Los Angeles County Supervisors Set to Vote on Revamping Homelessness Agency

March 16, 2025 TruthUSA

Following an audit that revealed an agency lost track of over $2 billion, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on the establishment of a new department.

The Board will cast its vote on April 1 regarding a comprehensive overhaul of its homeless funding.

This was announced on March 13 and is spearheaded by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger. If approved, this motion would initiate the creation of a new department responsible for managing homeless services, aiming to improve upon the existing framework provided by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which is overseen by both the city and county.

The $300 million in taxpayer dollars currently managed by LAHSA is expected to be transferred back to the county and reallocated to the new department tasked with providing essential services such as feeding, clothing, and sheltering the homeless community in Los Angeles.

Initiatives to rework how homelessness services are delivered in Los Angeles County gained momentum on November 26, 2024, when the Board of Supervisors voted to explore the possibility of forming a Blue-Ribbon Commission on Homelessness (BRCH), concluding that such an initiative is viable.

The county aims to replace LAHSA, which has faced criticism for alleged mismanagement and inefficiencies, with the intent to ameliorate the homelessness crisis in the city.

“This presents an opportunity for the County to reflect on previous missteps and construct a care system designed for success and better service for those in need,” the motion asserts.

The newly formed department will be responsible for coordinating a joint administrative team by April 25, overseeing the transition and managing the Greater Los Angeles Continuum of Care for individuals experiencing homelessness. As part of this effort, county funds will be shifted from LAHSA to the county.

The resolution comes after an independent audit published on March 6 indicated that LAHSA had mismanaged billions intended for homelessness services.

The audit, authorized by federal District Judge David O. Carter and conducted by Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services (A&M), was unable to account for how LAHSA expended approximately $2.3 billion allocated for shelters, food, and varied services aimed at the homeless.

“Repetitive information gaps, coupled with a dearth of accurate and comprehensive data and documentation, presented significant challenges to this assessment,” the report stated.

“Lack of financial accountability hindered efforts to trace substantial funds designated for City Programs. The fragmented data systems between LAHSA, the City, and the County, along with inconsistent reporting methods, complicated the verification of spending and the reported number of beds or units by the City and LAHSA, which in turn obstructed the tracking of participant outcomes and alignment of financial data with performance metrics.”

A&M noted that crucial stakeholders failed to oversee homelessness initiatives adequately. The audit also revealed that LAHSA was unable to validate whether services were rendered for billed items.

“The absence of standardized data practices and real-time oversight escalated the risk of resource misallocation and restricted the capacity to assess the genuine impact of homelessness assistance services,” the report elaborates.

In response, LAHSA stated that they had already identified similar issues back in 2021.

“This audit highlights the disjointed and fragmented character of our region’s homeless response, which has led to poor data quality and integration, a lack of clarity in contracts, and fragmented services that serve as significant barriers to success and oversight. LAHSA’s own Ad Hoc Committee on Governance reached the same conclusion in 2021,” a spokesperson for LAHSA informed The Epoch Times. “Since then, LAHSA has advocated for the creation of a regional entity to enforce collaboration among the City, County, and LAHSA, much like what the audit instructed.”

In November 2024, LAHSA and the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office conducted a review of LAHSA, which was initiated upon a request from the Board of Supervisors in February 2024. LAHSA was granted $82.5 million through Measure H in the form of cash advances. Of this amount, LAHSA allocated $50.8 million to various subcontractors but failed to formalize repayment agreements and could recoup only $2.5 million by July 8, 2024. Furthermore, the review indicated that LAHSA could not provide thorough contract data.

“LAHSA may not be in a position to recover all advances and thus may not repay the County the complete $82.5 million in Measure H funds advanced,” the county review report warned.

“Moreover, due to a lack of established standards for conducting and documenting the results of contract monitoring reviews, it was not possible to ascertain whether LAHSA adequately monitored all contracts to ensure that subrecipients adhered to their contractual obligations.”

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