It didn’t require an audit for Californians to know the state’s homelessness efforts are poorly coordinated. However a report launched final month from the state auditor has at the least prompted state lawmakers to lastly do their jobs and ask powerful questions.
The report evaluated the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), which is tasked with coordinating and monitoring the work of a number of state businesses charged with addressing homelessness.
With 180,000 individuals recognized to be homeless in California final yr, up 50% from 2013, the state has had a humanitarian disaster enjoying out on its streets for a very long time.
Accordingly, taxpayers have entrusted the state with billions of {dollars} on the state and native degree to unravel the issue. One may assume the state takes this accountability critically and would proceed with widespread sense, like monitoring what works and what doesn’t work to assist information the way it does issues.
However because the state auditor reported, “The state lacks present data on the continuing prices and outcomes of its homelessness applications, as a result of Cal ICH has not constantly tracked and evaluated the state’s efforts to forestall and finish homelessness.”
The auditor continued, “Cal ICH has additionally not aligned its motion plan to finish homelessness with its statutory objectives to gather monetary data and guarantee accountability and outcomes. Thus, it lacks assurance that the actions it takes will successfully allow it to attain these objectives.”
Whereas one may assume mass firings would happen because of such incompetence, the state has thus far met this report with a listening to, which is best than nothing.
On Monday, lawmakers on the Meeting funds subcommittee on accountability and oversight grilled homelessness officers and have been shocked on the lack of information available.
Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, commented, “You come to a funds committee, and there’s no numbers? How many individuals have we helped? How many individuals are off the road? … As a result of that’s what the general public desires to know. What’s the cash been spent on?”
Opined Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, “We will’t simply be shoveling cash at an issue with out realizing if we’re spending the cash properly, in essentially the most cost-effective method.”
In fact, each Assemblymembers Ting and Muratsuchi have been in workplace for a very long time and will have been placing within the work to unravel this years in the past.
Higher late than by no means.
The inadequacy of state and native responses to homelessness has been extensively documented in these pages and elsewhere for years.
Individuals are struggling and dying on the streets, however California state authorities can’t get round to creating certain that it’s assembly the problem with the seriousness it calls for.
If that is how California handles probably the most seen, harmful and large crises it might presumably have, simply think about how poorly California state authorities oversees all the pieces else it does.
Is it any marvel that California’s training system continues to wrestle? Is it any marvel that California’s transportation infrastructure is in such poor form?
California’s Democratic supermajority hasn’t bothered to ask the powerful questions on something as a result of it hasn’t needed to. Elected officers wish to pat themselves on the again for throwing cash round however don’t trouble ensuring they’re doing any good.
It’s time for that to alter.
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