California spent billions to combat homelessness without tracking if it worked, audit says

(TND) — California spent billions of dollars to combat homelessness without checking to see whether the vast spending programs were actually working, according to a state audit released this week.

The state spent $24 billion to address its homelessness crisis over the last five years to deal with a problem that is increasingly frustrating for the people who live in the nation’s largest states, especially in some of its major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. California’s homelessness population accounts for about 30% of all homeless people in the U.S.

In an effort to address the crisis, state lawmakers implemented more than 30 homeless and housing programs over the last five fiscal years, adding up to a total of $24 billion. However, there weren’t enough efforts to assess whether they were effective or not.

The report also found that in some places, the problems with homelessness actually got worse.

“This report concludes that the state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs,” state auditor Grant Parks wrote in a letter to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers.

Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese, one of the lawmakers who requested the audit, said the report showed there is a “data desert.”

“This data desert leaves the Legislature and the public without a system of checks and balances to answer basic questions about the effectiveness of our programs,” Cortese said in a statement. “This audit underscores the urgent need to establish best practices and create a blueprint for how the State of California and our cities can address our most visible challenge.”

Republican state Sen. Josh Hoover, who also led the request for an audit, said it was a first step toward improving how the state is investing taxpayer funds.

“The results of this audit are a critical first step toward improving our investments, protecting taxpayers, restoring our public spaces, and getting people the help they need,” Hoover said in a statement. “Now that we have identified the ineffectiveness and limitations of our current approach, it is now necessary for the Legislature to take action and improve accountability of the dollars we are spending.”

The auditor’s report comes as Newsom has pushed state lawmakers to take more aggressive action on homelessness. Despite the billions in spending, California’s homelessness crisis has gotten worse. According to the audit, California’s homelessness population grew 32% over the last five years, and by 53% over the last 10.

Five programs that accounted for a combined $13.7 billion in funding were analyzed by the state auditor, who found that just two of them are “likely cost-effective.” Those programs were initiatives to convert hotel rooms into housing and a separate one that gives families housing assistance to keep them from becoming homeless.

The hotel room plan is a $3.6 billion investment from the state and has been a big push from the governor. According to the report, the average cost of a room at a hotel or motel is at least 2.5 times cheaper than building a new home. The housing assistance program has a much lower spending total at $760 million over the last five years, and was also found to save the state money. According to the report, the housing assistance provides an average of $12,000 to $22,000 to help low-income families stay in their home, compared to the $50,000 it would cost once they become homeless.

But the other three programs included in the audit, worth a total of $9.4 billion, didn’t even have enough data for a cost analysis to take place.

“We were unable to assess the costeffectiveness of three other programs we reviewed because the State has not collected sufficient data on the outcomes of these programs,” Parks said in his letter.

Auditors also found that issues with accountability for homelessness programs have trickled down to some cities, with San Jose and San Diego also failing to track revenue and spending.

Republican state Sen. Roger Niello told KMPH he was not surprised to read the report’s findings and that the state has struggled with transparency, accountability and tracking data.

“I'm kind of embarrassed," Niello said. "We have the highest homeless population, the highest percentage per capita of homeless, and again it's growing... I think it's a horrible reflection on not so much our local governments, but our state government and the inability to track how the money.