LA County approves over $840M for its own homelessness agency

Los Angeles County will spend $843 million for its own department to combat homelessness in the 2026-2027 fiscal year after it decided to take away some of the responsibilities and funding away from the  Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), officials said Tuesday.

As $1 billion is set to be generated every year from Measure A, a half-cent sales tax to fund homeless programs across the county, the LA County Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH) is expected to provide housing and manage rental assistance services while conducting outreach to the homeless.

The county will prioritize some of the programs and services that have the track record of being effective in reducing homelessness, county officials said, adding they will focus on helping families, youth and domestic violence survivors.

Here’s how LA County is planning to spend $843 million:

• $277 million for interim housing
• $239 million for permanent housing
• Fund 3,671 time-limited subsidies to “quickly” provide housing support
• Fund 3,675 rental subsidies for those in permanent supportive housing
• Pay for case management services for 24,250 people in permanent housing
• Pay for 6,185 interim housing beds
• Fund 65 outreach teams, which are expected to provide nearly 16,000 engagements with the homeless annually
• Fund prevention support for 740 households and 500 youth.
• $16 million in investments for oversight and transparency
• $11 million for other initiatives and projects

The LA County Board of Supervisor decided to create the county’s own homelessness agency and defund LAHSA last year after an audit found a lack of transparency in tracking spending for the services provided.

With the creation of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, LA County pulled some $300 million LAHSA despite criticism from LA city officials.

While some members of the LA City Council said they are no fans of the LAHSA, they argued the timing was not right for the county government to quit LAHSA.

“When the federal government is taking everything away, we need to be united,” Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents the West LA district, said last year.

Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Nithya Raman also wrote a letter to board members asking them to reject the proposed new county department, insisting that progress has been made in the fight against  homelessness in the past two years through the coordinated city-county agency, and “we must keep building on this and confronting our challenges, together.”