{"id":284857,"date":"2026-04-25T02:46:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T02:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/284857\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T02:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T02:46:22","slug":"la-weighs-major-changes-to-lahsa-as-layoffs-reshape-homelessness-agency-daily-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/284857\/","title":{"rendered":"LA weighs major changes to LAHSA as layoffs reshape homelessness agency \u2013 Daily News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A long-running debate at Los Angeles City Hall over the future of the region\u2019s primary homelessness agency is now beginning to reshape the organization itself, as the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority prepares to lay off hundreds of employees amid sweeping funding and governance changes.<\/a><\/p>\n

The layoffs follow Los Angeles County\u2019s decision to withdraw funding from LAHSA and launch its own homelessness department<\/a>, alongside recent moves by city leaders to consider shifting programs away from the agency or restructuring its governance. Together, the developments mark a turning point for the joint city-county agency, which has coordinated housing and services for people experiencing homelessness<\/a> across the region for decades.<\/p>\n

LAHSA officials this week notified labor leaders and government partners that the agency plans to lay off 284 employees by the end of June, part of a broader restructuring that will eliminate more than 400 positions. The changes come as the agency prepares for a significantly reduced role beginning in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis shift is being made to help the City and County work to end homelessness,\u201d LAHSA said in a statement to this publication Friday.<\/p>\n

LAHSA said affected staff will remain in their roles through June 30, with county-funded programs shifting to the county\u2019s new homelessness department the following day.<\/p>\n

Beginning July 1, the agency will take on a more limited role focused on coordinating the region\u2019s rehousing system, including managing data, helping coordinate how people access services and leading applications for annual federal funding.<\/p>\n

The agency added city funding is expected to make up the majority of its staffing budget going forward, making its future structure heavily dependent on decisions by the City of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith sufficient city funding, LAHSA will be positioned to serve the city\u2019s needs and provide robust data and oversight that empowers the city to make the best decisions on how to end homelessness in LA,\u201d LAHSA said.<\/p>\n

The agency did not directly address whether the transition could affect service continuity, instead directing questions about services to the county, which will take over many programs.<\/p>\n

The layoffs stem largely from funding changes already set in motion by Los Angeles County, which voted in April 2025 to create its own Department of Homeless Services and Housing<\/a>, and shift hundreds of millions of dollars away from LAHSA. County officials said the move was intended to create a more centralized and accountable system, following audits that raised concerns about LAHSA\u2019s financial management.<\/a><\/p>\n

Even before the county\u2019s decision, some city leaders had begun raising concerns about LAHSA\u2019s structure and effectiveness. In November 2024, Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion<\/a> calling for the city to explore bypassing LAHSA and contracting directly with service providers, citing concerns about fragmentation and accountability.<\/p>\n

That effort advanced in March 2025,<\/a> when the City Council voted to study the feasibility of bypassing LAHSA and contracting directly with providers.<\/p>\n

But when Los Angeles County moved forward with its plan, city officials, including Mayor Karen Bass<\/a> and Councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the City Council\u2019s Housing and Homelessness Committee, urged the county to reconsider, warning that dismantling the joint system could disrupt services and undermine recent progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it is clear that the Joint Powers Authority has not lived up to its promise, it is also clear that an isolated approach has not worked \u2013 and produced even more dire results,\u201d the letter read. \u201cTime and time again, when confronting our homelessness crisis, instead of focusing on people, officials focus on infrastructure. In this move of replacing one bureaucracy with another, history repeats itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the months since, the debate at City Hall has shifted from whether to reform LAHSA to how the city should restructure its role within, or potentially beyond, the agency.<\/p>\n

In September 2025<\/a>, the City Council voted to explore whether Los Angeles could withdraw all legally allowable homelessness funding from LAHSA and instead contract with the county\u2019s new homelessness department.<\/p>\n

That debate intensified this March, when city officials outlined multiple options for restructuring the city\u2019s approach to homelessness, including maintaining LAHSA with reforms, shifting responsibilities to the county, or bringing more programs in-house.<\/p>\n

