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A revealing state audit requested by Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), along with a group of bipartisan legislative colleagues, has revealed significant missteps in California's financial approach to its homelessness crisis. The audit spotlights an alarming lack of accountability for billions of dollars spent.
“The intention behind requesting this audit was clear – to uncover the root causes of the ongoing crisis and identify viable solutions,” said Senator Ochoa Bogh. “This audit marks a pivotal moment in reassessing the state’s strategy and calls for a reinvigorated, accountable action plan to address the growing crisis effectively.”
California has allocated over $24 billion towards homelessness initiatives in the last five years. Despite these substantial investments, the number of unhoused individuals in the state has continued to rise, now exceeding 181,000.
Some key findings from the state homeless audit include:
- The state "has not tracked and reported on the State’s funding for homelessness programs since its 2023 assessment covering fiscal years 2018–19 through 2020–21. Currently, it has no plans to perform a similar assessment in the future. In the absence of an up to date assessment, the State and its policymakers are likely to struggle to understand homelessness programs’ ongoing costs and achieved outcomes."
- ·The state "has not established a consistent method for gathering information on homelessness programs’ costs and outcomes. As a result, the State lacks information that would allow it to make data driven policy decisions and identify gaps in services."
- ·The state "has neither ensured the accuracy of the information in the state data system, nor has it used this information to evaluate homelessness programs’ success."
Click here to read the full audit.