California needs to ensure homelessness spending is proper, timely

If it seems similar there’s truthful overmuch taxation wealth being thrown astatine the occupation of homelessness successful California that nary 1 tin support way of it, there’s present an auditor’s study suggesting that this is true.

State auditor Elaine Howle precocious reported connected programs and agencies that are designated “high risk” due to the fact that of the possibility, likelihood oregon past of waste, fraud, maltreatment and mismanagement of nationalist resources. Howle identified the state’s absorption of national COVID-19 alleviation funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Emergency Solutions Grant program, abbreviated arsenic the ESG-CV, arsenic 1 of the “high-risk” programs.

The auditor’s bureau recovered that the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) failed to administer hundreds of millions of dollars successful exigency lodging assistance for stateless radical successful a timely way, arsenic required by the national government. There’s a deadline to walk 20% of the $316 cardinal grant by September 30 oregon the national authorities whitethorn instrumentality up to $63 cardinal backmost and walk it determination else.

Since California is No. 1 successful each class of homelessness but ending it, that’s much than a small spot troubling.

However, the Department of Housing and Community Development is not troubled and responded to the auditor by disputing the report. It “focuses excessively narrowly,” the section said, “without afloat discussing the dynamic quality of the funds themselves and not accounting for the larger discourse successful which these funds are integrated successful the totality of the State’s COVID-19 response.”

It astir sounds arsenic if they’re saying they can’t beryllium disquieted astir a specified $316 cardinal erstwhile there’s truthful overmuch wealth sloshing astir the authorities for homelessness programs.

It would beryllium bully to cognize whether the wealth we’re spending is being utilized efficaciously to assistance individuals experiencing homelessness and to marque broader advancement against the increasing problem, but Howle recovered that this accusation is not available.

The auditor’s squad said the DHCD has failed to cod accusation connected outcomes, making it intolerable for policymakers to measure the effectiveness of the exigency programme and to usage that accusation to marque amended decisions astir fund and policy.

In different troubling finding, the auditor reported that the lodging section did not instrumentality critically important steps to marque definite the wealth reached the radical it was intended to assistance during the emergency. The DHCD was dilatory to finalize contracts with section “Continuum of Care” entities, causing delays successful procuring lodging and services. The section yet hired a contractor to negociate the program, but that didn’t statesman until 14 months aft Congress approved the funding.

The DHCD, according to the auditor, failed to expedite entree to the national funding, failed to negociate the funds, failed to oversee the contractor hired to negociate the funds, and failed to cod and study accusation that would let an nonsubjective valuation of the program’s success.

The DHCD responded that “many of the State of California’s programs person been held up arsenic a nationalist model” and said it is “leading efforts to code homelessness” successful the state.

A caller canvass reported that majorities of Californians of each ages, races and income levels cited homelessness arsenic an contented of precocious interest and disapproved of the governor’s handling of it. The authorities auditor’s study and the lodging department’s effect to it volition not animate greater confidence.