1 A Report from the City Auditor
Issued October 2025
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor
Presenters: Joe Rois, City Auditor
Gitanjali Mandrekar, Assistant City Auditor
Michelle Mallari, Program Performance Auditor II
Adrian Perez, Program Performance Auditor II
October 28, 2025 City Council Agenda Item 3.3
HOMELESSNESS COORDINATION:
EXPANDING OUTREACH, STRENGTHENING GRANT
OVERSIGHT , AND ALIGNING PERFORMANCE GOALS CAN
IMPROVE THE CITY’S RESPONSE
Background
2 • Homelessness continues to be a top concern
for San José residents
• Preliminary results from the 2025 Point-in-
Time (PIT) Count placed San José’s total
homeless population at 6,503
• There are limited resources across the
housing continuum, from outreach workers
to interim housing to affordable housing
opportunities
Point-in-Time Counts for San José’s
Homeless Population
Source: Auditor summary of city point-in-time counts
*2025 point-in time counts based on preliminary results Background
3 Explore San José's internal departmental structure related to homelessness response including but not limited to cleanups, abatements, lived-in vehicles, biowaste, jurisdictional issues pertaining to land ownership, access to County/State
services, etc.
i. Assess coordination of activities across City
departments, the County, and the City's service
providers
ii. Benchmark how other jurisdictions and municipalities are addressing homelessness outside of the housing
first/permanent supportive housing models
In June 2024, Council
directed our office to
conduct an audit related
to the City’s efforts
around homelessness
Background
4 • Many departments are involved directly or
indirectly with the City’s homelessness
response
• For FY 2025-26, the City budgeted $151.5
million for homelessness programs
• City maintains agreements with multiple
regional partners to coordinate responses to
homelessness
• The regional Continuum of Care is primarily
administered by the County Office of
Supportive Housing
City priorities in its homelessness response:
• Increasing shelter production
• Maintaining high interim shelter utilization
• Abating and enforcing no encampment
zones in waterways
• Reducing Tier 3 encampments
• Managing oversized and lived-in vehicles
Background
5 • The City’s structure mirrors other jurisdictions, with one central department/agency overseeing their
homeless response
• All jurisdictions reported following the Housing First Model, with most making investments in shorter-
term housing like transitional housing and safe
parking
• While all jurisdictions had a Continuum of Care, the
organizational structure varied
• Some jurisdictions have restrictions on camping in
public and private spaces
Benchmarked Jurisdictions:
City of San Diego
City of Oakland
City and County of San Francisco
City of Portland
City and County of Denver
City of San Antonio
City of Houston
Finding I: The City Can Improve Interdepartmental
Coordination and Communication
6 • Because of limited resources, the City
prioritizes outreach in pre-selected areas
• Unhoused residents outside of those areas
may not receive services, even if subject to
an abatement or when complying with the
City’s encampment policies
• SJ311 data was not used to inform
Housing’s outreach strategy
Recommendations:
→ Develop protocols to provide timely
outreach for areas impacted by
abatements and tow-away zones and
reevaluate outreach prioritization.
Finding I: The City Can Improve Interdepartmental
Coordination and Communication (cont.)
7 • Staff from many departments regularly
engage with unhoused residents
• The City has not consistently responded to
outreach requests from City staff or the
public
• The City can better communicate
expectations regarding its response to
lived-in vehicles, including timelines for
recovering personal belongings after towing
Recommendations (cont.):
→ Develop guidelines around information
provided to unhoused residents by
non-Housing staff.
→ Provide SJ311 updates to residents
even when a response is not possible.
→ Improve communication around lived-
in vehicles.
Finding 2: Improved Monitoring and Defined Responsibilities Can Strengthen Homelessness Service Delivery
8 • Housing can strengthen its grant oversight by
developing clear protocols for site visits, desk
reviews, and other activities
• Housing can also ensure consistent service
provider performance evaluation by aligning
individual agreement expectations with
broader program goals
• Public Works provided maintenance at
interim housing and safe parking sites, some
of which may have been the responsibility of
site operators
Recommendations:
→ Update grant oversight procedures
to improve grant monitoring.
→ Ensure consistency of performance
targets in service provider
agreements with City goals.
→ Clarify maintenance responsibilities
at the interim shelters and other
facilities.
Conclusion
This report has nine recommendations to improve homelessness coordination and service delivery across the City.
We would like to thank all City departments that assisted in the audit.
The audit report is available at www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor.
Audit staff: Gitanjali Mandrekar, Michelle Mallari,
Adrian Perez, Donovan T orres (Stanford in Government fellow) 9