Barger Leads Push for New Los Angeles County Homeless Department

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Pasadena on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, co-sponsored a successful motion Tuesday to explore creating a new County department to centralize homeless services.

“Make no mistake — this is not an effort to point accountability away from our Board of Supervisors,” Barger said. “I believe a County department focused on homelessness will help us create more unity of effort and will also help end a blame game. Ultimately, our Board is responsible and accountable for addressing the homelessness crisis.”

The motion, which passed 4-0 with Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstaining, comes after an audit revealed financial management issues at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

Barger emphasized the timing was crucial for the reorganization. “While we’ve made some strides, it’s clear that more needs to be done and the time to launch this planning work couldn’t be better. Our County must be ready to deploy timely solutions, at a large scale and in a coordinated way, working hand-in-hand with our municipal partners.”

The proposed restructuring coincides with the recent passage of Measure A, which will double and indefinitely extend a countywide sales tax for homeless services starting April 2025, generating over $1 billion annually.

Under the proposal championed by Barger, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority would retain core functions including homeless information system administration, the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count and designated emergency response services. The Chief Executive Officer must report back within 60 days on the feasibility of creating the new department.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Chief Executive Officer Va Lecia Adams Kellum defended the agency’s current performance, noting that recent financial oversight issues were largely attributable to COVID-19 era practices and occurred during a period of rapid organizational growth.

The agency recently launched new data dashboards showing street outreach, interim housing programs and their efficacy, including the County’s Pathway Home program serving Pasadena and other areas in Barger’s district.

“We’ve been working hard to provide the public access to clear, easy-to-digest data on homelessness in Los Angeles,” Adams Kellum said.