Committee on General Welfare meeting
March 17, 2026, 9:30 AM
The Committee on General Welfare held its FY2027 preliminary budget hearing on the Department of Social Services, which includes the Human Resources Administration and the Department of Homeless Services. The committee took testimony and recorded no votes.
What was discussed
- Roll call, swearing in, and opening of the DSS budget hearing Chair Crystal Hudson gaveled in the Committee on General Welfare's FY2027 preliminary budget hearing on the Department of Social Services, and committee counsel administered the affirmation to the DSS witness panel.
- Commissioner Erin Dalton's opening testimony on the DSS preliminary budget Newly appointed DSS Commissioner Erin Dalton thanked the committee and introduced the department's FY2027 preliminary budget, noting she was in her second week on the job and would rely on agency colleagues for programmatic detail.
- Will any DSS programs or services be cut to meet the budget reduction and vacancy targets? Pressed by Chair Crystal Hudson on the PEG and position-elimination targets, DSS Chief Program Performance and Financial Officer Richard Johns said core benefits such as Cash Assistance and SNAP would not be cut and that the vacancy-reduction target covers roughly 50% of eligible (not all
- How is DSS preparing for the HR1 SNAP cost shift and reinstated work requirements? HRA Administrator Scott French told Chair Hudson the agency is in ongoing talks with the state over the HR1 SNAP administrative and cost-shift burdens, is adding SNAP eligibility specialists to address the payment error rate, and reported that roughly 55-60% of ABAWD clients attend their PACE
- Do the agency's direct-benefit spending figures include nonprofit contracts, and what diverts families from shelter? Responding to Council Member Frank Morano, Commissioner Erin Dalton and Chief Richard Johns said the roughly 98% 'direct benefits' figure includes payments routed through nonprofits, and Administrator Scott French and DHS Interim Administrator Christine Fellini described Homebase and other diversion
- What is driving Homebase enrollment and family homelessness trends? Council Member Sanchez asked about prevention; Chief Richard Johns said Homebase enrolls about 68,000 people and roughly 15,000 new families a year, with enrollment projected to stay consistent, though he did not have the average length of enrollment on hand.
- How is DSS coordinating street outreach, benefits screening, and encampment cleanups? Council Member Gale A. Brewer pressed on encampment sweeps and cross-agency benefits screening; Administrator Scott French, Commissioner Dalton and DHS's Christine Fellini described Street to Home outreach, sweeps conducted regularly since January, and partnerships to enroll people in benefits
- What protections are in place for shelter clients during ICE encounters? Council Member Sandy Nurse asked how shelters handle ICE; DHS Interim Administrator Christine Fellini said encounters had been limited, that guidance on verifying judicial warrants is shared through the provider community and is part of front-desk procedure, and committed to confirm the specifics.
- Does DSS track and support its own employees who rely on public benefits? Chair Hudson asked whether DSS knows how many of its workers or shelter residents are city employees on public assistance; Administrator Scott French and Commissioner Dalton said they were aware some employees receive benefits but did not have the figures on hand and would follow up, while citing
- Why is the Bellevue men's shelter and intake site closing, and where will residents go? Chair Hudson and Council Member Gale A. Brewer questioned the closure of the Bellevue site at 30th Street; Commissioner Dalton and DHS's Christine Fellini said assessment beds have been relocated, intake and assessment move by a May 1 deadline, and the added 146 positions should be sufficient, while
- How many street outreach workers does DHS employ, and how is the work staffed? Chief Richard Johns and DHS's Christine Fellini told Chair Hudson that the DHS street outreach program has a budgeted headcount of about 190, that about 600 positions are budgeted across street programs counting contracted providers, and that 60 of the 66 newly funded positions are for street
- What is the plan and cost for integrating asylum seekers into the standard shelter system? Chair Hudson asked about the February asylum-seeker integration action plan; DHS's Christine Fellini and Chief Johns said emergency contracts ending in June are being transitioned into the standard shelter system, that they were not projecting cost savings from the shift, and committed to follow up
- How does DHS accommodate shelter residents with disabilities? Chair Hudson questioned reasonable-accommodation practices; DHS Interim Administrator Christine Fellini said the Office of Disability Affairs assists providers, that accommodations can be denied for lack of documentation though staff help clients obtain it, and that she would follow up on how many
- How are City FHEPS and cash assistance budgeted given rising caseloads and spending? Chief Richard Johns and Administrator Scott French told Chair Hudson that City FHEPS spending reached about $1.1 billion through January (versus roughly $1.4 billion in FY25), cash assistance about $1.6 billion through January, with a caseload of roughly 585,000 individuals across 327,059 cases, and
- Is HRA's frontline staffing sufficient, and is the agency relying on overtime? Administrator Scott French and Chief Johns gave Chair Hudson budgeted staffing of roughly 1,324 for SNAP, 1,718 for cash assistance and 855 for Medicaid, said earlier backlogs have been cleared and headcount is sufficient, and confirmed HRA still uses overtime as needed while agreeing to provide
- How does the cost of shelter compare with City FHEPS rental assistance? Chief Richard Johns told Chair Hudson that shelter costs about $4,600 per month versus roughly $2,000 for a City FHEPS studio, but said cumulative comparisons are difficult because they hinge on length of stay, and that about 25-30% of City FHEPS households have earned income.
- DSS frontline eligibility workers on AI in the application process and mandated overtime Eligibility specialists Chandra Smith and Lisa Rhymer, with union president Anthony Lackham and Melodie Crowell, testified about understaffing and the use of AI in benefit applications, and said mandatory overtime had continued into January - contradicting the administration's earlier statement that
- Housing, homelessness and legal-services advocates on FHEPS administration and shelter funding Advocates and providers - including Ana Champeny (Citizens Budget Commission), Shervon Small (Legal Services NYC), Alison Wilkey, Abby Biberman, Catherine Trappani, Brendan Cheney (New York Housing Conference) and others - urged the committee to fix delayed provider payments and procurement, fully
- Fair Fares and transit-affordability advocates Transit advocates - including Nicholas Pearson, Aarthi Bola, Brian Fritsch (Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee) and Jeremiah Gonzalez - urged the Council to protect and expand the Fair Fares discount program for low-income New Yorkers.
- Anti-hunger, food-security and lived-experience tenants Additional witnesses - including food-security and anti-poverty advocates and tenants with lived experience such as Judith Douglas, Maria Dias and others - described long voucher and one-shot-deal processing times, food insecurity, and the human cost of shelter stays, with some testifying virtually.
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1382 New York City Council Budget and Oversight Hearings on The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2027, The Preliminary Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2030 and The Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report 9:30 a.m. Department of Social Services (Human Resources Administration and Department Hearing Held by Committee