Two weeks ago we questioned whether Los Angeles County’s new count of 90,000 homeless was inflated. We argued 1) the agency taking the count had an interest in maximizing the number; 2) one out of one hundred LA County residents homeless? seems high, and inconsistent with other counties; 3) no explanation for massive jumps from last estimates, and 4) poor definition of tems.

Today we learn that it’s time to pay the bill for the media and politician’s lack of skepticism:

Following a recent count that found more than 90,000 people living on the streets, Los Angeles County political leaders have decided to step up efforts to put an end to homelessness.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors set aside $24.6 million to attack the stubborn problem, the largest single investment of local funds ever by the county or the city.

The allocation is a small piece of the county’s $19.6-billion budget, but it represents a shift in thinking about an issue that has long failed to engage the attention of most elected officials.

Struck by the numbers, officials want to move services away from managing the problem and toward ending it.

… And the city of Los Angeles may soon follow suit. Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa was appalled by the large street count …

“I viewed the county’s allocation as a historic turning point,” said Mitchell Netburn, executive director of the homeless services authority, who in the past has criticized local leaders for apathy and lack of commitment.

“When the city committed $4 million a few years ago to year-round shelter, that was a big step up, but this really took it to the next quantum level,” Netburn said. “It’s heartening to see the county really finally beginning to put together resources to address this huge tragedy we have.”

So — the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority ‘finds’ dramatically more homeless people than previous counts, and is rewarded with increased attention and funding. The Authority completes its bureaucratic trifecta by getting more power — the Times reports “proposals include remaking the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the 11-year-old city-county agency that administers homeless funds, to be more directly involved in policymaking …”

More funding + more visibility + more power? This is, if nothing else, a beautiful piece of political theater that will be studied and copied by agency heads for years. Next steps? When it’s time to fund the Authority next year, expect to hear that “we’re making progress, but not enough” — a ‘problem’ that will allegedly be cured by a yet higher budget.

And if the whole structure is built on suspect data? The answer from the media and elected officials seems to be that there’s no benefit to asking such questions — best leave it alone.

[Update: we also posted on this here.]

Technorati Tags: LA Times, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times, media, politics, homeless

This entry was posted on Monday, June 27th, 2005 at 7:53 am by A Senior Administration Official and is filed under California Schemin', Los Angeles Times, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.