XPost: alt.society.homeless, alt.politics.usa.republican, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   SACRAMENTO —  California has failed to adequately monitor the outcomes of   
   its vast spending on homelessness programs, according to a state audit   
   released Tuesday, raising questions about whether billions of dollars   
   meant to thwart the crisis has been worth it as the number of people   
   living unsheltered has soared.   
      
   A new report from the California State Auditor’s Office found that a state   
   council created to oversee the implementation of homelessness programs has   
   not consistently tracked spending or the outcomes of those programs.   
      
   That dearth of information means the state lacks pertinent data and that   
   policymakers “are likely to struggle to understand homelessness programs’   
   ongoing costs and achieved outcomes,” the audit says.   
      
   “The state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its   
   homelessness programs,” California State Auditor Grant Parks said in a   
   letter sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers Tuesday accompanying   
   the audit.   
      
   California has spent $20 billion over the past five years dedicated to the   
   state’s homelessness crisis, including funneling money toward supporting   
   shelters and subsidizing rent. Still, homelessness grew 6% in 2023 from   
   the year prior, to more than 180,000 people, according to federal “point   
   in time” data. Since 2013, homelessness has grown in California by 53%.   
      
   The California Interagency Council on Homelessness — created in 2016 to   
   oversee the state’s implementation of programs dedicated to the worsening   
   crisis — has not ensured the accuracy of the information in a state data   
   system and has not evaluated homelessness programs’ success, according to   
   the state auditor.   
      
   The audit recommends that the state Legislature require that the council   
   report spending plans and outcomes of state funded homelessness programs   
   annually and to make that information public. It recommends a type of   
   “scorecard” to track the success of programs.   
      
   The council consists of state officials including Health and Human   
   Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly and California Department of Corrections   
   and Rehabilitation Secretary Jeff Macomber.   
      
   The governor’s office referred questions about the audit to the California   
   Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, which cited a law Newsom   
   signed in 2021 that requires entities receiving state homeless funds to   
   collect data. Since the law took effect last year, the California   
   Interagency Council on Homelessness has made “significant progress,”   
   spokesperson Russ Heimerich said in an email.   
      
   “The State Auditor’s findings highlight the significant progress made in   
   recent years to address homelessness at the state level, including the   
   completion of a statewide assessment of homelessness programs. But it also   
   underscores a need to continue to hold local governments accountable, who   
   are primarily responsible for implementing these programs and collecting   
   data on outcomes that the state can use to evaluate program   
   effectiveness,” he wrote on behalf of the California Interagency Council   
   on Homelessness.   
      
   The response echoes frustrations among state and local leaders over which   
   level of government is responsible for solving California’s homeless   
   problem. In 2022, Newsom got tough on mayors when he rejected every local   
   homeless action plan in the state, deeming them not ambitious enough.   
      
   Out of five state programs analyzed, auditors found that two were likely   
   cost effective: Project Homekey — Newsom’s COVID driven project to convert   
   hotels into housing — and the CalWORKs Housing Support Program, which   
   offers financial assistance and other services to low income residents.   
   The others analyzed, including a state rental assistance program, could   
   not be reviewed because “the state has not collected sufficient data on   
   the outcomes of these programs,” according to auditors.   
      
   “Collecting and reporting all state homelessness programs’ financial data   
   allows for more complete and timely information about the state’s overall   
   spending on homelessness. It also makes possible greater coordination of   
   homelessness programs’ funding and may enable cost-effectiveness   
   comparisons,” the audit stated.   
      
   Based on the data available, the audit also revealed that most people   
   involved in state programs are placed into interim housing such as   
   shelters and do not end up in permanent housing.   
      
   A bipartisan group of lawmakers including state Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San   
   Jose) and Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) requested that the Joint   
   Legislative Audit Committee authorize a state audit of the efficacy of   
   state homeless funding last year as California’s unhoused population — the   
   nation’s largest — has continued to grow despite record state funding   
   invested to combat it.   
      
   “The biggest conclusion that the auditors came back with is there’s just   
   inadequate transparency and data and information available,” Cortese told   
   reporters in Sacramento on Tuesday.   
      
   Cortese said the audit will act as a blueprint for the Legislature to   
   consider stricter reporting on homelessness spending in the future and   
   said it should not deter the state from funding homelessness responses.   
      
   “I think our constituents want us to continue to invest, and I think our   
   constituents are going to want us to continue to audit the effectiveness   
   of our efforts,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a time to stop.”   
      
   State Republicans chastised the Newsom administration for the lack of data   
   and said it’s proof that Democrat-backed strategies are not working as the   
   state grapples with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.   
      
   “California is facing a concerning paradox: despite an exorbitant amount   
   of dollars spent, the state’s homeless population is not slowing down,”   
   Sen. Roger Niello (R-Roseville) said in a statement. “These audit results   
   are a wake-up call for a shift toward solutions that prioritize self-   
   sufficiency and cost effectiveness.”   
      
   Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), chair of the Joint   
   Legislative Audit Committee, said Tuesday he plans to conduct an oversight   
   hearing to “further investigate” the audit results.   
      
   Tuesday’s audit comes just weeks after voters approved Proposition 1,   
   Newsom’s $6.4-billion bond measure that aims to address one aspect of   
   homelessness by building more treatment facilities for people who have   
   problems with drug addiction or mental illness.   
      
   Another part of the audit examined spending by the cities of San José and   
   San Diego, which have both struggled to help unhoused residents. The audit   
   found that neither of those cities have “evaluated the effectiveness” of   
   their programs despite millions in funding to respond to homelessness.   
      
      
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