California's Billion Dollar Bailout To Homeless People Ends With MORE Homeless People

California spends an astounding amount of money to "combat homelessness". Presumably.

California has failed to adequately monitor the outcomes of its vast spending on homelessness programs, according to a state audit released Tuesday, raising questions about whether billions of dollars meant to thwart the crisis has been worth it as the number of people living unsheltered has soared.

A new report from the California State Auditor’s Office found that a state council created to oversee the implementation of homelessness programs has not consistently tracked spending or the outcomes of those programs.

“The state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs,” California State Auditor Grant Parks said in a letter sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers Tuesday accompanying the audit.

I know this is a crazy question to ask, but does all that spending actually do anything to reduce the amount of homelessness?

California has spent $20 billion over the past five years dedicated to the state’s homelessness crisis, including funneling money toward supporting shelters and subsidizing rent. Still, homelessness grew 6% in 2023 from the year prior, to more than 180,000 people, according to federal “point in time” data. Since 2013, homelessness has grown in California by 53%.

The California Interagency Council on Homelessness — created in 2016 to oversee the state’s implementation of programs dedicated to the worsening crisis — has not ensured the accuracy of the information in a state data system and has not evaluated homelessness programs’ success, according to the state auditor.

Out of five state programs analyzed, auditors found that two were likely cost effective: Project Homekey — Newsom’s COVID driven project to convert hotels into housing — and the CalWORKs Housing Support Program, which offers financial assistance and other services to low income residents. The others analyzed, including a state rental assistance program, could not be reviewed because “the state has not collected sufficient data on the outcomes of these programs,” according to auditors.

Based on the data available, the audit also revealed that most people involved in state programs are placed into interim housing such as shelters and do not end up in permanent housing.
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