California Republican leaders said in an audit released earlier this week that the state has spent about $24 billion over the past five years to combat the homelessness crisis, the massive public spending actually did something to improve the situation. They are calling for more accountability after it was shown that the company was not consistently tracking whether the problem.
The state auditor’s report found that despite spending about $24 billion on homelessness and housing programs from fiscal years 2018 to 2023, the problem hasn’t improved in many cities.
The report found, among other things, that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), which is responsible for agency coordination and allocating resources to anti-homelessness programs, stopped tracking whether the programs were working in 2021. revealed.
The audit also found that outcome data for these programs could not be collected and evaluated due to a lack of consistent methodology.
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File: A homeless tent is seen near City Hall in San Francisco, California, USA on August 29, 2022. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher placed the blame squarely on the Newsom administration.
“This is classic Gavin Newsom: making a splashy announcement, wasting a lot of taxpayer money, and not fully delivering on his accomplishments,” Gavin Newsom said in a statement to Fox News Digital. .
“Californians are tired of our homelessness crisis, but we’re even more tired of Gavin’s excuses. We need results, period, period.”
Republican state Sen. Roger Niello called the audit “alarming,” but told Fox News Digital he was “not really surprised.”
“One problem I felt with the audit was that it focused primarily on housing and shelter issues, which is certainly important, but not just putting people in shelters but also moving people out of homelessness. “There’s very little mention of the actual outcome of rescue,” he said. “It’s kind of half the job, but maybe not half the job. So I was a little disappointed.”
Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese, who requested the audit last year after touring a large homeless encampment in San Jose, said the audit “requires better data and greater transparency at both the state and local level.” It brought out sexuality.”
Daniel LeBleu of Urban Alchemis is cleaning a sidewalk at the intersection of Jones Street and Turk Street early in the morning in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, when police find a homeless person still sleeping. I reported it to. (Getty Images)
“Unfortunately, the approach to data collection and outcomes is fragmented and there is no centralized system to track investments,” he said. “This audit highlights the urgent need to establish best practices and create a blueprint for how California and our cities can address our most visible challenges. Masu.”
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Former MLB All-Star Steve Garvey, who is running as a Republican against U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff in the California Senate race, said it will take “real political courage” to make the necessary changes.
“From day one, I have advocated for a federal audit of California’s homelessness crisis,” he said. “I’m glad the country is doing this, but we need real political courage now to make the necessary changes. Unhoused people and taxpayers need real money, not more failed policies. There should be consequences.”
Despite the audit’s findings, California ICH said it improved its data collection after AB 977 went into effect on January 1, 2023. The law requires recipients of state-funded homeless assistance programs to enter certain data elements related to individuals and families into local data centers. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
Still, the California ICH shifts responsibility to local governments, stating that these local governments have “primary responsibility for implementing these programs and collecting data on outcomes that the state can use to evaluate program effectiveness.” “There is a need to take more responsibility,” he said.
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“The Council is committed to improving its ability to ensure that taxpayer funds are used wisely and effectively, including by providing technical assistance to local jurisdictions to help harmonize data standards and reporting. ” said California ICH.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
