$24 Billion Effort to Combat Homelessness in California
Recent Audit Raises Concerns about Accountability
According to Audacy, California has spent a huge $24 billion over five years trying to help homelessness in California. However, a recent audit found that they didn’t keep good track of where all that money went and if it helped homelessness in California. State Auditor Grant Parks said they need to do a better job of checking if the programs they spend money on are working. While they know how many people got housing, UCLA law professor Gary Blasi says they don’t know if those people can stay housed which is important.
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Calls for Greater Accountability in Homelessness in California Spending
Blasi says it’s not just about spending money, they need to make sure it helps reduce homelessness in California. But it’s hard because they don’t have a good system to collect and analyze all the needed information. It’s not common for the government to check if the money they spend actually helps fix problems. Furthermore, there’s talk of doing more checks at different levels of government like cities and counties to make sure the money is used wisely. This comes after a judge ordered an audit of a program in Los Angeles meant to help homelessness in California people showing a trend toward more oversight and accountability.