items Delayed by the pandemic, the state has passed, and Gov. Baker signed most provisions in a FY21 budget. Poor families and older adults getting cash assistance from the will see a boost in their payments this January – a boon to struggling families from a program that has not increased payments in decades. The FH21 budget deal includes a 10 percent increase in cash assistance grants for the rest of the fiscal year (through June 2021). Deborah Harris, senior staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, which has been lobbying for an increase, called it a major victory for those in need. “It is a dramatic and historic recognition by the Legislature and legislative leaders that cash assistance grants are far too low, that families, elders and people with disabilities suffer, and that this is contrary to the values of our Commonwealth,” she said. Despite rising costs for everything from food to housing, state welfare grants have remained unchanged for decades. Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TANF) last increased the size of its grants in 2000, and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC), which primarily helps older and disabled adults, has not increased its grant size since 1988. Beginning January 1, the maximum grant for a family of three on TANF would increase from $593 a month to $652. The maximum grant for a single person on EAEDC would increase from $303 to $333. A coalition of advocacy groups that work with low-income individuals had been campaigning for a bill, sponsored by Cambridge Democratic Rep. Marjorie Decker and Everett Democratic Sen. Sal DiDomenico, that would have raised the size of grants by 10 percent a year over five years until they reached half the federal poverty level – currently $905 a month for a family of three. The budget is silent on future increases, but advocates say they hope the new benefit level will be a floor for future years as they continue advocating for the rate to climb higher. While the campaign to increase the grant size predated the pandemic, the extra money will be particularly important to families as they grapple with the fallout from COVID-19. Harris said she hears from families who are paying more for heat and internet access as children are home during the day, and who are paying more for private transportation to avoid taking public transit to grocery stores. Other common new expenses include masks and hand sanitizer. Additional Budget Provisions Food Security To address the growing need this pandemic has created, this budget includes increased investments to essential, on-the-ground organizations, like our local food pantries and food banks. It also makes statewide investments to organizations like Project Bread and many others who are working to ensure that children receive the meals they need, whether they are in school or not. The budget also seeks to close the “SNAP Gap”. Currently, 518,000 Massachusetts households are receiving benefits through the 100% federally-funded Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). However, we know the need for food assistance is much greater, as there are an estimated 740,000 MassHealth and Medicare recipients who are likely eligible for SNAP, but are not receiving any benefits. As a result, thousands of children, families, and seniors are not getting the food assistance they desperately need, and we are leaving thousands of federal dollars on the table. Under the budget agreement, the state will create a common application portal for Medicaid and SNAP. Housing The budget provides level funding of RAFT that are in addition to the Governor's Eviction Diversion Initiative) funds. Language was also included that decouple the RAFT and HomeBASE programs so as to allow eligible households to combine and maximize benefits from the two programs during the current COVID-19 state of emergency, as well as language to simplify the application process and require additional tracking and reporting on program data. Language was also included to require landlords to provide a form with information related to the eviction process and resources for tenants with the Notice to Quit, which is the first stage of the eviction process, but that tenants often misunderstand as eviction order. The budget increases funding for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP). It had been funded at $3.45 million, housing only around 350 people, and it had not seen a meaningful funding increase in years. The budget more than tripled that funding, and provides all the allocated funds are actually used. More than 1200 low-income people with disabilities should be able to find affordable housing that meets their needs. Early Education & Care In recognition of the importance that early education and care has on the health and wellbeing of children and families, as well as our continued economic recovery, this budget makes key investments to maintain access to high-quality state subsidized child care, stabilize the early education and care workforce & support families as they navigate simultaneous public health and economic crises. These investments include $25M for a NEW Early Education and Care Workforce and COVID-19 Supports Reserve; a NEW $40M reserve to cover the costs of parent fees for families in subsidized childcare through the remainder of FY21; $15M for Head Start; AND a $85.2M increase in funding for state supported childcare, including $350.9M for Supportive and TANF Childcare and $286.7M for Income Eligible Childcare.This is the kind of major investment that Early Education and Care has long deserved, but needs now more than ever. Public Health COVID-19 has especially presented unique challenges for people with substance use disorders and those in recovery. Social and economic changes caused by the pandemic, along with the traditional difficulties regarding treatment access, have certainly made things even more difficult for those battling substance use disorders. The budget includes nearly $164M for substance abuse treatment services to support a range of intervention services and programming during the COVID pandemic. The budget also includes a $7.1M increase in funding for domestic violence prevention (for a total of $45.2M) to address the devastating spike in domestic violence cases that began during the pandemic. With many survivors now quarantined at home in tight quarters and shelters being more limited due to coronavirus safety concerns, it became more important than ever to ensure that we allocated the funding needed to support the work that so many incredible organizations are doing right now to help survivors. Sources and for More Information
