Audit Findings Show that Only 1 in 5 Interim Shelter Residents Obtained Permanent Housing, While Over 1/2 Returned to Homelessness or Unknown Outcomes
Los Angeles – An audit released this week paints a dim picture of Los Angeles’ performance transitioning people from interim housing to permanent housing. Interim housing is currently a critical pathway to permanent housing.
The Controller’s Office conducted the audit to identify opportunities for LAHSA (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority) and the City to improve the rehousing system and increase the likelihood that unhoused people are able to secure a stable, safe, and permanent place to live. The audit covered City-funded interim housing sites over a 5-year scoping period, Fiscal Years 2019-2023.
Controller Kenneth Mejia said, “With this homelessness audit, we wanted to find out what’s working and what’s not working about existing pathways out of homelessness. We wanted to identify how the City can improve the rehousing system and increase the likelihood that unhoused people are able to secure a stable, safe, and permanent place to live. “
Among the key findings are that one-quarter of the city’s interim housing beds went unused, costing taxpayers an estimated $218 million between FY 2019-FY 2023.
“Nearly 1 in 3 people who expressed interest in a shelter bed were unable to secure one during FY22 and FY23,” the audit found, while “16,000 people were removed from the shelter bed waiting list after an average of six months.”
Perhaps most critically, “More than 50% of people exiting City-funded interim housing returned to homelessness or unknown destinations,” and, “Less than 20% of people in City-funded interim housing secured permanent housing.”
“We found that fewer than 20% – that’s less than 1 in 5 – of people who entered City-funded shelters were able to move up to permanent housing. That is a woefully inadequate number. Additionally, we found that over 50% returned to homelessness or unknown outcome,” the controller said.
He added, “We found that many interim housing beds went unused; 1 in 4 City-funded shelter beds sat empty, at an estimated cost of $218 million over five years. This is unjustifiable especially given that there’s a massive bed shortage. Any bed that goes unfilled means an unsheltered person living on the streets is waiting longer than they need to move into a safer space and begin their path to permanent housing.”
Even when a person has received a voucher or subsidy to secure permanent housing, they face rampant discrimination that makes it painstakingly difficult for them to actually get a lease.
“Local lawmakers should pass legislation that would prevent landlords from requiring credit checks for people using vouchers or subsidies – this is something that has already been proposed at the state level but has not been implemented. It would eliminate an unnecessary barrier to permanent housing,” Mejia said, adding, “Our audit provides information and near-term solutions in addition to, and not in place of, building more permanent housing. The most critical solution for homelessness is to expand the supply of permanent housing.”
In addition to the Controller’s Office’s overarching recommendations to build more permanent housing and eliminate discriminatory barriers unhoused people face in obtaining a lease, the audit recommends the following solutions to improve the current rehousing system:
- New bed solutions: Examine the feasibility of developing bed solutions for congregate settings that would provide more privacy and comfort.
- Formalize reservation policy: Develop a formal policy for City offices reserving beds to ensure equitable access to shelter beds and maximize occupancy rates.
- Data quality of bed capacity: Establish data quality control standards and monitoring procedures that ensure service providers accurately report bed capacity.
- Data quality of permanent housing placements: Adopt metrics that minimize instances where low shelter occupancy results in the appearance of improved permanent housing placements.
- Service provider performance: Develop mechanisms that can promptly identify underperformance, and develop performance-based incentives.
- Corrective action policy: Develop a formal, comprehensive policy for corrective action for underperformance.
- Housing navigators: Increase the number of housing navigators.
- Monitor outcomes: Continue to monitor outcomes for people who move into housing after Time Limited Subsidies expire, and for people permanently housed with other pathways.
- Consolidate contracts: Assess the feasibility of consolidating housing navigation services and interim housing services under a single contract to streamline case management.
- Permanent housing placement responsibilities: Clearly define the permanent housing placement responsibilities of interim housing operators and housing navigation providers.
The audit was conducted by the Civil Service Audit Services Division of the Controller’s Office.
