By Mackenzie Mays | LA Times
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%.
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1 Comment
What better way to embezzle or distribute millions of dollars in other areas than to claim your spending billions on “homelessness” then let the circus begin. It’s genius. And nobody will be the wiser or be able to prove it didn’t go where it was supposed to.