Council looking at contract for review of homeless services

On Thursday, City Council will decide whether to authorize a $2 million contract with McKinsey & Company, Inc. to provide “a comprehensive review of homelessness strategies, programs, and services.” It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that they will approve the contract, but at Tuesday’s brief work session, Council Member Ryan Alter said analyzing the work of each entity involved in trying to help people experiencing homelessness is “an incredibly important scope of work.” He said the study would help “to ensure that we are not overlapping or wasting a precious resource, especially as it relates to homelessness.” In response to a question from Council Member Chito Vela, Mayor Kirk Watson said McKinsey would analyze the work done not only by the city, but also by Travis County and Central Health. According to meeting notes related to the Council agenda, “The objective of this comprehensive review is to assess the effectiveness of the strategies, programs, and services provided by the City of Austin and other partners, which may include Central Health, Travis County, Integral Care, and The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School (‘Healthier Austin Partners’ or ‘Partners’) to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.”