LOS ANGELES \u2014 A judge Thursday blocked the Trump administration\u2019s decision to suspend federal funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority over allegations of fraud and widespread mismanagement, finding that the abrupt loss of cash would jeopardize housing and services for more than 11,000 people across the region.<\/p>\n
US District Judge David Carter\u2019s partial preliminary injunction against the US Department of Housing and Urban Development allows LAHSA access to federal homelessness funding for fiscal year 2026.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has great consequences for the Los Angeles region and impacts the region\u2019s ability to compete with other cities across the country for limited homelessness funding nationwide,\u201d Carter wrote in his order issued Thursday in Los Angeles federal court.<\/p>\n
Supervisor Kathryn Barger applauded the ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudge Carter\u2019s ruling is fair, measured, and recognizes two realities that must be addressed simultaneously,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cFirst, we cannot abruptly disrupt funding that people currently experiencing homelessness depend on to remain housed and connected to critical services. Second, meaningful reform of our region\u2019s homeless services system cannot be delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The injunction \u201cstrikes an appropriate balance by preserving short- term stability, respecting local coordination, and establishing a clear path toward accountability and meaningful structural change,\u201d Barger said, adding that while change is necessary, \u201cit must be implemented in a way that does not pull the rug out from under vulnerable individuals who depend on these services today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Citing concerns of fraud and fiscal mismanagement, HUD stripped the authority of LAHSA on June 11 to apply for funding on behalf of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, \u201cflying in the face of Congressional mandates,\u201d Carter wrote, calling the decision \u201carbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The LA CoC coordinates housing and services to prevent and end homelessness across Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n
The sudden announcement by HUD was described in a recent court hearing as dropping a \u201cbomb into the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter determined that the federal funding relied on by the LA CoC supports 140 projects helping 89 veterans, 1,030 families, 1,923 children, 823 transition-age youth, 1,627 seniors, and 901 individuals impacted by intimate partner violence.<\/p>\n
The judge also stated that HUD has been \u201ccomplicit\u201d in the crisis facing LAHSA and has been on notice \u201cof the very accusations it now brings against LAHSA concerning fraud and fiscal mismanagement. For decades, LAHSA and HUD have been in a joint partnership in failure,\u201d according to Carter.<\/p>\n
LAHSA is a joint powers authority formed in 1993 through an agreement between the city and county of Los Angeles. Half of the governing board of LAHSA is appointed by the mayor of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Council. The other half of LAHSA\u2019s governing board is appointed by members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has, at times, enabled a cycle of blame-shifting,\u201d according to the ruling. \u201cWhen data inconsistencies or compliance issues arise, the City points to LAHSA. In turn, LAHSA attributes its problems to a lack of information or cooperation from the City.\u201d<\/p>\n
This relationship \u201chas fostered a system in which responsibility is routinely deflected, allowing both entities to evade accountability, with no single party willing to take responsibility,\u201d the court wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cHUD has also been complicit in this blame-shifting cycle,\u201d Carter said, adding that in so doing, \u201call of these entities have effectively abdicated governance.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement released late Thursday, LAHSA said the ruling \u201cprotects our community\u2019s ability to secure funding for housing and services that save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie Graves, new chair of the LAHSA Commission, said the court\u2019s decision \u201censures the funds awarded to Los Angeles for the 2025 grant cycle will flow to providers, and that decisions for the 2026 (Notice of Funding Opportunity) will be made according to priorities set here, by the people who know our communities best.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that the court has called for transparency and accountability, \u201cand we intend to deliver both. Every dollar will be tracked, accounted for and put to work housing our neighbors. Los Angeles will make the most of this moment \u2014 and of every dollar entrusted to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement in June that HUD had \u201cuncovered evidence of LAHSA\u2019s false statements and its irresponsible actions and failures,\u201d including a lack of financial management and lack of safeguards against conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n
The LA CoC has received nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars over the last five years. Despite federal assistance, the Los Angeles region remains the epicenter of the nation\u2019s \u201cdrug-fueled\u201d homeless crisis, according to Turner.<\/p>\n
HUD cited prior financial reviews despite extensive corrective actions already undertaken by the county-city homeless agency, and ongoing efforts to modernize its financial systems and strengthen internal controls, according to LAHSA officials.<\/p>\n
Despite the allegations that Los Angeles has failed to reduce homelessness, recent data showed significant progress.<\/p>\n
In June, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced California achieved the largest reduction in unsheltered homelessness in the nation last year, and saw the largest decline in unsheltered homelessness since 2009, citing HUD\u2019s data.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles experienced a 10.3% drop in unsheltered homelessness, with the largest regional drop nationwide, according to HUD\u2019s data.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Jewish Family Service LA praised the judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are relieved and encouraged to see Judge Carter affirm the importance of this funding for the Angelenos in need that we serve,\u201d JFSLA CEO Eli Veitzer said. \u201cHowever, given the ongoing court battle, it does not guarantee quick resolution to the funding crisis affecting the 12 women and 25 children who fled domestic violence and now rely on Jewish Family Service LA\u2019s Hope Transitional Shelter for their safety and survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veitzer said the organization\u2019s annual $300,000 LAHSA contract, which expired April 1, covers half of the shelter\u2019s operating budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cJFSLA has tapped its emergency contingency funds to keep services running, but that isn\u2019t sustainable,\u201d Veitzer said. \u201cThis ruling is certainly a huge step in the right direction, but until the funding resumes, our ability to continue serving survivors of domestic violence in the future remains in question, and our shelter residents remain at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 A judge Thursday blocked the Trump administration\u2019s decision to suspend federal funding to the Los…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1493,5949,48,52,51,47,50,22227,49,13,172486],"class_list":["post-434348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-homelessness","tag-kathryn-barger","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-homeless-services-authority","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-politics","tag-united-states-department-of-housing-and-urban-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434348","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=434348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}