Massachusetts is First State to Gain Federal Approval to Continue Pandemic EBT through 2021 School Year The Baker-Polito Administration has received federal approval to issue Pandemic EBT benefits (P-EBT) for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year. P-EBT promotes increased food security for families who participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), covering the cost of missed school meals for more than 500,000 students in remote or hybrid learning environments. Eligible households will receive the next round of P-EBT benefits by the end of December. The benefits cover school meals missed during the months of October and November. The Department of Transitional Assistance estimates P-EBT will bring $40 to $60 million per month in federal dollars into the Commonwealth’s economy. Massachusetts initially launched its P-EBT program in April 2020 to help students and their families buy healthy food while schools were closed from March through June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was one of a limited number of states to receive federal approval for September P-EBT benefits. The Continuing Appropriations Act of 2021 extended P-EBT through the entire 2020-2021 school year. Families with children studying remotely or in hybrid learning environments may qualify if they qualify for the school lunch program or their school offers the school lunch program to all students. The program requires a student to learn remotely for five consecutive school days to qualify. A child who is completely remote is eligible, as is a child who has class Monday and Tuesday one week but is remote until Wednesday and Thursday of the next week. Learning models will be reported by the schools to DTA. Families with eligible students will receive their P-EBT benefits monthly for the remainder of the school year. Based on federal rules, families will receive varying P-EBT amounts. Families with children in a fully remote learning environment will receive $117 a month per child, and children in a hybrid learning environment will receive $58 a month per child. Families can check their P-EBT balance by calling the number on the back of the card. P-EBT benefits can be used anywhere Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are accepted, including online from Walmart and Amazon. Learn more about P-EBT at MAp-ebt.org. Families who already receive DTA benefits will get their P-EBT benefits on their existing EBT card. Families who do not receive DTA benefits, but were mailed a P-EBT card in the past, will get their P-EBT benefits on their existing P-EBT card. Newly eligible students will receive their P-EBT benefits on their EBT card if receiving DTA benefits or will be mailed a P-EBT card if they do not receive DTA benefits. Families who lost their P-EBT card can request a new one. Many families eligible for P-EBT may also be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and are being encouraged to apply. Children and teens participating in the free and reduced-price lunch program can also get free meals at hundreds of school meal locations throughout the state, no registration or ID required. P-EBT benefits supplement rather than replace free grab and go meal sites still available this school year. More information: https://www.map-ebt.org/ - Adapted from https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-is-first-state-in-nation-to-gain-federal-approval-to-continue-pandemic-ebt (thanks to Pat Baker, MLRI for sharing), with additional material from MassLive.
Aldi Joins Amazon and Walmart in Accepting SNAP for Online Ordering Earlier this year Amazon and Walmart were approved to offer online ordering for those using SNAP benefits. Households can now use SNAP benefits to buy groceries online from participating ALDI stores for pickup and delivery via Instacart. Residents can shop for groceries online at Shop.ALDI.us. P-EBT benefits can also be used. As is consistent with SNAP policy in general, SNAP online purchasing cannot be used for non-food items such as paper goods, cleaning supplies or personal hygiene items. Fees Some retailers have a delivery fee, and all Instacart orders have a service fee. SNAP benefits cannot be used to pay for fees- so SNAP recipients would need to pay fees with another form of payment such as a credit card or gift card. For 90 days starting December 16, 2020, Instacart will waive delivery and/or pickup fees on up to the first three EBT SNAP orders from ALDI for each customer. At this time TAFDC and EAEDC benefits may not be used to buy items online. - Adapted from Important SNAP Coalition Mtg Tues 12/22 - Congress COVID relief update & MA P-EBT, Victoria Negus, MLRI, December 21, 2020 with additional material including from the state websites and previous information shared by Pat Baker, MLRI.
MA Attorney General Issues Guidance That Food Pantries Should NOT Require Photo ID or SSNs Mass Law Reform Institute (MLRI) learned in the spring that some food pantries were requiring photo identification or Social Security cards to access food aid. They worked with the Dept of Early and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Mass Dept of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) and the MA food banks to issue guidance in July. MLRI continued to track this issue and unfortunately found that many food pantries were continuing to require photo IDs and/or SSNs, creating significant barriers for immigrant and homeless households as well as concerns about pantry protocol regarding protecting private, sensitive client data. This fall, MLRI, Central West Justice Center and the Food Banks worked closely with the Attorney General Maura Healey’s office to address this issue more robustly and shape new guidance that the AG’s office issued this month. Excerpts from the Guidance:
Many vulnerable residents simply do not have photo IDs or Social Security cards. For example, many homeless individuals lack – and often have trouble getting – these documents. Similarly, many immigrant residents do not have state IDs, driver’s licenses, and/or SSNs or are afraid of providing identifying documents because of immigration-related concerns. In addition to these barriers to access, requiring photo ID or SSNs may also be unlawful.
The guidance also includes these important reassurances about public charge: Most nutrition programs are available regardless of immigration status and are not considered in the federal government’s “public charge” analysis. This includes services from food pantries, WIC, school meals, P-EBT, and Meals on Wheels. Further, SNAP benefits received for a child or other eligible dependent are not counted in the “public charge” analysis for the parent or head of household. Macro Advocacy Opportunities MLRI is requesting for advocates to please let MLRI's AmeriCorps Aparna Raghu if you become aware of pantries continuing to demand photo IDs or SSNs. araghu@mlri.org - See the full guidance Attorney General’s Advisory: Preventing Barriers to Access at Food Pantries. Additional material from AGO Maura Healey issues guidance urging Massachusetts food pantries to suspend photo ID/SSN practices, Pat Baker, MLRI, December 11, 2020.
