Scott Turner, HUD holding homelessness agencies – Latest News
Los Angeles receives more federal homelessness help funding than some other area of the nation.
So, on June 11, when the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) introduced that it was instantly suspending more than $200 million in federal funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) whereas it investigates fraud, mismanagement, and waste, it despatched a shock wave throughout the nation’s homelessness service suppliers.
For years, LAHSA, the regional entity entrusted with federal homeless help funding, has been the subject of warnings, complaints, audits, and a lawsuit towards the town and county of LA.
For years LAHSA has been the subject of warnings, complaints, audits, and a lawsuit towards the City and County of LA. AFP by way of Getty Images
LAHSA’s efficiency has been characterised as “a bowl of spaghetti,” “cutting blank checks,” “broken,” and “smoke and mirrors.”
Since 2001, HUD audits of LAHSA‘s “Continuum of Care” program have highlighted a historical past of persistent issues, together with failures to monitor grantees, paying ineligible bills, and poor financial management.
The “Continuum of Care” program, in accordance with HUD, “is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness by providing funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and state and local governments.” It additionally is meant to help homeless people entry authorities providers.
Under Secretary Scott Turner and President Donald Trump, HUD is demonstrating that it’s severe about reform. Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
But in LA, due to LAHSA, Continuum of Care is a mess.
The LA County auditor-controller and LA metropolis controller every expressed considerations over LAHSA’s poor cost and reimbursement systems; inflated quantity of people housed and double counting; knowledge high quality points; and inside accountability points.
LAHSA stonewalled a skilled management firm that evaluated it within the course of the lawsuits talked about above. The ultimate report confirmed that LAHSA doesn’t know how a lot it’s paying, to whom, for what, and whether or not money was effectively spent (or spent in any respect).
LAHSA doesn’t even know how to help an unsheltered particular person discover a home for the evening, and no one is verifying whether or not suppliers are delivering beds, housing or providers.
LAHSA has develop into the goal of national consideration, due to the suspension of funding, and to the high-profile involvement of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
But the drawback isn’t remoted to LA.
Last yr, Louisiana’s legislative auditor’s workplace tried to gain entry to knowledge and data from Unity, the New Orleans group that runs its Continuum of Care. The auditor was informed to pound sand.
Unity has been accused of a lack of spending transparency, unclear insurance policies and methods, and delayed reimbursements. The New Orleans/Jefferson Parish regional homelessness company acquired $38 million in federal funds in 2024. But in response to the state legislative auditor, Unity joined with the six different Continuum of Care packages in Louisiana to file a movement in court docket to keep the state and taxpayers at midnight.
Under Trump, LAHSA has been the subject of warnings, complaints, audits, and a lawsuit towards Los Angeles. Getty Images
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Resisting accountability and transparency from federal homeless help recipients seems to be a sample. Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Oklahoma all launched laws to improve transparency in homeless spending, and to grasp higher what the Continuum of Care packages do, what they accomplish, and what outcomes public money has achieved.
Instead of agreeing with the need for higher efficiency and accountability, homeless providers suppliers have really testified towards reforms.
HUD’s motion to demand accountability at LASHSA — the nation’s largest and most lavishly funded regional homeless company — is a welcome signal.
It comes as HUD has additionally introduced more durable new requirements for packages that obtain billions in federal homelessness {dollars}.
Under Secretary Scott Turner and President Donald Trump, HUD is demonstrating that it’s severe about reform and accountability.
That means getting severe about ending homelessness — lastly.
Paul Webster is a senior fellow on the Cicero Institute, an Austin-based analysis and public coverage group. He can also be the chief director of the LA Alliance for Human Rights.
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