State and regional agencies charged with providing housing and services to address the crisis of more than 150,000 homeless people in California have failed to keep track of how billions of dollars are being spent, don’t adhere to federal policies and need better coordination to be effective, a report released Thursday, Feb. 11, by the state auditor said.

The report issued by State Auditor Elaine M. Howle, “Homelessness in California,” looks at California’s Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, an arm of the state government established in 2017 with the chief task of coordinating state and federal funding earmarked to address homelessness – an amount that has added up to about $13 billion over the past three years.

California has the nation’s largest homeless population; the majority of those people, more than 100,000, have no shelter.

“Although the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (homeless council) was created, in part, to coordinate existing funding and establish partnerships with stakeholders to develop strategies to end homelessness, it has not done so,” Howle wrote.

“As a result, the State continues to lack a comprehensive understanding of its spending to address homelessness, the specific services the programs provide, or the individuals who receive those services.”

The report can be found at auditor.ca.gov/reports/2020-112/index.

Those state and federal dollars are allocated to geographic “Continuum of Care” networks that can encompass several cities, an entire county or more than one county, and typically include government agencies, nonprofits, school districts and other organizations. The “CoCs,” as they are known, are charged with addressing homelessness in their defined areas.

But, the state audit found, the regional networks are not consistent in meeting regulations or following best practices in “identifying, planning for, and provided services.”

California should mimic other states to centralize oversight of the myriad efforts to address homelessness and perhaps develop a statewide strategic plan, the audit recommends, and the homeless council should collect and track program funding and data from “all state agencies” involved in addressing homelessness.

The report also warns that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to make homelessness in California worse.

The audit more closely reviewed five such CoCs, including the system of care for homeless people in Riverside County. The other areas examined were: Fresno‑Madera, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Mendocino.

“Some do not have comprehensive plans with strategies to address homelessness, some still manually conduct counts and record data, and some lack a dedicated hotline for assisting the homeless,” the report said.

And, according to the audit, none of the five networks knows whether they have enough service providers to meet the needs of homeless people in their region.

Riverside County, the report said, has yet to do an analysis to see where it has gaps in services, although the Riverside CoC plans to complete its first such “gaps analysis” by July. And Riverside County, along with the Fresno CoC, also did not have a comprehensive plan outlining the strategies and plans of action it is undertaking to prevent and address homelessness.

The report includes responses from a Continuum of Care representative from each of the five regions studied for the audit.

In an emailed statement to the Southern California News Group, Riverside County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said Thursday that the county is still reviewing the report “and notes that the (county’s Continuum of Care approach) to addressing homelessness is unified among several county programs and partner agencies.”

Last March, the county created a stand-alone department to create a unified approach to homelessness, Federico said. “The consolidation of different programs into one department streamlines countywide services, making it easier for Riverside County residents experiencing homelessness and stakeholders to participate in programs.”

Almost 900 homeless people have been sheltered in hotels and motels through the county’s version of Project Roomkey, with 301 later being placed in permanent housing, Federico added.

Staff writer Jeff Horseman contributed to this report.

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