RAFT Funds Stalled The Baker administration has paid out less than 20 percent of the money set aside for emergency housing assistance, prompting advocates for tenants to claim that the program is not being administered properly and spawning an eviction crisis. “The systemic failures of the RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) program to provide adequate notice and timely adjudication exacerbate the eviction crisis,” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, who heads the organization Lawyers for Civil Rights and crafted a letter calling on the governor and his administration to fix issues with the program. The letter says some RAFT applicants have not received any status updates on their applications for months and have received little or no communication from the agencies overseeing the program, both on their original applications and amendments they filed after the grant limit was increased. Baker administration officials didn’t say why only $17.5 million of the $100 million in available funds has been released. When the eviction moratorium lapsed in October, Gov. Charlie Baker cited the RAFT program and additional housing funds as a way to bolster tenants and landlords struggling during the pandemic. Baker added $18 million to the fund in July. With little funding released, however, advocates say tenants who were counting on the money are at risk. The advocates say many landlords are increasingly turning to the eviction process after months of waiting on state action. Tenants in communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and financial distress are facing this issue sooner than others, advocates say. Lawyers for Civil Rights is requesting an emergency meeting with state officials to discuss solutions, but officials say they are also considering litigation against the Commonwealth on behalf of low-income people of color. Attorneys are asking for the state to issue notice to all existing RAFT applicants by December 31 informing them of the status of their application. They’re also calling for all future RAFT applications to be processed within 10 days. Stefanie Coxe, executive director of the Regional Housing Network of Massachusetts, said there has been a backlog of hundreds of applications daily since the eviction moratorium was lifted on October 17. “Coupled with the time frame it takes to process applications under the program, this has created backlogs. We need to get as much money in the hands of as many people who need it as quickly as possible,” she said. She said her organization is working with the Department of Housing and Community Development to make recommendations to “reduce active processing time so the program can scale.” Coxe said RAFT funding has already preserved over 8,000 housing situations since the beginning of the pandemic. - See the full Commonwealth Magazine article.
Federal Judge Restores DACA, Orders DHS to Accept First-Time Applications Thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children are immediately eligible to apply for an Obama-era program that grants them work permits, a federal judge in New York ruled on December 3rd, 2020. U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis in Brooklyn said he was fully restoring the eight-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program to the days before the Trump administration tried to end it in September 2017. He ordered the Department of Homeland Security to post a public notice to accept first-time applications and ensure that work permits are valid for two years. Acting Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf had issued a memo in July reducing DACA recipients’ work permits to one year, but Garaufis ruled last month that Wolf had unlawfully ascended to the agency’s top job and vacated the memo. Advocates for immigrants cheered the long-awaited ruling, though they expected that President-elect Joe Biden would fully restore the DACA program as soon as he takes office in January, something he has pledged to do. But the immigrants known as “dreamers” are not necessarily in the clear. Attorneys general in Texas and other states have asked a federal judge to declare DACA unlawful and to provide for an orderly wind down of it. A hearing in that case is scheduled for this month. The DHS public notice also states “DHS will comply with the order while it remains in effect, but DHS may seek relief from the order.” Karen Tumlin, a lawyer for the immigrants in the case, cheered the New York judge’s ruling Friday. But she said the immigrants need Congress to pass a law that would grant them a firm path to citizenship. “This is a day that DACA recipients and young people have waited for for far too long,” she said. “It’s a reminder, as always, that what we really need is a permanent solution.” Approximately 640,000 immigrants are enrolled in the DACA program. The Center for American Progress, a think tank, estimates that at least 300,000 immigrants, including new high school graduates, have been shut out since the Trump administration stopped accepting applications in September 2017 as part of an effort to phase out the program. An additional 65,800 immigrants had their work permits reduced to one year only. Biden also has said he would push for a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants. But getting a citizenship bill through what could be a Republican-held Senate will be difficult. - See the full Washington Post article.
TPS Extended for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez recently announced that Temporary Protected Status -- a form of humanitarian relief -- would be extended for Hondurans in the United States. "During our meeting with acting-Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (Chad Wolf), they told us that the TPS, which was due to end in January, will be extended," Hernandez said. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to CNN's request for comment. However, a posting on the USCIS website confirmed that Honduras -- along with El Salvador, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan -- will have their existing TPS status extended until October 2021 and that TPS applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters, therefore the protections are limited to people already in the United States. TPS designation for both Honduras and Nicaragua was first granted after Hurricane Mitch tore through Central America in 1998, and some recipients of the status have now lived in the US for decades. In November, Category 4 hurricanes Eta and Iota dealt devastating blows to Honduras as well as neighboring Nicaragua and Guatemala, with torrential rains causing flooding, landslides and the destruction of crops and infrastructure. Experts feared that the tens of thousands of people who took refuge in government shelters could also risk exposure to Covid-19. Extreme poverty is expected to follow in the storms' wake. "The economic damage caused by both storms, and the blow from the pandemic, has caused the Honduran economy to be greatly affected," Honduran Foreign Minister Lisandro Rosales said in a statement released Friday to announce that Honduras had requested the TPS extension, as well as the creation of a new TPS due to Iota and Eta. "Reconstruction comes from a sustainable social and economic rebuilding, and our compatriots here in the United States can [help] achieve that by supporting their families in Honduras," Rosales said. More than 44,000 Hondurans residing in the US are protected under the current TPS, according to the statement. - See the full CNN story and the full Federal Register notice
