Boston—

Families living in Massachusetts’ overflow shelters will soon have to keep monthly records of their efforts to get out of the overflow system, including finding housing or jobs, Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday.

Beginning May 1, families must be recertified each month to remain eligible for state-run temporary housing.

The government says they need to show what steps they have taken to achieve independence, including applying for a work authorization permit, enrolling in a workforce training program, submitting a job application, taking English classes or finding housing.

Healey said the requirement is crucial as a means of accountability.

“This is important because we want to handle this responsibly,” she told reporters on Monday.

Healey acknowledged there may be good reasons why some people are unable to meet the requirements, but he warned those who don’t try could lose their status in the state’s asylum system.

“If they don’t meet the requirements without a good reason, then they will lose their position,” she said. “The whole idea is to divert people away from our emergency shelter system and put them on a different path.”

This policy does not apply to locations operated by the charitable organization United Way of Massachusetts Bay.

Immigration advocates say they worry the new rules will complicate life for homeless immigrants who are already preparing to leave the shelter system.

“We are deeply concerned that forcing families to reapply for emergency shelter every month will create unnecessary red tape, create confusion, and ultimately leave more families on the streets,” said Elizabeth Sweet of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Alliance. .”

She said state and federal officials should focus on providing community service organizations with the resources they need to support arrivals seeking work authorization, long-term housing and case management services.

Massachusetts has been grappling with a growing influx of homeless immigrant families seeking asylum.

The state’s emergency family shelter system serves homeless families with children or pregnant women. Officials say less than half of the families in the EA area are new to Massachusetts.

Last autumn, the government announced the system could no longer be expanded safely or responsibly and instituted a waiting list. Families who qualify for emergency shelter and are on the waiting list are eligible to stay at the state’s excess shelter sites or safety net shelters, which currently provide shelter to about 200 families.

The Government also announced on Monday that a new shelter will open next month at the former Chelsea Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea. The site is vacant and is eventually expected to be demolished.

The Chelsea site will be able to accommodate approximately 100 families at full capacity.

The move comes after the Massachusetts Senate last week approved limits on how long homeless families can stay in emergency state shelters as part of an $850 million plan to fund the system at immigrant crisis centers.

Under the bill, which passed Thursday night on a 32-8 vote, the state would limit the maximum stay to nine months, with veterans, pregnant women and people who are employed or enrolled in job training programs potentially staying an additional 90 days.

Currently, there is no limit on the time a family can spend in emergency housing.

A bill already passed by the House would provide funding for the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year, which ends on June 30, and part of 2025. The two bills are expected to go to a conference committee to hammer out a compromise bill before sending it to Democrats. Governor Maura Healey’s desk for her signature.