Newsom remains critical of California’s local response to homelessness. He should look in the mirror – Orange County Register

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom reiterated one of his favorite complaints: local officials aren’t doing enough to reduce the scourge of homelessness in California.

While renewing annual local government grants to address what Californians consider one of the state’s most vexing problems, Newsom imposed two new layers of state oversight for anti-virus programs. the homeless.

He said the Department of Housing and Community Development would keep tabs on local officials. If they are not diligent enough, they could be subject to legal action by the Department of Justice.

“What happens in the streets must be a top priority,” Newsom said. “People need to see and feel the progress and the changes and if they don’t…I’m not interested in maintaining the status quo.

“The failure of financing no longer interests me,” he added. “So I’m going to speak for myself, just for a guy who still has three cycles of ownership ahead of him. I want to see results. Everyone wants to see results.

So, one wonders whether Newsom’s oft-expressed complaints about local residents are justified, or is he gaslighting – attempting to shift political responsibility from an ever-increasing number of homeless people to someone else?

On paper, the state already has a mechanism for coordinating and monitoring homelessness programs. It’s called the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, or Cal ICH, and most of its members are Newsom appointees.

If the governor is looking for someone to blame, he might start by looking in the mirror.

Earlier this month, State Auditor Grant Parks released a highly critical report on Cal ICH, saying that in the three years since a previous audit found the state was not coordinating effective efforts to combat homelessness, the agency “failed to continue to monitor and report on this situation.” information since that time.

“Furthermore, it has failed to align its action plan to tackle homelessness with its statutory objectives, nor has it ensured that accurate, complete and comparable financial information and results are collected from programs to combat homelessness. Until Cal ICH takes these crucial steps, the state will lack up-to-date information it can use to make data-driven policy decisions on how to effectively reduce homelessness.

In response to Newsom’s periodic complaints about management shortcomings by local officials, they responded similarly, saying it is impossible to establish ongoing programs to help homeless people obtain housing and treatment for underlying issues, such as mental illness and substance abuse, as long as the state only sends money one year at a time.

It’s a valid argument, as is their assertion that a federal appeals court ruling bars them from clearing encampments unless they can provide alternative housing — and Newsom, while emphasizing the shortcomings local officials, actually agrees with them on this point.