A government watchdog says participation in a federal program to help struggling homeowners is “anemic”.

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said the program has failed “to put an appreciable dent in foreclosure filings.”

That assessment isn’t surprising to local foreclosure prevention counselors and attorneys who work with homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure.

In Massachusetts, foreclosure activity hasn’t really improved. Just yesterday, The Warren Group reported that foreclosures more than doubled in June from the same month last year and year-to-date foreclosures have jumped 57 percent.

Petitions to foreclose, which mark the first step in the foreclosure process, looked like they were on the decline over the last few months. But for the first half of the year, they’re only down 3.4 percent from the same months in 2009.