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Q&A
Non-asylum shelter costs, census increase, and budget allocations
2:56:58
·
5 min
Council Member Brewer and Commissioner Park discuss the increase in non-asylum shelter census, associated costs, and budget allocations for the coming fiscal years.
- Non-asylum shelter census increased by 26% since April 2022, from 45,189 to 57,000
- Additional $554.2 million in city funding allocated for non-asylum shelter costs in FY25
- Current non-asylum shelter census is over 56,000 individuals, still below pre-pandemic levels
- Factors contributing to increased costs include higher census and rising expenses for wages, insurance, and food
- DSS aims to reduce reliance on expensive hotel rooms by opening more regular shelters
Gale A. Brewer
2:56:58
Preliminary plan includes an additional 554,200,000.0 of city funding in 02/05 only for non asylum shelter costs.
2:57:07
Since April 22, when we first started to see the influx of the asylum seekers, there's a 26% increase in the non asylum shelter census.
2:57:18
In April, the census was 45,000 a hundred 80 nine, and at the February, the non asylum census was 57,000.
2:57:27
Currently, for right now, fiscal two five, '2 point '4 billion is budgeted for non asylum shelter costs, which drops to 1,900,000,000.0 in f y twenty six.
2:57:40
How much of the funding added in the preliminary plan relates to singles and adult families versus families with children?
Molly Wasow Park
2:57:51
I am not sure we have it broken out that way, but we can certainly follow-up.
2:57:58
My colleagues may be able to contradict me.
2:58:01
I will say it is for city funds.
2:58:03
It's likely to be more for singles than for families just because on families we claim state and federal revenue.
2:58:12
So not necessarily a reflection of need, but a reflection of the technical budget split.
2:58:20
I do want to address those census numbers that you read off, all of which are correct.
2:58:25
But the census dropped really precipitously during COVID.
2:58:30
I think the income supports that the federal government was offering during COVID, right?
Gale A. Brewer
2:58:36
Got people to stay in their homes.
Molly Wasow Park
2:58:39
They played a really meaningful role.
2:58:41
As those income supports have been rolled back, what we're seeing is higher demand for DHS shelters.
2:58:47
We've been able to really continuously increase the number of exits that we are seeing out of the DHS shelter system, particularly subsidized exits.
2:59:00
It's something that I'm very proud of, but the demand figures are also relatively strong.
2:59:05
We remain below our pre COVID numbers for our non asylum DHS census and we are working very hard to make sure that we are continuing to keep our exit numbers high.
Gale A. Brewer
2:59:15
Okay, Sort of along those lines, how much of the funding added is because of the increase in census, which is what you talked about, and how much is related to the increase in the cost of providing shelter?
Molly Wasow Park
2:59:27
Mean I think both of those are a factor.
2:59:31
We have somewhat more people in the system, as I say, below our pre pandemic numbers, but we do have more people in the system than we did a couple of years ago.
2:59:41
There's also cost increases associated with wage adjustments, with costs for things like insurance and food and other factors as well that we have to manage.
Gale A. Brewer
2:59:54
What's the total spent to date in FY twenty five on DHS's non asylum shelter costs?
Molly Wasow Park
3:00:05
Going to look and see right now if we can split it out that way.
3:00:09
If we can't we will certainly follow-up.
3:00:36
Let us follow-up with that number.
Gale A. Brewer
3:00:38
Okay.
3:00:39
What is DHS's projection for the non asylum shelter census?
3:00:43
Now you indicated that it's less than pre pandemic, but what is the projection?
Molly Wasow Park
3:00:51
Sorry, the projection of what the census will be?
Gale A. Brewer
3:00:54
Pre, yes.
3:00:55
I know it's less than what it was previously.
3:00:58
But it's still, you said it's still going up.
3:01:00
Just a projection.
3:01:02
I don't know projection until what, next year or?
Molly Wasow Park
3:01:04
Right.
3:01:06
So our current census for the non asylum clients is just over 56,000 individuals.
3:01:16
Our goal is to keep moving that number down.
3:01:22
I don't have a hard projection number on it because there are so many different interplaying interplaying there.
Gale A. Brewer
3:01:28
If it doesn't go down, what will your cost be do you think going into the future, FY '26, for that population?
Molly Wasow Park
3:01:38
Again, a tough one to answer.
3:01:41
A big driving factor in our DHS spending is the number of hotel rooms that we are in.
3:01:50
As I mentioned earlier, we're in over 18,000 hotel rooms.
3:01:54
We have been in hotels since well before the beginning of the asylum crisis.
3:02:00
Hotels are a very expensive way of providing shelters, so the more that we can do to site and open regular shelters, which we do.
3:02:09
We have a pipeline.
3:02:11
I've talked to all of you about regular shelters.
3:02:14
The more we can do to open those new sites, the better we can do in cost containment.