Caregiver Abuse Registry Delayed in State Budget The fiscal year 2021 budget awaiting Gov. Charlie Baker’s signature includes sections that would delay for six months the implementation of a new state law establishing a registry of caregivers found to have abused individuals with disabilities and barring providers from hiring them. Under the new law known as Nicky’s Law, the Disabled Persons Protection Commission will establish and maintain a registry of care providers against whom the commission has made a “substantiated finding of registrable abuse.” The law includes language outlining the ability of accused abusers to appeal and also requires the commission to notify the Department of Developmental Services, the last known employers of the care provider, and the victim of the abuse and their guardian of any finding of abuse, any appeal challenging an abuse determination, or any petition to remove a care provider from the registry. It also requires the department and employers contracting with providers to determine whether an individual is listed on the registry before hiring them. If the applicant is listed, their hiring would be prohibited. The law is set up to require that the names of abusers stay on the registry for a minimum of five years. The law was to take effect Jan. 31, 2021, and the first statutorily-required audit of the abuse registry was to be completed and summarized for the Legislature by Dec. 31, 2021. But tucked into the $46.2 billion compromise budget for FY 2021 are policy sections that would push the start of Nicky’s Law back to July 31, 2021, and move the deadline for the first registry audit to Oct. 31, 2022. Maura Sullivan, director of government affairs for The Arc of Massachusetts, said the advocacy group was made aware earlier this session that the COVID-19 pandemic had limited the Disabled Persons Protection Commission’s ability to work on implementing the law. She said The Arc is understanding of the delay and is working closely with the DPCC’s advisory board on the implementation. - See the full State House News story on the WWLP website
YW Building in Back Bay to Become Affordable Housing Complex The longtime home of Boston’s YWCA will soon get a new life as affordable housing in one of the city’s swankiest neighborhoods. Developers Beacon Communities and Mount Vernon Co. were expected to file plans with the city to convert the 13-story building at the corner of Clarendon and Stuart streets in the Back Bay into a 210-unit affordable housing development, with nearly half set aside as permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people. They’ll keep current tenants — including the Snowden International School and the Lyric Stage theater — and will partner with the Pine Street Inn to provide counseling and other services for residents. And perhaps most crucially, said Beacon CEO Dara Kovel, they’ll maintain the building’s historical use as a community hub while providing affordable housing in a part of the city where it’s in short supply. “That’s important,” she said. “This will ensure for a long time that there will be diversity in this neighborhood.” It’s a project that likely wouldn’t have happened if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. YW Boston, as the YWCA is now known, put the building on the market in the summer of 2019, hoping to capitalize on the hot real estate market to secure its financial future. By early this year, the nonprofit had a deal in place with a different developer, who had hoped to upgrade its 66-room hotel and convert some of its apartments into higher-end units. Then the pandemic hit, and financing dried up for hotel and luxury housing developments. The deal fell apart. Enter Beacon, a veteran Boston affordable housing developer, and Mount Vernon, a large market-rate landlord that recently converted another YWCA in the South End into the Revolution hotel. They’d partnered on an offer on the project originally, but were outbid. So they came back with a new plan: Make the building entirely affordable, financed with an array of federal and state loans, along with tax credits and city-allocated vouchers. The new offer was “substantially discounted” from YW’s original price, Kovel said, but — with the support of Mayor Martin J. Walsh — the financing was solid. Last month, YW’s board approved a purchase and sale agreement, with the deal to close next year. “Covid has created a window for opportunities like this for affordable housing,” said Mount Vernon chairman Bruce Percelay. “It’s a unique situation.” About 100 units will be set aside as supportive housing for formerly homeless people, with services run by the Pine Street Inn, similar to a project that the nonprofit is codeveloping in Jamaica Plain. Beacon plans to upgrade the roof, elevators and other systems, and will add bathrooms to the many single-room-occupancy units that don’t currently have them. Friday’s filing with the Boston Planning & Development Agency was an initial letter of intent. More detailed plans, likely to come in several weeks, will then kick off community review. Kovel said she hopes work can start in the fall and finish in mid-2023. - See the full Boston Globe article.
Airlines Will no Longer be Required to Transport Emotional Support Animals Airlines no longer will be required to accommodate travelers who want to fly with emotional support animals such as pigs, rabbits and turkeys under a final rule announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The new rule now defines a service animal to be a dog that is “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability” and limits the number of service animals a person can travel with to two. It also requires airlines to treat psychiatric service animals as they would other service animals. Emotional support animals aren't considered service animals under the new rule. Although the rule does not bar them from traveling in passenger cabins, airlines will not be required to accommodate them. “The final rule announced today addresses concerns raised by individuals with disabilities, airlines, flight attendants, airports, other aviation transportation stakeholders, and other members of the public, regarding service animals on aircraft,” DOT officials said in a statement. The rule is set to go into effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Service animals are those that have been trained to perform a certain function, and under the Americans With Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations must be made for a person using one. However, no training is required for emotional support animals, which has led some to question their legitimacy. Before the rule change, federal law didn't address the issue of emotional support animals, so airlines had little recourse but to accommodate them. The department's action drew praise from airline groups and employee unions. The issue has been contentious in part because some groups have argued that animals other than dogs should be consider for inclusion. Transportation Department officials previously said they limited the definition of service animal to dogs because the vast majority of service animals are canines. The new rules include provisions that may make some parts of the journey easier for those who travel with service animals. Passengers will no longer be required to physically check in at the airport, and can check in online. The rule prohibits airlines from refusing to transport a service animal solely based on its breed, but does give carriers the ability to refuse to transport animals that behave aggressively or are a “direct threat” to the health or safety of other people. The rule also gives airlines the ability to require paperwork attesting to an animal’s health, behavior and training. If the animal will be traveling on a long flight, the person it is traveling with must verify “it will not relieve itself or is able to do so in a sanitary manner.” Paperwork must be provided within 48 hours in advance of the flight if the passenger's reservation was made before that time. Service animals also must fit within their handler’s foot space on the aircraft and be harnessed, leashed or tethered in the airport and on the plane. - See the full Washington Post article.
