Recording in progress.

Uh I am Matt Freuman, Ward 3 Councilmember and Chairperson of the Committee on Human Services.

Today is Thursday, April 30th, 2026.

We are meeting in in-person in room 123 of the John A.

Wilson building and virtually via Zoom.

The time is now 9.05 a.m.

Today we are conducting the first of two budget oversight hearings on the Department of Human Services or DHS.

We will be joined by public witnesses today and by government witnesses on Wednesday, May 6th.

The mayor's proposed FY27 budget decreases DHS's budget by 102 million dollars compared to this fiscal year.

Since FY24, spending on social services has decreased by more than 25%.

That would be a reduction of more than 250 million across three budget cycles.

For example, spending on shelter operations was 81 million in FY24, but the proposed FY27 budget is 60 million.

Spending on permanent supportive housing was 96 million in FY24, yet the proposed FY27 budget is 74 million.

People matched to vouchers are still working to get placed in housing, so we would expect the budget to increase not to see reductions.

Reductions of this scale will compromise basic services for our most vulnerable residents, like keeping voucher holders housed, dignified shelters open, and our public benefits system functional.

The council must confront this reality with limited resources available as the budget shrinks.

We must focus on supporting the basics.

We can restore some funding to the most effective programs, but we cannot increase funding.

We can innovate within existing programs, but we cannot create new ones in this environment.

The council must also consider pressures created by the policies at the federal level.

Recent federal legislation shifts more administrative costs to states while imposing rigorous SNAP and Medicaid work requirements that will lead to thousands of residents losing their benefits.

Federal funding for housing programs is also more tenuous than ever.

To meet the moment created by these conditions with the limited resources we have, the district must better utilize the tools already at our disposal.

We must preserve existing vouchers, fully utilize available capacity for bridge housing, and improve data sharing and coordination across agencies.

Today I look forward to hearing how this budget can optimize investments that provide district residents with stability and foster sustainable economic mobility.

Do we have anyone online?

Okay, great.

Uh now I would like to offer a note on logistics.

In order to ensure we hear from all members of the public, the committee will strictly apply time limits on witness testimony.

All witnesses will have no more than three minutes to speak.

First, we will call witnesses who are here in person to speak in panels of four.

When I call your name, please come to the table at the front and sit in the order in which you were called from your right to your left.

Please press the button on your microphone before speaking to turn on your mic.

The red light indicates your mic is on.

After a panel is done providing testimony, I and other council members may ask questions before before calling the next panel.

Council members will have 10 minutes each to ask a round of questions, and I will generally turn to my colleagues in the order in which they arrived.

After hearing from our in-person witnesses, we will be taking a half-hour break before turning to virtual witnesses.

We expect that switch over to happen around 1.30, but we'll track that as we go.

If the break affects when you would like to testify, please send a message to the host labeled as Committee on Human Services or to Human Services at DC Council.gov.

Now let's turn to our first panel of witnesses.

And I will call your names and if you'll come to the front and again uh sit at the table from your left to your right.

Don Dalton.

Michaela Deming.

Aaron Byrne.

Naeli Piallo.

Peleo, I'm sorry.

Oops, who these are the same things?

All right.

And when you are ready, uh Ms.

Dalton.

Thank you, Chairperson Freeman, members of the committee and staff for the opportunity to testify.

My name is Dawn Dalton, and I am the executive director for the D.C.

Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

DCCADV is the federally recognized statewide coalition of domestic violence service providers in D.C.

And our member programs serve upwards of a thousand victims of domestic violence on a given day across all eight wards of the district.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness, but year after year, domestic violence services make up less than one percent of the DHS family services budget.

Despite the persistent underfunding, the mayor still proposes a nearly 21% cut to the DHS domestic violence services line.

Since some of the funds included in that line are targeted federal funds, the mayor's cut actually amounts to 31.6 percent to cut 31.6 percent cut to local funding, which would devastate the programs receiving these grants.

Housing is already the number one unmet need for survivors of DV in the district.

Housing instability brings its own set of problems for survivors, including poor health, economic insecurity, and the risk of future violence.