SACRAMENTO – Today Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) announced the release of the State Auditor’s bipartisan audit of homelessness spending that he jointly requested with Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), and Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley).
The focus of the audit was to determine whether or not recent investments in solving the state’s growing homelessness crisis have been effective at the state and local level.
“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,” said Assemblyman Josh Hoover. “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 audit is published in the following two reports, one focused on assessing spending in five state programs and the other focused on assessing spending by two local governments:
- “Homelessness in California: The State Must Do More to Assess the Cost-Effectiveness of Its Homelessness Programs”
- “Homelessness in California: San Jose and San Diego Must Do More to Plan and Evaluate Their Efforts to Reduce Homelessness”
The key takeaways from the State Auditor’s report include:
- The state has failed to systemically track homelessness spending and is not adequately positioned to collect data and assess outcomes
- Without changes to increase transparency and reporting, policymakers will not be able to properly assess the effectiveness of its homelessness programs
- Only two of the five state programs could provide enough information to assess their cost effectiveness
- Neither San Jose or San Diego centrally tracks and reports its spending and outcomes
- Neither city has evaluated the effects of its homelessness programs
- Both cities have sent funding to outside service providers, but have done nothing to assess whether these service providers are getting results
“Our current approach to homelessness is failing to get the results our communities need,” Assemblyman Josh Hoover added. “What this audit clearly shows is that the state continues to prioritize spending taxpayer dollars over getting actual results. We have to act to improve transparency and change this narrative.”
Since 2018 California has spent over $20 billion taxpayer dollars to solve the current homelessness crisis. During that same period the state’s overall homeless population increased by 32 percent and half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless now live in California. In Sacramento County alone, the homeless population has grown by 67% since 2019 and recently passed San Francisco.
Josh Hoover represents Assembly District 7, which includes the cities of Citrus Heights, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova and the unincorporated communities of Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Foothill Farms, Gold River, Mather, McClellan Park, North Highlands, Orangevale, and Rosemont.
Related
- Feb 16 – Hoover and Patterson Introduce “Beyond Housing” Measure to Address Homelessness
- Feb 6 – Bill Seeks to Compassionately Clear Homeless Encampments
1 comment
I find it interesting that this report was released after the vote for prop 1 was done. Let’s spend billions more to pad the pockets of non-profits. Good job, California.
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