COVID-19 Isolation and Recovery Sites The Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Command Center and MEMA are standing up regional isolation and recovery sites located in hotels across the state. To refer - call (617) 367-5150 between 7 am and 7 pm. Current sites include:
Eligibility- Individuals must meet both clinical and financial eligibility in order to stay at an Isolation and Recovery Site.
Services and Supports - Source: COVID-19 Update -- Patricia Noga, R.N., Mass Hospital Association , December 11, 2020 with additional information from COVID-19 Isolation and Recovery Sites on Mass.gov
Direct Overnight Access to a Spanish Interpreter MGH Interpreter Services’ normal business hours are Monday through Friday, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Saturdays and Sundays a Spanish interpreter is available between 8:00 am and 6:30 pm. Overnight on-call Spanish, Portuguese and American Sign Language interpreters are available to staff, but what about patients and families seeking medical advice, or calling to check on the status of their hospitalized loved-one? There is now a new service that provides direct access to a Spanish interpreter for patients and families and a tip sheet that includes instructions to access. Instructions:
For more information about Interpreter Services for staff use see the Interpreter Services page on the Excellence Everyday website. See the tip sheet for patients/families: Direct Overnight Access to a Spanish Interpreter
Institute for Health and Recovery’s Recovery Support and Parenting Programs List COVID-19 has affected everyone but has presented special challenges for those struggling with addiction or who are in recovery programs. The providers who care for these populations are also under great stress. The non-profit Institute for Health and Recovery has developed this comprehensive list of phone/web resources for recovery support and parenting programs, as well as other COVID-19-focused resources. - Source: COVID-19 Update - Patricia Noga, Mass Hospital Association , December 11, 2020
GoGo Grandparent – Transport and Food Delivery for Those Unable to Use Smartphones GoGo Grandparent is a service that arranges transportation and food delivery for people living with age related impairments who do not have, or are unable to navigate, a smart phone. Fees To arrange a ride or delivery, members call 1-855-464-6872 and choose from the following options:
From there, GoGo Grandparent will arrange and track the ride or delivery. Members will be automatically charged once ride or delivery is completed and GoGo Grandparent will call or email member with the amount charged. GoGo also screens the vehicles and drivers based on riders' unique needs. For example, if rider cannot step up into an SUV, GoGo will book a lower vehicle; if a rider needs assistance, GoGo will alert the driver and rebook if the driver is not interested in going above and beyond. Sign-up at gogograndparent.com or call 1-855-464-6872, option 2. For more information, see the GoGo Grandparent Frequently Asked Questions: https://gogograndparent.com/#home-section Brookline and Burlington Are Subsidizing Eligible Resident Rides Burlington began subsidizing GoGo rides in February. After years of service reductions and decreasing ridership, Burlington decided to cease operations of their in-town bus effective December 31. Committed to maintaining mobility for local seniors, adults with disabilities, and low-income individuals despite loss of the bus, the town decided to try subsidizing on-demand rides. They contracted with both Lyft and GoGo and began offering the subsidies before taking the bus out of service to help riders transition. The Burlington Council on Aging (COA) oversees the subsidy program. Older adults, adults with disabilities, and riders under 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Line can sign up for subsidized trips on Lyft or GoGo. The rider pays the first dollar, and then the town subsidizes up to $10; if the ride costs over $11, the rider pays the remainder. COA Director Marge McDonald reports that the service is working well for riders: "It's like having the freedom of your own car," she says. "There are no restrictions on when you can ride or where you can ride - lots more freedom." McDonald has been busy helping riders sign up for the programs. If a rider has a smartphone and wants to book their own trips, she helps them learn to use the Lyft app. "It's time-consuming, but important. We want to make sure that everyone who needs a ride has one," she says. The Brookline COA has offered subsidized Lyft rides since September 2019, and added GoGo subsidies this September in an effort to reach older residents who do not use smartphones and who have traditionally relied on the town's taxi vouchers. As taxi companies go out of business in Brookline, the taxi voucher program has become less viable, and the town has been trying to support riders in transitioning to other services. Riders in Brookline can get up to four GoGo rides per month. The rider pays the first $2, and the town subsidizes the next $10. Riders can travel anywhere in Brookline or to designated medical facilities in nearby communities. - Information from GoGoGrandparent with additional material from MassMobility - Issue 99, December 2020, EOHHS HST Office. Thanks to Kara Conway Riponi for sharing this resource and Bianca Viazzoli for contributing this article
Turning 65 Can Impact MassHealth Eligibility- Members Should Plan Ahead and Seek Advice Too often MassHealth members are unaware that turning 65 can have major implications for their ongoing MassHealth eligibility. The income limit goes down when you turn 65. There are some people who have had MassHealth their whole life, due to a disability, and then they turn 65 and they are no long eligible, because their income is a little too high. The exact number often changes from year to year. The other big change is that when you are under 65 there is no asset limit. MassHealth does not look at your savings– you can have a large bank account or trust for example. But once you turn 65, assets are considered. You can only have up to $2,000 in savings, although there are certain types of assets that are not counted towards this limit. That number has not changed in a long time, and there have been efforts to increase it, that have so far been unsuccessful. For more information, check out the Things to Know When Turning 65 episode of Aging Well at the Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) Youtube Channel, or contact the SCES Aging Information Center at 617-628-2601 or info@eldercare.org for free advice and guidance. - Adapted from Did you know that turning 65 can impact MassHealth eligibility?, Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services, December 17, 2020.
