Maryland Attorney General Secures Funding Protection for Homelessness Services

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, as part of a multistate coalition, has successfully obtained a court order that safeguards federal funding for permanent housing initiatives aimed at individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The legal action challenged an attempt by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement a funding cap that would have severely impacted permanent housing projects. This development is significant for Maryland, as the ruling prevents an estimated 2,000 residents from losing their homes.

The coalition’s victory in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island means that a recent HUD notice of funding opportunity, which proposed a substantial set-aside for transitional housing and effectively created a cap on permanent housing, has been deemed unlawful. This policy shift threatened the housing stability of at least 97,000 individuals nationwide who rely on HUD-funded permanent housing, with Maryland being particularly affected. The ruling ensures that federal resources will continue to support permanent housing models, which have been a cornerstone of federal homelessness policy for over two decades.

For more than twenty years, HUD has maintained a commitment to permanent housing programs and the “Housing First” approach. This model prioritizes the rapid placement of individuals into stable housing without requiring them to meet preconditions such as sobriety or income thresholds. However, the current federal administration has moved away from this established commitment, leading to challenges for programs like the Continuum of Care (CoC). In a separate but related case earlier this year, the same coalition of states successfully challenged HUD’s imposition of unlawful conditions on billions of dollars in CoC funding, including an attempt to cap the amount that could be allocated to permanent supportive housing.

Following the earlier legal defeat regarding the funding cap, HUD altered its strategy by issuing a new notice of funding opportunity. This notice established a $1.3 billion set-aside, with a focus on transitional housing, which would have indirectly limited the availability of funds for permanent housing solutions. Attorney General Brown, along with the attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, in addition to the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, filed suit to block these detrimental changes. The court’s recent decision found HUD’s proposed set-aside to be unlawful, preventing its implementation and preserving vital support for those experiencing homelessness. The ruling underscores the importance of established legal processes and the protection of federal programs designed to address housing insecurity.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office

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