LA’s Homelessness Crisis: City and County Leaders Spar Over Using a New Approach
The future of Los Angeles’ main homelessness agency is in doubt after a recent audit revealed major accounting irregularities and spurred calls for sweeping changes. Some city and county officials are pushing to take control of homelessness funding from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and create new departments focused solely on addressing the crisis.
The LA County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider a motion this week introduced by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger that would redirect county funds away from LAHSA and into a newly created county department. Proving a dramatic shift in Los Angeles’ approach to addressing homelessness, the motion, supported by City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, comes as LAHSA battles to restore public confidence.
Rodriguez introduced a separate motion at the Los Angeles City Council calling for the city to directly contract with service providers instead of channeling funds through LAHSA.
Calls for Reform Intensify After Audit Findings
“The audit was just, for me, the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Rodriguez told LAist. “I’m tired of the people’s money being expended in a manner that has zero transparency, zero consequences for failure to perform and zero feedback on what the outcomes are.”
Rodriguez and other lawmakers are reacting to an audit released last week by the L.A. County Auditor-Controller’s office, which found LAHSA advanced close to $51 million dollars to homeless service providers without formal agreements to get that money repaid. The audit also found LAHSA routinely pays providers late and often fails to monitor whether providers are following the requirements in their contracts.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that LAHSA’s Chief Demographic Officer resigned after raising concerns to supervisors about data manipulation related to the agency’s homeless count.
Doubts About City and County Management
Not everyone agrees that homeless services would improve if funds were stripped from LAHSA and administered by the city and county directly. Mike Arnold, who served as LAHSA’s executive director from 2009 to 2014, acknowledges that LAHSA experienced growth issues as its annual budget swelled from $63 million in 2014 to more than $800 million in recent years. But he doubts the city or the county will do much better at administering funds.
“How long does it take the city to fill a pothole?” Arnold said. “Every time homelessness becomes a hot political issue, I think, there’s a lot of activity done to divert attention from the real issues.”
LAHSA was created in 1993 as a joint city-county agency to coordinate the homelessness response for the sprawling region. This isn’t the first time elected leaders have floated the idea of pulling back from LAHSA. But with frustrations running high, some are backing efforts at both the county and the city to chart a different course. On Monday, Rodriguez sent a letter of support to Horvath and Barger for their efforts at the county to withdraw funds from LAHSA, asserting that new homelessness departments embedded within the city and county could collaborate without LAHSA’s involvement.
“My goal is for the departments to partner to more efficiently and effectively administer public funds and actually solve the homelessness crisis,” Rodriguez wrote.
LAHSA Responds, Amidst Growing Scr
How could bypassing LAHSA and contracting directly with service providers improve the effectiveness and transparency of homelessness services in Los Angeles?
## LA’s Homelessness Crisis: A Turning Point?
**Host:** Welcome back to the show. Today we’re diving into the heated debate surrounding homelessness in Los Angeles, specifically the future of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA.
Joining us is Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who has been at the forefront of calls for a major shakeup in how LA tackles this crisis. Councilmember Rodriguez, thanks for being here.
**Rodriguez:** Thank you for having me.
**Host:** The recent audit of LAHSA revealed some startling findings. Can you elaborate on what prompted such a strong reaction from you and other city and county leaders?
**Rodriguez:** The audit was, frankly, the tipping point. It confirmed what many of us have suspected: a severe lack of transparency and accountability within LAHSA.
We’re talking about millions of dollars in taxpayer money being advanced to providers without proper agreements in place. This is money meant to help the most vulnerable in our city, and we need to be sure it’s being used effectively and responsibly. [1](https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-homeless-services-authority-lahsa-audit-2024-november-county)
**Host:** So your solution is to bypass LAHSA completely and contract directly with service providers. What are the potential benefits of this approach?
**Rodriguez:** Absolutely. Cutting out the middleman allows us to have a more direct line of communication and oversight with the organizations actually providing services on the ground.
It allows for greater flexibility in tailoring solutions to specific needs and holds providers accountable for the results they deliver.
**Host: **It sounds like this is a dramatic shift in how LA approaches this complex issue. What kind of resistance are you encountering, and what needs to happen next?
**Rodriguez:** There’s undoubtedly pushback from those who are comfortable with the status quo.
But the current system simply isn’t working. We need bold, courageous action. The Supervisors are considering a similar motion to redirect county funds.
Ultimately, we need a collaborative effort from the city, county, and all stakeholders to build a more effective and transparent system that truly addresses the needs of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
