By JOSE HERRERA | City News Service
The board of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has voted not to submit an application to continue its role as the region’s lead agency on homelessness services, as the city, county and other organizations seek to take on those responsibilities.
LAHSA has held federal administrative roles for the county for decades. These roles consist of coordinating the annual application for federal funding with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseeing the Homeless Management Information System, conducting the annual point-in-time homeless count, and handling the coordinated entry system.
On Tuesday, the LAHSA Commission voted not to continue those roles under the L.A. Continuum of Care Board’s current request for qualification process.
The decision comes amid mounting criticism of LAHSA from the Trump administration and city and county officials, who have accused the agency of mismanaging taxpayer dollars and failing to provide transparency, among other shortcomings.
The agency said Tuesday’s vote will not impact its work leading the CoC and supporting the city through the end of fiscal year 2026-27.
“While we remain confident in our team’s unmatched expertise and technical readiness to continue managing these systems, our priority is the people our missions calls to us to serve and the stability of the regional response to homelessness — not maintaining the agency’s position,” LAHSA said in a statement Tuesday.
Both the county and city are applying to take on LAHSA’s leadership roles. The county is seeking to take on all four of those roles, while the city is seeking to take on at least two of them.
Los Angeles County has already created a new homeless department and moved $300 million away from LAHSA. The city of Los Angeles is taking similar action.
Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who will face off in the Nov. 3 mayoral election, have both stated that the city needs to separate from LAHSA and establish an independent city-run entity.
“With both the city and county preparing their own applications, competing against our founding partners would only fracture regional collaboration during an already complex time,” LAHSA’s statement said.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating LAHSA’s use of federal funds amid allegations of fraud and widespread mismanagement. LAHSA has received over $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, including $220 million in 2024.
According to annual data from HUD, California has nearly 182,000 homeless people. Los Angeles County has 73,000 homeless people, and the city of Los Angeles has more than 45,000 homeless people, an increase of 3.4% from the year prior.
In June, HUD abruptly suspended further federal funding to LAHSA until officials can show adequate safeguards are in place to protect taxpayer dollars. But last month, a Los Angeles federal judge blocked the decision, finding that the sudden loss of cash would jeopardize housing and services for more than 11,000 people across the region.
U.S. District Judge David Carter’s partial preliminary injunction against HUD allowed LAHSA access to federal homelessness funding for fiscal year 2026.
Also at stake is nearly $241 million already earmarked for the Los Angeles region by Congress, as well as immediate future funding for homelessness in the next fiscal year.
However, Carter’s injunction was overruled last week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, creating uncertainty about LAHSA’s role and eligibility as the lead agency coordinating housing and homelessness services across LA County.
“The Ninth Circuit’s ruling last week to stay Judge Carter’s earlier decision in LAHSA’s lawsuit against HUD creates further uncertainty about LAHSA’s current eligibility to compete in the RFQ process,” according to LAHSA.
“Stepping aside now supports alignment with the direction the city and county are heading with their applications, and focuses public resources where they belong: on the people who depend on the rehousing system every day,” the statement continued. “As the city and county put themselves forward to take on these responsibilities, it is incumbent upon them to ensure continuity of care and deliver the operational results our unhoused neighbors urgently need. LAHSA will continue to fulfill its ongoing responsibilities to the CoC until those duties transition to a new entity or entities.”
LAHSA has agreements with the city to manage programs and contracts through June 30, 2027.
Applicants had until Tuesday to notify the L.A. CoC Board of their intent to apply to take on LAHSA’s lead roles. Those who did have until Sept. 25 to submit their applications. Any applicants chosen by the L.A. CoC Board are expected to be reviewed by HUD and the federal court.