The Honolulu City Council has unanimously adopted Resolution 109, initiating a performance audit of the city’s Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement (CORE) program and the Honolulu Emergency Services Department (HESD). This decision, made on October 18, 2023, aims to enhance accountability, transparency, and efficiency within the city’s response to homelessness.
The CORE program, established in 2021, is designed to provide swift, island-wide crisis responses and social service referrals while reducing the reliance on police for dealing with homelessness. The Council believes that a thorough audit is necessary to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. According to the resolution, the goal is to refine the city’s emergency and crisis response systems.
Andria Tupola, the Council’s Vice Chair who introduced the resolution, highlighted the need to assess whether the city is achieving the desired outcomes with the funding allocated to CORE. She acknowledged the program’s positive impact as a non-law enforcement, health-centered response but pointed out that feedback from experts indicates significant areas for potential improvement.
“We want to provide effective solutions for homelessness,” Tupola stated. “The entire county relies on us to have the best tools available, and refining our approach will enhance both cost-efficiency and impact.”
The resolution’s introduction follows concerns raised about the program’s structure and efficacy. In written testimony, Josh Frost, a policy advocate with the ACLU of Hawaii, expressed that while CORE is crucial for addressing ongoing public health and housing crises, it is under-resourced and inadequately managed. Frost noted that the program is primarily staffed by paramedics who lack extensive training in crisis response and that there are no trained social workers in management positions.
The city administration has responded cautiously to the audit request. In an August 19 letter to the Council, Mike Formby, Honolulu’s Managing Director, suggested that understanding community concerns could help HESD enhance its services. He mentioned that if there are concrete issues that can be addressed promptly, the administration is open to making changes.
The deliberation surrounding the audit has been influenced by the contentious process to reconfirm Dr. James Ireland as the head of HESD. Ireland has faced scrutiny regarding low morale and chronic understaffing within the department. Despite these challenges, he secured support from various stakeholders, including Governor Josh Green, who defended Ireland’s leadership.
The approved audit will commence in approximately two weeks, with Troy Shimasaki, the acting city auditor, indicating that it will take about a year to complete. The audit will involve comprehensive review and analysis, similar to a previous audit conducted on the Honolulu Fire Department’s Fire Plans Review Revolving Fund, which revealed inadequate safeguards against potential misuse of public funds.
As the audit unfolds, it aims to shed light on the effectiveness of the CORE program and offer recommendations for improving the city’s overall response to homelessness. The findings may ultimately influence how resources are allocated and managed in providing necessary support to vulnerable populations in Honolulu.
