The City of Sacramento Auditor this week presented to the City Council a performance audit of the City of Sacramento’s Motel Program, a non-congregate emergency shelter initiative serving families experiencing homelessness.

The audit, part of the Auditor’s 2024/25 Work Plan, identified operational and oversight challenges while also noting areas where participants reported positive experiences.

“Our audit focused on how well the City Motel Program is meeting its responsibilities to the participants, including the overall effectiveness of assisting participants move to permanent housing,” said City Auditor Farishta Ahrary.

According to the audit, 32% of participants who exited the program since its inception in 2020 have moved into permanent housing, a rate that “exceeds the performance of comparable shelter programs.” While many participants expressed satisfaction with the program, the audit identified limited issues with room conditions, inconsistent delivery of services, and challenges in evaluating the program’s overall effectiveness due to gaps in data.

Key audit findings

The audit identified six key findings:

• Finding 1: Over the duration of the City Motel Program, 32 percent of exited participants have secured permanent housing.
• Finding 2: Participants reported satisfaction with the CMP; however, reported issues with room conditions and inconsistent service delivery indicate operational challenges that may impact overall program effectiveness.
• Finding 3: Inaccurate and incomplete data entry undermines the reliability of key data fields that qualify program performance. Limitations in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) impede the City’s ability to assess participation and assistance levels.
• Finding 4: The City Motel Program’s design as an emergency shelter limits the City’s ability to comprehensively address the full range of participant needs, contributing to extended stays and reduced turnover of motel rooms.
• Finding 5: Opportunities exist to more intensely use case management to prepare participants for housing, connect them to needed services, and increase the number of participants served.
• Finding 6: While the City has effectively taken steps to review invoices and minimize unauthorized payments, opportunities remain to strengthen processes to ensure invoices include sufficient information to support the accuracy and appropriateness of payments.

Department response

The Department of Community Response (DCR), which manages the program, agreed with all 15 recommendations outlined in the report. The department stated in the report that many of the improvements are either underway or already implemented, including:

• Launching a new monthly Shelter Performance Report in March 2025.
• Working with Sacramento Steps Forward to add new data fields to HMIS for tracking housing readiness and financial support.
• Requiring service providers to upload housing plans and lease documentation to improve accountability.

DCR also emphasized the complexity of addressing homelessness and noted that many improvements are limited by system-wide resource constraints, particularly in the availability of affordable and permanent supportive housing.

The full audit report and response are available through the Office of the City Auditor.