An audit released today noted that nearly half of homeless housed exited back into homelessness.
The day started well for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass with a cheery little press conference at the Palisades Rec Center, but took a nose dive when the audit of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) was released by the courts this afternoon.
The court-ordered assessment, conducted by Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services (A&M) and submitted to U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, examined three key city-funded programs—Inside Safe (Bass’ signature program), the Roadmap Program, and the Alliance Settlement Program—between June 2020 and June 2024.
More than $2.3 billion in funding had been allocated to these initiatives but the report found that the total amount spent on services and housing placements could not be fully accounted for due to fragmented data systems, inconsistent financial reporting, and poor coordination between LAHSA, the City of Los Angeles, and the County of Los Angeles.
Perhaps that news was why Bass was not in her biweekly podcast at 5 p.m. to discuss fire updates. This editor asked where the mayor was, and the question was dismissed with no answer.
Lindsey Horvath
(Photographed by Jen Rosenstein / Photo Assistant Aly Whitman)
L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath on the other hand was quick to pivot. In July 2023, she was voted chair of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). At that time CEO of LAHSA Dr. Adams Kellum said, “I’m so excited to link arms with Supervisor Horvath to create sustainable solutions to homelessness in Los Angeles. The leadership of our City and County has never been so united and focused on accomplishing one task: ending homelessness.”
Around 6 p.m. today, Horvath released a statement, “This audit is another reminder of what we already know — the current homelessness services system is broken. No more waste through duplicated resources. No more contracts for services that don’t deliver. We need accountability and results right now.”
Westside Current Editor Jamie Paige wrote an excellent story (Much-Anticipated Audit of LAHSA Released, Finds Billions in Spending Unaccounted for.) click here.
In the story, Paige noted that the audit revealed:
- Auditors were unable to verify the total amount spent on homelessness services due to inconsistent and incomplete financial records across LAHSA, the city, and the county.
- The report found glaring inconsistencies in how LAHSA tracked shelter beds and services, making it impossible to determine how many beds were available, occupied, or even functional at any given time.
- Auditors noted that LAHSA and the city routinely approved invoices from service providers without verifying whether the billed services were actually provided. Payments were often processed based on high-level summaries, with little scrutiny of receipts or actual service delivery.
- On average, 82 days passed between the start of a contract term and its official execution, meaning many service providers operated without signed agreements for months. Some contracts were signed after services had already been provided, raising concerns about oversight and compliance.
- A&M reviewed provider invoices from fiscal year 2023-24 and found extreme differences in costs per bed per day, with personnel costs ranging from $67 to just $7, food costs varying from $18 to $7, and security costs fluctuating between $32 and $2. The audit found no clear explanation for these discrepancies.
- Nearly half (47.8%) of program participants exited back into homelessness, while just 22% found permanent housing, highlighting the lack of measurable outcomes despite billions in spending.
The city allocated $3.6 billion for homelessness services between fiscal years 2020-21 and 2023-24, yet auditors found that LAHSA and the city did not reconcile spending with budgeted amounts.
And yet, voters in the 2024 election passed Measure A, which increased sales tax to a half-cent with the money meant to fund anti-homelessness programs. The tax has no sunset date.
Tim Campbell, a resident of Westchester, who spent a career in the public service and managed a municipal performance audit program, has written extensively about the homeless programs.
He said, “I received a draft of the audit a couple days ago as part of the LA Alliance’s team so I’ve had a chance to read it thoroughly, as I encourage you to. It is worse than even I expected. If you asked me to summarize the problems in one word, it would be LAHSA.
“LAHSA doesn’t know how many people it serves, where they are, who’s serving them, or what it pays,” Campbell said. “The City bears the responsibility for paying LAHSA without the slightest idea of what its getting for the money. The risks of fraud are huge.”
I recall that our former inept councilman Mike Bonin was involved with this. How much went into his pocket?
Just two words: Incompetence and corruption. It makes my blood boil! It is bankrupting the city and emptying our pockets.
If a private company had trouble tracking their data the way this report suggests they would hire a systems analysis firm to bring them into 21st century. Yes, big expenditure initially but if there is good oversight, I suggest we will be money ahead going forward.