As homeless numbers explode while billions in tax dollars are squandered, one thing is obvious: We need a dramatic change in allocating money.
A recent state audit found more than 30 different California programs spent $25 billion over the past several years. Yet typically, the state did not track effectiveness to determine which programs are not cost effective.
This mirrors the County of Orange. The County partners with over 200 nonprofits to provide services, but no one knows how much each one receives or what they do. In all, the county spends close to $1 billion a year on homelessness.
For this money, I don’t see any results. We are constantly talking about creating new shelters and more affordable housing but where are they?
This cannot continue. As families and businesses are driven out of state because of excessive taxation, high cost of living and low quality of life, the golden calf seems to be homeless spending without any oversight.
Seeing Orange County’s recent Point in Time count was pretty shocking – a 28% increase in homelessness from 2022. We have 7,322 homeless here and almost half live on the street. The state total is 181,000, up from 116,000 in 2015.
Over the years, I’ve authored several bills to bring accountability to our homeless spending but they have failed to pass in this partisan era. I wanted an umbrella state agency that would ferret out waste and ensure programs aren’t duplicated. Orange County is a prime example of this.
OC’s programs overlap and county officials dole out duties that can be done in-house, saying in one report that, “We are not a direct service provider… (but) dependent on the providers in the county to be able to provide those services.”
So we should try again next year. Gov. Newsom has been asking for better results and made cuts to program funding in 2022 and again this year due to poor results. But let’s go one step further – Orange County should give the funds directly to the cities, which can best decide how to combat the problem.
For example, the type of assistance that Huntington Beach needs will probably differ from Santa Ana or Fullerton. One city may need additional temporary shelter beds while another could use a dedicated police officer/mental health team. Cities can then file a yearly report detailing results with either the county. Funds will be easier to track and this alleviates a lot of layers and red tape.
At this point, Orange County’s programs and expenditures remain a mystery and an audit is overdue. At a minimum, the county should be releasing a yearly report on all of this. The state as well. It’s inconceivable that while hundreds die on our streets every year, the state audit says:
Related Articles
Todd Spitzer: The gaslighting of California
Double-Double California-Style sales tax
I put my body on the line. Will Gov. Newsom fund crime victim services?
What Ron Swanson can teach us about tax reform
George Gascón: The state must not cut funding for victim services
“California Interagency Council on Homelessness lacks current information on the ongoing costs and outcomes of its homelessness programs, because Cal ICH has not consistently tracked and evaluated the State’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness.”
It also says the state’s “lack of coordination” among programs has hampered efforts to end homelessness. Auditors asked the state to start listing spending and outcomes on its website beginning in March 2025. This is a good idea for the County of Orange as well.
A local mayor has said that for every person housed, six more become homeless. It’s obvious that building housing for everybody is not practical so let’s find out which programs work or not. If something isn’t working, we need to ask why and find new solutions.
Janet Nguyen represents the 36th Senate District, which includes half of the cities and the entire coast of Orange County and portions of Los Angeles. She has also served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and in the California State Assembly.
Leave a Reply