California auditors ripped into part of Gavin Newsom’s plan to pump millions into a youth volunteer program, saying the governor failed to properly explain why a “belonging campaign” is needed during a budget crisis that numbers in the billions.
In an unusually weepy news conference last week, Newsom announced a recruitment drive to add 10,000 participants to the California Service Corps, a statewide initiative that places volunteers in roles ranging from tutoring students and disaster response to environmental work.
“Forgive me, this is embarrassing,” Newsom said, wiping his eyes. “All the noise, we just need to turn off. Listen to this — this is it.”
The effort is specifically aimed at pulling more young men into community service as a pathway to careers and social connection. In. a statement before the event, the governor noted that “too many boys feel isolated and without direction,” framing the initiative as part of a broader campaign to address declining employment and worsening mental health among young men.
In his State of the State speech in January, Newsom reeled off stats on the crisis for young men.
But a report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office casts shade on whether the infrastructure behind those efforts — including partnerships with outside organizations — makes sense when the state’s budget is on tilt.
“One out of seven men has no friends,” Newsom said, “and half of young men have not even asked a woman out on a date in person.” Newsom says “men are struggling, boys are struggling.”
Newsom is proposing a $5 million, one-time general fund to conduct an outreach campaign about state programs, and the goal is to help Californians develop an “improved sense of belonging.”
“Based on a lack of clarity around what problem the proposal is intending to address, why more outreach about state programs is needed, how funds would be used, or how success could be measured, we recommend the Legislature reject this proposal,” auditors wrote.
The LAO report examining California’s service programs found that the state has built out its own staffing and administrative structure to support volunteer initiatives, and it flagged concerns about oversight, coordination and long-term effectiveness.
Auditors specifically singled out a $5 million general fund for the “belonging campaign,” which would be overseen by the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, a.k.a. GO-SERVE.
“Based on a lack of clarity around what problem the proposal is intending to address, why more outreach about state programs is needed, how funds would be used, or how success could be measured, we recommend the Legislature reject the proposed $5 million for GO-SERVE to conduct a belonging campaign,” officials wrote.
“In a year with limited available general fund, we recommend the Legislature set a particularly high bar for approving new discretionary spending,” the report continued. “Yet, even were the budget condition to improve, we do not believe the administration has provided sufficient justification for the Legislature to prioritize funding this proposal.”
GO-Serve was created as part of a reorganization of the Governor’s Office starting in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The governor’s proposed 2025-26 budget includes $225 million for GO-Serve, with $184 million coming from the state’s general fund.
The governors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report panning Newsom’s “belonging campaign.”
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