LA County approves $908 million in spending to curb homelessness

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $908 million funding package for homeless services, including the first allocations under the new Measure A sales tax.

The board also approved a new formula for determining how some Measure A dollars will be distributed among the county’s 88 cities.

“Measure A is a major shift in our strategy for taking on homelessness,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement to LAist. “Instead of the county deciding where and how every dollar gets spent, our cities will get their own allocations for shelter, outreach, services and affordable housing.”

The new budget, for the fiscal year that starts July 1, reflects tens of millions of dollars in cuts to some programs that provide job training, legal services and mobile showers.

But it also reflects last-minute changes made during the lengthy public hearing that retain up to $19 million in funding for homelessness prevention services and $7 million for programs serving young adults, many of whom aged out of the foster care system.

"Cutting funds for our transition-age youth is both cruel and irresponsible,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement to LAist. “And sacrificing our prevention services cuts our most cost-effective way to keep people housed and risks increasing flow into homelessness.”

Measure A’s impact

Voters approved Measure A last November, replacing an existing quarter-cent sales tax (Measure H) with a half-cent sales tax. The increase will go into effect April 1.

The funding plan approved Tuesday allocates $656 million from Measure A along with $209 million in unspent Measure H funding and $42.6 million in state homeless assistance grants.

The new tax is expected to generate more than $1 billion annually that will go toward curbing homelessness in the region. However, 36% of it will go to the new L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, rather than into the county’s homeless services budget.

Because of a projected deficit and increased costs for homeless services, the county’s Homeless Initiative recommended $62 million in cuts to the budget, most of which the supervisors approved.

The supervisors also approved new goals related to curbing homelessness in the county, including decreasing the number of people living in tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles by 30% over the next five years.

Program cuts

Under the 2025-26 homeless services budget approved Tuesday, county funding for some programs will be significantly reduced or completely eliminated.

Those programs are:

• The LA: RISE job training program, which helps unhoused Angelenos find jobs.  Its funding was cut from $8.4 million to about $1.8 million, which could eliminate approximately 600 job opportunities at the Downtown Women’s Center, Chrysalis, Homeboy Industries and more.
  
• The L.A. County Public Defender’s mobile legal clinics program, which helps unhoused people clear their criminal records. It is expected to lose $1.5 million of its $3.5 million in county funding, resulting in a one-third reduction in outreach staff.
  
• A program that provides mobile showers for unhoused residents at six sites across L.A. County will be eliminated entirely.
  
•  A county program that works with landlords to secure housing for the homelessness services system will lose $5 million in county funding.

The Board of Supervisors directed the county’s Homeless Initiative to identify about $17 million in additional reductions to its homelessness budget, which the board is expected to consider next week.

New programs or efforts

The approved budget introduces or expands several initiatives, some of which are mandated by Measure A:

• The Local Solutions Fund would distribute $96.4 million in Measure A dollars to cities and unincorporated areas to enact local homelessness solutions. On Tuesday, supervisors approved a formula for allocating that funding. The approved formula is based on the annual point-in-time homeless count, and American Community Survey data on low-income families.
  
• A new program will receive $5 million to provide direct housing assistance for General Relief recipients who are older adults, serving approximately 700 people each year.
  
• A new L.A. County Emergency Centralized Response Center will receive $2.8 million to coordinate outreach efforts and encampment resolutions.
  
• The Homelessness Solutions Innovations fund will allocate $10.6 million for new strategies and projects. That includes $6.3 million for the Homeless Prevention Unit within L.A. County’s Department of Health Services, which uses predictive analytics to identify and support people at the highest risk of homelessness.
  
• The board also approved a budget of  nearly $160 million for the county’s A Pathway Home encampment clearing program in 2025-26. Over the past two budget years, that program spent nearly $166 million to clear 39 encampments, shelter 1,200 people, remove 700 RVs and permanently house 235 people, according to county officials.
  
• While not directly included in Tuesday’s budget discussions, a new agency called the LA County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency will receive approximately 36% of Measure A proceeds. That’s roughly $400 million annually it must use to create affordable housing, preserve existing low-rent housing, and prevent homelessness through rental assistance and other programs. The agency must seek board approval for its budget by July 1.

What’s next?

The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote next week on a proposal to overhaul homeless spending and give the county direct control over hundreds of millions it currently sends to the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, a regional agency.

“This budget underscores the urgent need to consolidate homelessness services into one [county] department, allowing us to better track investments and outcomes, and standardize services to maximize every dollar spent,” Horvath said.