by Deborah Imse, Multifamily NW
State officials continue to applaud themselves for standing up for vulnerable Oregonians amid the pandemic. In a recent op-ed, (“Legislators must protect families facing eviction with special session fix,” Dec. 5,) Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Portland, and Rep. Julie Fahey, D-West Eugene/Junction City, wrote of their proposal, aimed at a legislative special session this month, to extend protections against eviction for tenants waiting for the state to process their applications for rental assistance. But what the legislators should really have focused their attention on is why another failed state software system has left as many as 10,000 Oregon families facing housing instability.
Known as Allita 360, the software for processing rental assistance applications was purchased without a competitive bidding process or stakeholder input. The state has been aware of problems with the software since February when it launched a fund to compensate landlords for missed rent. Yet, it stuck with the software for the May rollout of the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program. As with the landlord fund, the emergency rental assistance program has been plagued by system crashes, ineffective notification processes, and a serious lack of clear communication from administrators. Applications have piled up, leaving renters’ requests for help in limbo for months. And landlords have spent hours — if not days – online, with no assurance that their renters’ applications had even made it into the program.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment! It has been sent to the moderator for review.