Auditor General Report Says Government Needs Clear Focus on Homelessness

Thursday, March 05, 2009 11:16 AM

Prince George, B.C.- The Auditor General, John Doyle, has released his report on Homelessness in B.C. and says a clear focus is needed.

Doyle noted that ministries and other government agencies are co-ordinating efforts in a number of significant areas, but overall, the Province does not have a clear strategy for reducing homelessness. "Despite putting in
place many best practice strategies and programs, government has not been successful in reducing homelessness," said Doyle.

"Given the complexity of the issue, reducing and preventing homelessness requires a long-term, co-ordinated effort by all levels of government. This starts with the Province taking a lead role and establishing a clear
focus," said Doyle.

The report notes that government's goals and objectives are poorly defined, and that no overall target for homelessness has been identified "When there are no clear goals or performance targets, accountability
for results is missing. How will we know we are successful if we have not identified success?" Also, a clear profile of B.C.'s homeless population has yet to be developed because government does not have the information it
needs to make effective decisions.

The Auditor General makes a number of recommendations to address homelessness in British Columbia including developing a comprehensive plan to address homelessness, designating an agency to lead homeless initiatives and gathering better information about the homeless population.

Key Findings and Recommendations
1. Government has not established clear direction for addressing homelessness. Government does not have a comprehensive plan for addressing homelessness. Its goals and objectives are ill-defined
and it has no overall measure or target for homelessness. Government has not identified a lead agency nor clearly assigned roles and responsibilities to the significant agencies involved in addressing homelessness. Despite these shortcomings, ministries and other government agencies are co-ordinating their efforts in a number of significant areas in recognition of the need to integrate service delivery to more effectively deal with homelessness.

2. A lack of good information hampers government's decision making. Government lacks a clear profile of the homeless population. The Province is in the process of contracting for a homeless management information system. This should enable government to better understand the ongoing needs of the homeless and how they are using programs and services. We recommend that government ensure it has comprehensive information about the numbers and needs of the homeless and the amount of services available, and that it uses this information to guide decision-making.

3. Despite government's many best practice initiatives, homelessness appears to be growing. We found that the breadth of programs government has in place in British Columbia are consistent with best practices in use in other jurisdictions. Nevertheless, homeless counts indicate that the problem is still growing in B.C. We recommend that government look at the breadth of programs it has in place and the intensity at which they are delivered to ensure they are consistent with intended results. We also recommend that government take steps to ensure people leaving health care services, child protection and correctional facilities are not homeless upon their release.

4. Government is not adequately reporting on the results of its efforts to address homelessness. We found that government's reporting on homelessness is inadequate. It has a few limited measures that together do not give a clear account of the progress being made in addressing homelessness. We recommend that government improve its reporting on the results of its work so that the public and Legislature understand whether or not progress is being achieved.

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Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 11:16 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Eagleone on March 5 2009 1:05 PM

Why do we have to tax the construction of low income rental housing?

Maybe a housing project that meets a square footage requirement for say $450 a month gets a 30% cost of project as a tax credit... and say with the same square footage for $600 a month rental gets a 10% tax credit for the project construction costs. Make some kind of sliding scale that rates a project for its tax shelter eligibility.

This would be the equivalent of the government letting the private sector met a social need for society... and as a trade off forgoing the taxes for consumption (GST & PST) and payroll ect associated with the construction of the housing units. In this way it would be far more efficient than allowing government to solve the problem with the spending side of tax dollars collected.

Posted by: He speaks on March 5 2009 1:46 PM

Eagleone, good idea on the first part.

But really should not play around with the GST,PST issues.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on March 5 2009 4:51 PM

I agree for the most part Eagleone, and I also I think the Auditor General is right on all counts.
Unfortunately,Doyle is also assuming the Campbell government gives a damn.
I think they could care less about the homeless, considering they only began to make serious changes once it started getting close to election time.
If they would listen to what Doyle is saying and act, it would be great,but I doubt that is going to happen.
Listening is not one of the Campbell governments strong points.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on March 5 2009 11:08 PM

"..We also recommend that government take steps to ensure people leaving correctional facilities are not homeless upon their release..."

The new society. Upon finishing school, commit a crime and go to jail. When you get out the government will give you a place to live and a cheque every month. Cool! Crime does pay.

Posted by: Eagleone on March 6 2009 2:51 AM

He speaks I agree with your assessment aboutthe GST and PST kind of thing... thats why I think to eliminate the bureaucracy from the solution we should have a sliding scale for a tax credit to the builder for x-size of units rented at x-price per unit guaranteed for x-years into the future.

In this way the builder still pays GST and PST and income taxes and transfer taxes and permits and ect ect... business as usual, but if their project mets the public need as per the sliding scale they would receive a tax credit (money directly back not a deduction) of up to say 30%, which would cover the implied costs of the taxes paid to make the project happen.

In this way a do good home builder can engineer a project to met the needy homeless and approach the bank with some certainty that upon completion they will get 30% back to underpin the equity in the project with the rest financed by the needy renters.

In theory then the private bank could lend the full 100% cost of the project to the home builder knowing the tax credit is leaned to them... the home builder is in effect only risking 70% of the project cost... the money is not going through government inflation processes when funds are taxed and then spent by government... its revenue neutral for the government because the taxes to pay the tax credit are collected from the project going forward, where as without the tax credit the project never happens in the first place... the private sector economy creates the value and is regulated by the algebraic equation that governs their eligibility for a tax credit.

I see it as a win win from every angle, but government greed and government employees that run our government will see it as a threat to their empires, so that will be what drives policy and not the need of free enterprise or the needy homeless.

Time Will Tell

PS unleashing the hounds of low income construction is only a good thing for the BC economy, our lumber industry, creates jobs and homes, and in doing so addresses security issues for everyone.