L.A. County Seizes Payment Duties at LAHSA, Orders Audit as City Weighs Pulling Funds

Supervisors authorized direct provider payments in response to a large invoice backlog.

Overview

By a 5-0 vote on March 3, the Board of Supervisors moved to pay county-funded homeless service providers directly, embed county staff at LAHSA, and launch an Auditor-Controller review.
The audit led by Oscar Valdez is set to start Thursday, run roughly 2–3 weeks, and deliver findings with a corrective plan to the board at its April 14 meeting.
LAHSA reported it owed providers $69.3 million in February, including $26.9 million more than 60 days old, and said the backlog was reduced to $53.4 million as of Tuesday.
LAHSA leaders cited staffing losses, outdated policies, contracting delays, and delayed city transfers as factors in the payment logjam, while CEO Gita O’Neill described the agency as in crisis.
Most county homelessness funding will shift to the new Department of Homeless Services & Housing in July, and the Los Angeles City Council will consider Wednesday whether to pull nearly $300 million in city funds and reassign oversight.