On April 15, the City Council\u2019s Housing and Homelessness Committee advanced recommendations that would begin shifting some city-funded programs away from LAHSA over the next fiscal year and explore changes to the agency\u2019s governance structure. The proposals also call for hiring consultants and requiring regular reports on the transition.<\/p>\n

Bass\u2019s office said Friday that she supports a responsible transition away from LAHSA while maintaining services for people experiencing homelessness, and welcomed the committee\u2019s adoption of her recommendations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we navigate the transition away from LAHSA in a responsible way, we are making sure that people are not turned back out onto the street, and are increasing oversight and accountability over LAHSA in the interim,\u201d her office said in a statement. \u201cMayor Bass has taken action already, with positions funded in her proposed budget to ensure better accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raman similarly emphasized the need for a measured approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot continue to respond to instability and broken pathways in the homelessness system by pretending the status quo is our only option. Nor should we self-inflict chaos through an abrupt separation with LAHSA,\u201d she said in a written statement Friday. \u201cThe responsible path forward is through a managed transition that retains the services that work, corrects for the issues that have impaired the system for far too long, all while emphasizing fiscal sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raman said the approach would require stronger city oversight while preserving LAHSA\u2019s institutional knowledge and incorporating staff into a more accountable city-led system.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who sits on the Housing and Homelessness Committee, said Friday the recommendations are intended to better align the city\u2019s homelessness response with local needs while avoiding service disruptions and improving long-term coordination.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Los Angeles County shifts its approach to homelessness funding, the Housing & Homelessness Committee recommendations represent an important step toward ensuring the City has a homelessness response system that is aligned with the scale and specific needs of our communities,\u201d she said in a written statement.<\/p>\n

She added maintaining services will be critical during the transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we cannot risk disruptions: unhoused Angelenos still rely on LAHSA\u2019s existing system, and those services must continue without interruption,\u201d Jurado said.<\/p>\n

While Jurado emphasized continuity, Councilmember Tim McOsker focused on how the city\u2019s role may need to change as the region\u2019s funding structure shifts.<\/p>\n

McOsker, who also sits on the committee, has pushed for increased city control over LAHSA\u2019s governance, arguing that the county\u2019s decision to pull funding has fundamentally altered the region\u2019s homelessness response system and will leave the city as the primary funder of many of the agency\u2019s functions.<\/p>\n

He has proposed renegotiating the agency\u2019s joint powers agreement<\/a> to give the city majority control over its governing commission, as well as shifting some administrative functions, including contracting and payments, directly to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny transition must be thoughtful and service-driven. Abrupt structural changes without a clear plan risk disrupting care for people currently in the system, and that is unacceptable,\u201d McOsker spokesperson Sophie Gilchrist said Friday.<\/p>\n

While city leaders debated how to restructure the system, LAHSA employees said the uncertainty is already taking a toll.<\/p>\n

Ash Afanan, an analyst in LAHSA\u2019s system and planning department who spoke in a personal capacity, said Friday staff are experiencing widespread fear following the layoff announcement. LAHSA has said it will not finalize which employees are affected until April 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re experiencing a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, \u201d he said. \u201cEven the folks that aren\u2019t getting laid off were being told that we might be laid off in the future depending on what the city does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afanan added that changes could have consequences for people relying on services.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really detrimental and I don\u2019t want to sugarcoat it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people that are most in need of our help are going to be the ones that are suffering the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afanan said he hopes city leaders will take the agency\u2019s recent work into account \u2014 including what LAHSA says are a 14% countywide reduction in street homelessness and an 18% within the city\u2014 as they weigh next steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the city will at least look at our efforts \u2026 they haven\u2019t made up their minds already, that they\u2019re actually going to give us a fair shot,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause the county didn\u2019t give us a fair shot, and I hope that the city does.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City Council is expected to take up the committee\u2019s recommendations at a future meeting, as officials continue to weigh how to restructure the region\u2019s homelessness response without disrupting services for those who rely on them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A long-running debate at Los Angeles City Hall over the future of the region\u2019s primary homelessness agency is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,969,48,52,51,47,5436,137,50,49,100,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-284857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-homeless","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-headlines","12":"tag-la-news","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-city-council","15":"tag-los-angeles-county","16":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","17":"tag-los-angeles-news","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}