Billions in Taxpayer Dollars for Los Angeles Homeless Services Unaccounted For

A damning court-ordered audit has revealed that billions of taxpayer dollars allocated for homeless services in Los Angeles have gone unaccounted for, exposing yet another failure of liberal policies and government mismanagement. The audit, conducted by Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services (A&M) and submitted to U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, highlights the widespread dysfunction within the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which oversees the city’s response to homelessness.

The report examined three key city-funded programs—Inside Safe, the Roadmap Program, and the Alliance Settlement Program—between June 2020 and June 2024. It identified approximately $2.3 billion in funding but found that due to fragmented data systems, inconsistent financial reporting, and poor coordination between LAHSA, the City of Los Angeles, and the County of Los Angeles, the actual amount spent on services and housing placements could not be fully determined.

In short, taxpayer dollars disappeared into a bureaucratic black hole, with no clear accountability for how they were spent or whether they actually helped the homeless. According to the audit, the accounting was so abysmal that it remains unclear if any real services were even provided. Nearly half of the homeless individuals assisted by LAHSA remained on the streets, while only 22% secured permanent housing—a stunning indictment of the agency’s inefficiency and mismanagement.

To make matters worse, reports of financial irregularity have surfaced at LAHSA. According to LAist, CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum awarded a $2.1 million contract to a nonprofit group that employs her husband as a senior official, raising serious ethical concerns. This blatant cronyism is yet another example of how liberal-run bureaucracies misuse public funds while failing to deliver results.

The mismanagement at LAHSA should come as no surprise to those familiar with California’s track record. Under progressive leadership, Los Angeles has spent billions to combat homelessness, yet the crisis has only worsened. Homeless encampments have expanded, crime has surged, and taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for programs that do little more than enrich bureaucrats and politically connected organizations.

LAHSA receives partial funding from sales taxes, including revenue from Measure A, a tax increase passed in November to provide more money for homeless services. However, in light of the audit’s findings, even Democrat leaders in Los Angeles are beginning to lose faith in the agency’s ability to handle the crisis. L.A. County Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger have floated the idea of the county taking over LAHSA’s responsibilities.

Conservatives have long warned that throwing more taxpayer money at homelessness programs—without real accountability—only fuels corruption and bureaucratic waste. The revelations in this audit should serve as a wake-up call: it’s time to overhaul Los Angeles’ failing homeless policies, eliminate wasteful spending, and restore fiscal responsibility.

Taxpayers deserve better than to have their hard-earned money squandered on inefficient programs and sweetheart deals for bureaucrats’ family members. If California’s leadership truly wants to solve homelessness, they must stop catering to the corrupt bureaucracies and start embracing real solutions—solutions that prioritize accountability, safety, and personal responsibility over endless government spending.