Medicare Reminder: Affording Prescription Drugs If you are enrolled in Part D and having trouble affording your prescriptions or finding plans that will cover your drugs, there are several ways you may be able to fill the gaps in your coverage:
Keep in mind that after reaching catastrophic coverage, costs for your covered drugs will drop significantly. - From Medicare Rights Provides a Summary of Policy Priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration, Medicare Watch, Medicare Rights Center, December 17, 2020.
CMS Releases 2021 Spousal Impoverishment Standards The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its Spousal Impoverishment Standards for 2021, confirming the earlier projections of Pennsylvania ElderLawAnswers member Robert Clofine, who based his estimates on the consumer price index for urban consumers for September. The official spousal impoverishment allowances for 2021 are as follows (we include Medicaid's home equity limits, which Clofine did not project):
See CMS's complete chart of the 2021 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards. - See the full Elder Law Answers post
Massachusetts Lawmakers Reach Deal on Wide-Ranging Health Care Bill After nearly five months of closed-door negotiations, Massachusetts legislators have reached a deal on a health care package that requires insurance providers to cover telehealth appointments and a wider range of COVID-19 tests and treatment. The bill now awaits Governor Baker’s signature (or veto). The health care bill would require insurers to cover any emergency COVID-19 treatment, in or out-of-network, whether it involves inpatient treatment, cognitive rehabilitation services, laboratory work and other diagnostic services. Patients in those cases, including MassHealth recipients, wouldn’t face out-of-pocket costs. Insurance carriers would also have to cover “medically necessary” outpatient COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic people, including PCR tests and rapid antigen tests. It would be up to the Health and Human Services secretary to define who qualifies, factoring in statewide testing capacity. HHS would also be expected to set guidelines to ensure asymptomatic people who work certain jobs — including those in the health care, restaurant, retail and hospitality industries — can get COVID-19 testing. Sen. Jo Comerford, a Northampton Democrat and co-chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, said the bill makes testing more accessible for residents at a time when more people than ever are seeking it. “If we believe in testing as a public health imperative, and I do, we have to break down every barrier possible to testing,” said Comerford, one of several lawmakers calling for state-run testing options in Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties. The health care package would require insurance providers to cover telehealth visits permanently in many cases, which would prevent the options from vanishing after the pandemic ends. Telehealth appointments for primary care and chronic disease care would have to be covered at the same rate as in-person services for two years. The bill would make insurers permanently reimburse telehealth appointments for behavioral health at the same rate as they would in-person behavioral health services, in part because that is where telehealth has been most successful. Doctors report that patients are less likely to miss behavioral appointments when they are conducted remotely. Data from the Health Policy Commission showed that behavioral health visits rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by this summer, faster than other medical specialties, primarily because more than 85 percent of those visits took place remotely. Conference committee member Sen. Julian Cyr, a Truro Democrat, stressed the importance of allowing virtual visits for mental health care to give patients more flexibility with work, travel, and childcare; to expand access for patients in rural areas; and to increase access to clinicians who speak a language other than English. But the expanded access only goes so far for residents who don’t have reliable broadband connections, Comerford said. A $10 million provision to expand cell service in a separate information technology bond bill, which is still in conference committee, could ensure that residents without reliable broadband connection could still take advantage of the telehealth options. The health care package expands insurance coverage for others, such as cancer patients and children who develop autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with a streptococcal infection (referred to as PANDAS or PANS). Cancer patients seeking to participate in a clinical trial would have to have their travel and hotel expenses covered by their insurance provider, according to the bill. Lawmaker say this provision is meant to help cancer patients who can’t afford to join potentially life-saving clinical trials in other parts of the country or the world. Massachusetts residents could find relief from out-of-network billing, or “surprise billing,” when they seek medical care. The bill requires health care providers and insurers to notify a patient who plans to undergo a non-emergency procedure if it’s an out-of-network cost so the patient can decide whether to seek care elsewhere. While Congress may be on the verge of eliminating “surprise” billing, where people face unexpected out-of-network insurance charges for emergency or inpatient care – for example, when someone gets a bill for an out-of-network anesthesiologist during surgery at an in-network hospital. The state bill requires transparency in charges for non-urgent care, while directing state health officials to develop recommendations for future out-of-network rates, in accordance with any new federal law. The bill lays the foundation for what could be an out-of-network rate cap or regulation, requiring state officials to make recommendations for “establishing a fair and sustainable out-of-network rate” by Sept. 1, 2021. - See the full Mass Live article with additional material from Commonwealth Magazine.
USDA Cuts Back on Hunger Relief Shipments to Massachusetts A change in vendors used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to supply badly needed food to local hunger relief organizations has severely cut back on its deliveries to the state, according to members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation. “You can't get enough food out there right now,” said Sasha Purpura, of the Cambridge-based Food for Free Committee. “And that's why these boxes were so important, because they allowed for safe distribution of food in organizations that are under-resourced and don't have, you know, huge facilities and resources." The organization has seen its USDA deliveries cut from 2,000 boxes a week down to about 500, Purpura said. The USDA has not explained why this cutback happened, but congressional representatives said the timing is terrible as demand for food in Massachusetts during the pandemic has shot up more than 50%. The Farmers to Families Food Box Program began last spring under federal coronavirus relief legislation that directed the USDA to purchase and distribute agricultural products meant for schools, food banks and families experiencing hunger. The Greater Boston Food Bank said this month that the box program has been cumbersome to navigate because the vendors and terms have changed four times since it started. Meanwhile, the Food for Free Committee is seeking more cash donations so it can buy food while also teaming up with an organization that gleans unused food from farms, food service companies and grocers. - See the full GBH story.
