Keep up with LAist.<\/p>\n
If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s been four months since the Los Angeles City Council voted<\/a> to explore pulling city funding from the region\u2019s top homeless services agency and setting up its own method to contract with providers directly.<\/p>\n That vote \u2014 asking city staff to report what it would take for the city to break from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA \u2014 came shortly after L.A. County voted to withdraw funding<\/a> from the regional agency and launch its own homelessness department.<\/p>\n The report is long overdue. A city staffer told LAist a few months ago that the report was expected in late April.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s chief legislative analyst told LAist the report is expected later this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI am eagerly awaiting these reports … so that council can reform the current system, including exploring the creation of a dedicated city Department of Homelessness,\u201d Councilmember Monica Rodriguez told LAist in an email.<\/p>\n Rodriguez proposed the motion<\/a> to direct staff to draft the report.<\/p>\n She and other L.A. council members said this month that they\u2019ve had no further discussions about the potential move since the council voted in April.<\/p>\n What’s the hold up?<\/p>\n Sharon Tso, the city\u2019s chief legislative analyst, told LAist the report would be released before the end of the legislative recess, which is scheduled to end July 29.<\/p>\n The report is expected to outline ways that the city can contract directly with homeless service providers, instead of going through LAHSA.<\/p>\n City officials are also watching the county closely as it works to set up its new homelessness department. Sarah Mahin<\/a> was recently appointed<\/a> to head that department, having previously served as the director for the county\u2019s Housing for Health program.<\/p>\n Councilmember Nithya Raman in March instructed Tso to produce another report on how the county\u2019s homelessness department may affect the city\u2019s contracts with LAHSA.<\/p>\n The city set a 30-day deadline<\/a> for the report, which has passed. Tso did not have an estimate for when that report would be released. <\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI have impressed upon our reporting departments the urgency of this, but I think the reality is even the county does not fully understand what this process will look like yet,\u201d Raman said.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI think that’s probably why the report has been delayed,” she continued, “because I think there’s still a lot of unanswered questions.\u201d<\/p>\n What will happen to LAHSA?<\/p>\n LAHSA\u2019s future is unclear. L.A. County voted on April 1 to pull<\/a> $300 million in funding from the regional agency. <\/p>\n This has left it with critical budget shortfalls, resulting in layoffs<\/a> and concerns about its ability to continue providing services.<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority was established<\/a> in 1993 as a joint powers authority between the city and the county of Los Angeles to address homelessness. The agency provides services to unhoused people throughout L.A. County, connecting them with housing opportunities, healthcare, education and other resources.<\/p>\n LAHSA is also responsible for the annual point-in-time homeless count<\/a>, which provides data on the number of homeless people<\/a> living in the greater Los Angeles region.<\/p>\n Funding for LAHSA is provided primarily through a combination<\/a> of county, city, state and federal dollars. In the fiscal year that ended in June, 40% of LAHSA\u2019s funding came from the county, and 35% came from the city.<\/p>\n LAHSA’s total budget for the last fiscal year was $875 million.<\/p>\n Why did the county pull out?<\/p>\n LAHSA has been under heavy scrutiny over the past year for lacking oversight and allegations<\/a> of improper conduct at the agency.<\/p>\n A 2024 audit<\/a>, ordered by L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, found that LAHSA lacked oversight into the homelessness programs it funded. The agency was not monitoring service providers to ensure that services were provided and was regularly late in making payments to program providers.<\/p>\n That audit prompted the county Board of Supervisors to revoke its future contracts for LAHSA. <\/p>\n \u201cThe audit findings make clear the structure we have for service delivery is not working,” Horvath said at the time. “We need greater accountability and bold action.\u201d<\/p>\n The then-head of LAHSA, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, stepped down<\/a> days after to the county pulling funding.<\/p>\n Days later, the L.A. City Council voted unanimously to explore what bypassing LAHSA and contracting directly with homeless service providers would look like.<\/p>\n A separate audit<\/a> commissioned by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter uncovered similar issues, finding that there was a lack of \u201cfinancial accountability\u201d that led to an inability to accurately track spending. This audit also prompted a separate<\/a> federal investigation into homelessness spending in California more broadly.<\/p>\n