The Los Angeles City Controller on Monday announced plans to audit the city’s Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement program, which was launched in 2019 to maintain city streets and address encampments.
According to City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office, the performance audit is intended to examine the program’s “overall efficiency” and measure its performance against stated goals, such as removing solid and hazardous waste from public streets and providing outreach and hygiene services to people experiencing homelessness.
Mejia noted the program is funded by more than $60 million in taxpayer money.
“My office determined that an audit would bring transparency to how CARE/CARE+ uses taxpayers’ money, how well it’s performing, and how it impacts those it affects most directly — our community members who are experiencing homelessness,” Mejia said in a statement.
He also seeks to “zero in” on the program’s policies around unhoused people.
“We will create a concrete picture of whether CARE/CARE+ is an effective and humane use of over $60 million of taxpayer dollars each year,” he added.
The audit will seek to answer several questions, including:
— What is the total estimated cost to operate the program?
— How does the city make determinations about which encampments require cleanups?
— Do CARE/CARE+ cleanups result in the long-term resolution of encampments in the areas where they take place?
— Are such operations consistent with public health-focused best practices implemented in other jurisdictions?
The Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment Department’s Livability Services Division launched the CARE/CARE+ program Oct. 1, 2019. Teams conduct citywide encampment cleanups along with trash, litter, debris and other hazardous materials off of streets, alleyways and other public areas.
According to LASAN’s website, teams are deployed across three main assignments for A Bridge Home special enforcement cleaning zones, citywide services and focused service zones such as Skid Row, Venice Beach, downtown L.A. and Grand Avenue.
Housing and homeless advocates have criticized the program as violent and dehumanizing. They argue that encampment removals disrupt communities for unhoused individuals and often lead to the loss of personal belongings, including computers, medicine, clothing, memorabilia and important documents.
LASAN’s website states that personal property will be securely stored for 90 days to allow the rightful owner to retrieve it. If unclaimed within that time, the city may discard it.