Bristol, Worcester and Hampden Counties Seeing Disproportionate Share of Eviction Filings It’s one of several places around Massachusetts where new cases have piled up quickly since the state ended its eviction moratorium in October. Like the counties that are home to Springfield and Fall River, Worcester County has seen far more filings, per capita, than Suffolk County — dominated by Boston — or suburban locales such as Middlesex and Norfolk Counties. It’s a trend that appears to highlight yet another way the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting hardest in places that were struggling before the health crisis, and could further exacerbate longtime divisions in the state’s economy and housing market. “This is not a coincidence,” said Andrea Park, a housing attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. “These are places with a lot of vulnerable people. They work service jobs. Maybe they don’t speak English. They’re dealing with a lot.” In the seven weeks since housing courts reopened, new eviction filings have climbed quickly, despite a federal ban that still prevents many evictions from being finalized. The week of Nov. 30, the most recent available in court data, saw more new cases than any week yet this year. But some parts of the state are seeing far more than others, according to a Globe analysis of state court data. In Bristol and Worcester counties more than twice as many cases have been filed on a per capita basis than in Middlesex County, which includes some of the state’s most affluent suburbs, but also cities such as Lowell, Everett, and Framingham. The county with the highest rate of new cases is Hampden — where Springfield and Holyoke rank among Massachusetts’ poorest cities — with 7.9 filings for every 10,000 residents. That’s compared with 3.2 in Suffolk County. In January and February, the two counties had roughly equal eviction rates. Why the shift? Theories abound. Joe Kriesberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, said the relatively low rate in Suffolk County could be because Boston has an unusually high share of public and other formally-subsidized housing — 19 percent of the city’s housing stock in 2017, according to state data, compared with 13 percent in Worcester and 11 percent in Fall River. Many of those tenants’ rents are covered — at least in part — by state or federal programs. In addition, many large affordable housing providers, such as the Boston Housing Authority, pledged to halt evictions during the pandemic. Those pledges have spread to for-profit landlords as well, particularly in Boston, where Mayor Martin J. Walsh convinced 33 landlords — including some of the city’s most prominent market-rate developers — to promise they won’t evict anyone for nonpayment at least through year’s end. While some affordable-housing operators have signed on to a similar statewide agreement engineered by Governor Charlie Baker, advocates say they know of no comparable pledges in cities beyond the core of Greater Boston. Another factor in the differing eviction rates could be the uneven rental market. Rents have fallen sharply in Boston this year, but continue to climb in some less-expensive cities that don’t rely on college students who may have stayed home this school year instead of renting apartments close to campus in the city. If building owners believe an apartment can be filled quickly, they may move faster to evict a tenant struggling to keep up with payments, said Doug Quattrochi, executive director of Mass Landlords. By contrast, a soft market where vacancies might linger could inspire flexibility on the part of landlords. “Think about it from a landlord’s perspective,” he said. “If rents in Worcester are going up, presumably there are other tenants out there. Whereas in Boston and Cambridge, there are lots of vacancies and the big landlords are giving good concessions to fill apartments. It’s harder.” But much of it boils down to economics. The state’s outlying cities tend to be poorer, with fewer resources to fend off evictions than Boston, which has doled out $4.4 million in rental aid since the spring. In some cities, such as Brockton and Lawrence, people moved in seeking lower rents than in Boston but still commuted to the big city for work. Now jobs, particularly service-industry jobs in hotels and restaurants, have evaporated. - See the full Boston Globe article.
Coronavirus Vaccinations to Begin In Boston's Homeless Community People experiencing homelessness in Boston are expected to begin receiving coronavirus vaccines within a few days. The first vaccine shipment for the city's homeless community will be 100 doses developed by Cambridge-based Moderna, according to Dr. Jim O'Connell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which will administer the shots. O'Connell says he's confident in the organization's chances of getting a large percentage of the community vaccinated, given its long history administering single-dose vaccines for other illnesses, such as meningococcal disease. "We've had good luck at getting homeless people living in the shelters to trust us enough to get the vaccine. But that's always been with a single dose," O'Connell said, "The challenge for us now, I think, is going to be ... once they've had the first shot, make sure that 28 days later or thereabouts, we can find them and that they're still willing to have a second shot." Priority for the first vaccines will go to people with the most underlying health risks at the most crowded shelters, according to O'Connell. "We have incorporated a really interesting tool that addresses equity and other situations, but really primarily concentrates on who is most vulnerable, most likely to die if they get the virus," he said, adding that once the process for administering the vaccines is streamlined and gets faster, he expects them to start arriving in larger batches. Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program anticipates vaccinating between 5,000 and 8,000 adults in shelters that serve individuals and families. - See the full WBUR story.
