What's New at MMA

2024 General Assistance Changes

Date Posted: Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Posted In: Legal Notes

Several changes to the municipal General Assistance (GA) laws took effect August 9, 2024; most resulted from one new law, PL 2023, c. 575. We briefly summarize these below:

Required training. Municipal “overseers” and any municipal official designated or appointed to administer GA must now complete training on GA program requirements. Existing officials are subject to the training requirement; new officials must complete the training within 120 days of appointment or election. The Maine Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) must ensure that the training may be completed in under four hours, is accessible at no cost, and can be taken in person, online or via a pre-recorded video presentation.

Office hours. Previously, a GA office or designated location was required to be open at “reasonable times” for persons to apply for GA benefits. The law will now require that the GA office or designated location accept applications during the municipality’s regular business hours.

Trauma-informed and culturally appropriate services. Municipal GA programs must now provide trauma-informed services and culturally and linguistically appropriate services to all applicants and recipients. Among other things, this requires GA programs to recognize the effects of trauma, potential paths for recovery, the unique signs and symptoms of trauma in applicants, clients, families and staff, and integrate such knowledge into policies and procedures. In addition, services must be designed to serve culturally diverse populations in an applicant or recipient’s preferred language and in the context of the person’s cultural beliefs, behaviors and needs, and must support diversity, community engagement and build trust and relationships. DHHS must provide mandatory training to help municipalities comply with these requirements.

Relocated recipients. The obligation of a “sending” municipality to support a relocating GA recipient for 30 days after relocation has now been extended to six months, unless otherwise agreed between affected municipalities. “Support” includes processing applications and determining eligibility for benefits.

Group homes, shelters, institutions. If a GA recipient resides in a group home, shelter, rehabilitation center, nursing home, hospital or other institution at the time of application and has either been in that institution for 12 or fewer months (previous law said six months) or has an established residence, the municipality of responsibility is the municipality where the applicant was a resident immediately prior to entering the facility and that municipality continues to be responsible for the support of the recipient, processing applications and determining eligibility, unless otherwise agreed upon by the affected municipalities.

State database. Beginning on July 1, 2025, DHHS must provide municipal overseers with access to an Internet-based, real-time database containing information necessary to properly determine an applicant’s eligibility for GA benefits.

Limits on emergency benefits. The 2024 supplemental budget (PL 2023, c. 643 § II) included a provision prohibiting municipalities from exceeding maximum levels of GA assistance for more than 30 days in a 12-month period when assistance is granted for housing in a hotel, motel, inn, or other lodging place. The law also limits emergency GA assistance to a maximum of 30 days until eligibility has been confirmed and prohibits assistance exceeding the levels established in 22 M.R.S. § 4308. (By S.F.P.)