On Aug. 27, Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas, 2nd District, and Janice Hahn, 4th District, called for exploring new governance models to improve the accountability and oversight of funds for homeless services after a newly released review uncovered flaws in the Los Angeles Housing Services Authority’s internal controls over the reporting and validation of performance data.

The Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller reviewed LAHSA’s performance data from July 2018 through June 2019, when LAHSA and its contractors provided services, primarily funded through Measure H, to approximately 70,000 people who were either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The review found that LAHSA was initially unable to provide documentation (such as a detailed list of clients served), and that performance data was not always accurately reported and resulted in an overstatement of program outcomes.

In 2018, the county’s auditor-controller reviewed LAHSA’s financial transactions, internal controls and compliance, and concluded that LAHSA’s fiscal operations needed improvement.