RI Prioritizes Vaccinating Hard-Hit Communities – Some Epidemiologists Think MA Should Too In Central Falls, R.I., a tiny working-class city with a majority Latino population, the coronavirus has run rampant, triggering a crisis so dire public health officials believe half of its residents will have been infected by the end of the year. Now Rhode Island is completing plans to move hard-pressed Central Falls to the front of the vaccination line, giving priority to a densely packed city full of immigrants and people of color who have contracted the deadly virus at staggering rates. Some epidemiologists believe Massachusetts should consider a similar strategy for COVID-19 hot spots where residents, for a litany of reasons, find themselves at heightened risk. “I think it makes a lot of sense,” said Jessica Leibler, an environmental epidemiologist at Boston University, “when we have data to suggest there are certain communities where risk is aggregated for various reasons,” such as housing density and occupational exposure. Like all states, Rhode Island is rolling out its vaccination program in phases — starting with health care workers and residents of long-term-care facilities, among others — before gradually opening up eligibility to more residents. The state’s health director, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, said Tuesday Central Falls and other highly dense ZIP codes would be placed in the first phase of the state’s distribution plan. Samuel Scarpino, an assistant professor and head of the Emergent Epidemics Lab at Northeastern University, said states have an ethical imperative to use the vaccine to address the health inequities amplified by the pandemic and communities that have suffered the worst should be prioritized. “It’s clear in the data some individuals in essential roles are at much higher risk for infection than others,” Scarpino said. Decades of racism and xenophobia have allowed health disparities among people of color to flourish, he said, exacerbating the risks and consequences of catching COVID-19. Massachusetts is moving to ensure hard-hit communities have greater access to the vaccines, pledging to set aside 20 percent of its supply for vulnerable cities and towns with high rates of infections, but not until Phases Two and Three. The communities slated for extra doses will likely include such places as Chelsea, Lawrence, and Brockton, where many residents are immigrants, people of color, and essential workers. Dr. Paul Biddinger, director of emergency preparedness at Mass General Brigham and chairman of the state’s COVID-19 advisory group, did not comment directly on whether Massachusetts would consider a location-based vaccine strategy similar to Rhode Island’s. “While I can’t speak about specific [advisory] group discussions, it’s fair to say that the group remains interested in identifying the most effective, equitable, and ethical ways to vaccinate the population as quickly as possible,” Biddinger said in an e-mail. Implementing such a strategy could prove challenging, said Nason Maani, a public health researcher at Boston University who studies structural determinants of health. Public polling has repeatedly shown that Black and Latino Americans, who have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic, are the most reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccines. “Low-wage immigrant workers are less likely to be in regular contact with medical professionals, and more likely to fear contact with authorities,” Maani said in an e-mail. “Any fears of side effects may be accentuated because of limited health coverage or an inability to bridge gaps in employment or take sick leave.” - See the full Boston Globe article
Opinion: Shrinking Size of Haystack Key to Preventing Horrific Cases of Child Abuse The high-profile deaths of Bella Bond and Jeremiah Oliver set off a foster-care panic, a sharp sudden increase in the number of children torn from their families, in a state which has taken away children at rates well above the national average for decades. Gov. Charlie Baker and his DCF director, Linda Spears compounded the problem, embracing the false claim that child safety and family preservation are opposites, and efforts to keep families together supposedly endanger children. None of this, of course, stopped the most recent tragedy – or all the other deaths of children known to the system that haven’t gotten the same attention. It hasn’t worked anywhere else it’s been tried either. Because the real reason for child abuse tragedies has nothing to do with efforts to keep families together. Understanding what’s really at play requires understanding who’s really in the system and why. The overwhelming majority of cases seen by DCF caseworkers are nothing like the horror stories. Pore through the federal government’s annual Child Maltreatment report and you find that, nationwide, 91 percent of all calls to child abuse hotlines are either so absurd they’re screened out or are found to be false after they’re investigated – even though little more than a caseworker’s guess is enough to “substantiate” an allegation. Another 6 percent involve neglect. Neglect can be horrific, but far more common are cases in which a family is simply poor. Multiple studies have found, for example, that 30 percent of America’s foster children could be home right now if their parents simply had decent housing. Because the typical cases are nothing like the horror stories, it’s no wonder that multiple studies, two of them from MIT, massive in size and scope, involving more than 15,000 typical cases, found that children left in their own homes typically fared better even than comparably-maltreated children placed in foster care. Although DCF caseworkers almost always mean well, the trauma endured by a child needlessly torn from his parents is no different when it happens in Massachusetts than when it happens on the Mexican border. That brings us to the real reason for most high-profile child abuse tragedies: The more that workers are overwhelmed with false allegations, trivial cases, and children who don’t need to be in foster care, the less time they have to find children in real danger. The case that could become the next horror story is a needle in a haystack. You can’t increase the chances of finding the needles by constantly enlarging the haystack. And now we have a new twist: It’s claimed that if only we had more “eyes” on children during the pandemic, we wouldn’t have these tragedies. But, as the Boston Globe has shown, this very notion has led to the harassment of poor families of color across the Commonwealth. The idea that the lack of mostly white, middle-class “eyes” on overwhelmingly poor disproportionately nonwhite children is leading to a “pandemic of child abuse” has been debunked by major national news organizations such. How can Massachusetts break the cycle? For starters, by emphasizing concrete help to ameliorate the worst aspects of poverty and by providing high quality legal defense for families so they challenge the cookie cutter “service plans” offered by DCF. Child safety and family preservation are not opposites. Family preservation prevents the tragedy of needless removal, makes it easier to weed out bad foster homes and institutions, and frees up worker time to find those needles in the haystack. Richard Wexler is executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. - Adapted from/see the full Commonwealth Magazine opinion piece
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