LA’s new bureau to oversee homelessness spending: What’s next

Los Angeles is moving forward with a new Bureau of Homelessness Oversight in an attempt to track how billions of dollars are spent amid mounting pressure to fix its fragmented and costly homelessness response.

The bureau, included in the City Council’s newly approved budget, will be housed within the Housing Department and serve as a centralized body to monitor homelessness spending and program performance.

Its creation comes in the wake of a court-ordered audit that found major gaps in the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)’s ability to track performance and contracts, as well as the county’s decision to pull funding from the joint city-county agency to launch its own homelessness department.

Councilmember Nithya Raman led the push to establish the bureau, arguing the city needs its own oversight agency to ensure money is spent effectively.

“For the first time in the City of Los Angeles, there is an office that is explicitly responsible for oversight of our homelessness response system, a change that is long overdue,” Raman said in a statement shortly after the City Council’s budget vote on Thursday, May 22.

Raman, speaking during Thursday’s meeting, said the move is meant to prepare the city for looming challenges, including the possible dissolution of LAHSA, steep federal funding cuts, and the loss of thousands of emergency housing vouchers.

She noted that the City Council has previously supported efforts to centralize oversight and argued that the bureau would help bring together data and staff to improve performance and coordination across the homelessness response system. The bureau, she added, does not preclude the potential creation of the city’s own homelessness department.

Although the proposal was first introduced and approved by the City Council in March, it wasn’t finalized until Thursday’s budget vote.

Several council members voiced concerns during the vote, questioning the timing and whether the Housing Department would be able to take over key responsibilities without disrupting existing services.

Councilmembers John Lee and Traci Park cited the success of the City Administrative Officer (CAO)’s coordination of CARE+ RV cleanups with council offices, and questioned whether shifting oversight to Housing could compromise that work.

“We can’t afford to make a mistake in this area, because all of our offices rely on this,” Lee said. “So, I’m just asking that we don’t throw it into a department without understanding what the ramifications are of that.”

Some also objected to approving the proposal through the budget process rather than debating it as a standalone policy.

“I came here to vote on the priorities, not to have a policy discussion,” Councilmember Adrin Nazarian said. “So I very much value this, I think this is much better served in a committee hearing so that we can figure out how we move forward.”

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield also raised concerns that unlike the CAO, the Housing Department is subject to Executive Directive No. 3, which means the bureau’s reports could be filtered through the Mayor’s Office. He proposed a motion requiring reports be sent to the Council and Mayor at the same time to ensure transparency.

“One of the problems with putting it in the Housing Department is that the Housing Department, unlike CAO, is subject to ED3, which is a Villaraigosa motion, which basically has all reports go first to the Mayor’s Office,” he said. “And that’s a concern to me because…this is something we are all intimately connected with.”

Supporters of the bureau, however, said the new office is a needed step to improve accountability and help the city navigate a rapidly shifting homelessness landscape.

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez opposed sending the proposal back to committee, arguing that it has already been thoroughly vetted. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez echoed that urgency, pointing to the county’s rapid move to create its own homeless department.

“At this time, the county is moving, they’re moving fast, and they’re moving without us,” Hernandez said. “We either get in our car and start moving ourselves, or we’re going to get dragged by the county.”

Housing Department General Manager Tiena Johnson Hall also defended the bureau, saying her department is well-positioned to take on the oversight role.

“The Los Angeles Housing Department is one of the only departments in the City of Los Angeles where their mission is connected not only to affordable housing, but also to homelessness,” she said.

Hall added that some staff from the CAO’s office — including those working on RV encampment coordination—will be transferred to Housing to maintain continuity.

Lee moved to refer the item to committee for further discussion, a motion supported by Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Traci Park, Adrin Nazarian and Imelda Padilla — but it ultimately failed with other members voting against it.

Several homeless providers on Friday expressed support for the new bureau, saying it could help improve oversight, streamline efforts and ensure public funds are used effectively.

‘Homelessness remains the most pressing crisis facing Los Angeles, and it demands a whole-of-government approach to reduce the suffering we see every day,” PATH’S CEO Jennifer Hark Dietz said in a statement to SCNG.

She added: “Centralizing homeless services—which involve numerous city departments, including housing, public safety, recreation and parks, and sanitation—can help streamline interventions and maximize public investments. We welcome this level of coordination and are hopeful that it will enhance the effectiveness of services and ensure greater accountability.

Hope the Mission, a major homeless service provider in the San Fernando Valley, said it supports new mechanisms that increase transparency and accountability.

In a statement, the organization’s president Rowan Vansleve noted that LAHSA’s wide reach has at times “made accountability and coordination challenging”, and that a city-run bureau could make it easier to work together.

“If the new Bureau can focus specifically on the City of LA’s systems, address audit findings head-on, and act as a hands-on partner for organizations like Hope, it could streamline communication, reduce duplication, and drive real results,” Vansleve said. “Success will depend on whether the Bureau is given the authority, resources, and willingness to act quickly and learn from past mistakes.”