East SBV Times

Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) has formally requested Governor Gavin Newsom to sign Assembly Bill 2903 (Hoover), which seeks to improve transparency and accountability in California's homelessness programs. The bill requires state agencies managing these programs to annually report cost and outcome data to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH), with the information being publicly accessible by April 1, 2026.

"While addressing homelessness is a critical priority for our state, we must also ensure that we are tracking the effectiveness of these programs and ensuring taxpayer funds are being used efficiently,” said Senator Ochoa Bogh, principal coauthor of AB 2903. “This bill will provide essential oversight to ensure these programs are achieving their intended outcomes.”

A recent State Auditor report highlighted insufficient data to assess the effectiveness of current homelessness reduction programs.

California has allocated over $24 billion towards homelessness initiatives in the past five years. Despite these investments, the number of unhoused individuals in the state has risen to over 181,000.

Key findings from the state homeless audit include:

- Cal-ICH “has not tracked and reported on the State’s funding for homelessness programs since its 2023 assessment covering fiscal years 2018–19 through 2020–21. Currently, it has no plans to perform a similar assessment in the future. In the absence of an up-to-date assessment, the State and its policymakers are likely to struggle to understand homelessness programs’ ongoing costs and achieved outcomes.”

- Cal-ICH “has not established a consistent method for gathering information on homelessness programs’ costs and outcomes. As a result, the State lacks information that would allow it to make data-driven policy decisions and identify gaps in services.”

- Cal-ICH “has neither ensured the accuracy of the information in the state data system nor has it used this information to evaluate homelessness programs’ success."

The lack of such data complicates efforts to evaluate whether certain initiatives are successful, need adjustments, or should be discontinued.

“Cal-ICH is responsible for coordinating and evaluating the many agencies working to prevent and end homelessness. It is only logical that they compile and report data so the public can assess the progress being made,” added Senator Ochoa Bogh.

Senator Ochoa Bogh strongly encourages Governor Newsom to sign AB 2903 into law to ensure accountability and transparency in state-funded homelessness programs.