Human Services Public Hearing

Council of the District of Columbia COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 REVISED/ABBREVIATED COUNCILMEMBER BRIANNE K. NADEAU, CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC HEARING ON B24-0893, THE “RAPID RE-HOUSING REFORM AMENDMENT ACT OF 2022” AND B24-0992, THE “MIGRANT SERVICES AND SUPPORTS ACT OF 2022” Thursday, October 20, 2022, 10:00 a.m. Virtual Proceedings via Zoom Broadcast live on Channel 13 Streamed live at www.dccouncil.us, www.entertainment.dc.gov, and https://www.brianneknadeau.com On Thursday, October 20, 2022, Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau, Chairperson of the Committee on Human Services, will convene a public hearing to consider Bill 24-0893, the “Rapid Re-Housing Reform Amendment Act of 2022”, and B24-0992, the “Migrant Services and Supports Act of 2022”. The hearing will be held virtually via the Zoom platform at 10:00 a.m. This notice has been revised to reflect that, rather than conducting a public oversight hearing on the Department of Human Services’ (“DHS”) implementation of historic housing investments, the Committee will be considering B24-0992. The previously scheduled public oversight hearing has been postponed to a later date. The stated purpose of Bill 24-0893, The “Rapid Re-Housing Reform Amendment Act of 2022” is to reform the Rapid Re-Housing program to ensure that individuals and families do not pay more than 30% of their income toward rent, to require the assessment of program participants for the receipt of permanent housing vouchers, to make case management services for program participants optional, and to establish eligibility and prioritization criteria for Targeted Affordable Housing vouchers. The stated purpose of B24-0992, the “Migrant Services and Supports Act of 2022”, is to provide authority to the Mayor to implement services and supports for recent immigrants to the United States who are present in the District and to align the provision of those services and supports with the District’s homeless services. On September 20, 2022, the Council approved B24-0990, the “Migrant Services and Supports Emergency Act of 2022”, which established, on an emergency basis, an Office of Migrant Services within DHS. This legislation would make the establishment of that Office—and its capacity to serve recent immigrants to the United States—permanent. The Committee invites the public to testify or to submit written testimony. Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should complete the witness form at https://www.brianneknadeau.com/testify by the close of business on Thursday, October 13, 2022. Witnesses who anticipate needing language interpretation, including sign language interpretation, are asked to inform the Human Services Committee office of the need as soon as possible, but no later than five (5) business days before the proceeding. We will make every effort to fulfill timely requests, but requests received less than five (5) business days in advance may not be fulfilled, and alternatives may be offered. Witnesses will be allowed a maximum of three minutes for oral testimony. Witnesses are encouraged to submit a copy of their testimony electronically, in PDF format, to humanservices@dccouncil.us in advance of the hearing. For witnesses who are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements will be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted either to the Committee at humanservices@dccouncil.us or to Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 5, Washington, D.C. 20004. Additionally, voicemail testimony can be provided for the record by calling the Committee’s unique voicemail number at (202) 570-4281. At the beginning of the message, please state and spell your name, provide the name of the organization you are representing (if any), your title (if any), the topic of your testimony, and then begin your testimony. The record will close for all forms of testimony at the end of the business day on Thursday, October 27, 2022. 2