Los Angeles County supervisors hear wide-ranging budget presentations as child welfare, mental health and service pilots draw focus

Directors for several major county departments presented fiscal year 2025–26 budget requests and system pressures at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on March 4, 2025, with child welfare, behavioral health and public benefits among the topics drawing the most discussion.

The presentations underscored long-standing operational strains and near‑term costs from recent wildfires, plus federal funding uncertainty. Supervisors approved two specific items on the agenda — a Bloomberg‑funded arts internship program (item 11) and a pilot to place mental‑health clinicians and outreach teams at some county libraries (item 12) — and asked the CEO to return with more specifics before moving forward on a proposed countywide hiring freeze.

Why it matters: Several departments told the board they are operating under structural budget pressures — a shrinking federal share for child welfare, possible changes to behavioral‑health funding under the state’s Behavioral Health Services Act, and rising costs tied to wildfire response — even as demand for services and staff recruitment needs grow. Supervisors pressed for measurable plans and reporting so the board can weigh fiscal tradeoffs without cutting critical services.

Children and Family Services: Brandon Nichols, director of the Department of Children and Family Services, opened his department’s presentation by emphasizing the agency’s mission and recent progress. “Our mission is to keep kids safely with their families or to get kids back home to their families as safely as possible,” Nichols said, and he highlighted a reported 32% reduction in the number of children placed out of home since he became director.

Nichols outlined core asks in the department’s budget: increases for placement payments tied to cost‑of‑living adjustments, continuation of bonuses to recruit and retain staff in high‑attrition offices (notably Antelope Valley), expanded prevention work, IT upgrades, and a significant request for back‑office human resources positions. He told the board the department has grown its social‑work workforce but still needs roughly 79 HR positions to support the larger frontline staff and reduce hiring and timekeeping bottlenecks.

Nichols also flagged a mix of chronic fiscal pressures: rising litigation and the federal eligibility formula for Title IV‑E foster‑care funding, which he said has effectively halved the federal share over time. “The federal government used to fund about 50% of child welfare; now they fund about 25%,” he said. Nichols said the Family First Prevention Services Act offers a path to restore some prevention funding but that transition timing leaves the county “floating” in the short term.

Public Social Services: Dr. Jackie Contreras, director of the Department of Public Social Services, summarized major demands on DPSS budgets, especially the department’s reliance on federal and state funding for core programs. “Two billion, two hundred million — over 36% of our budget — comes from federal funding and 3.1 billion, or 51%, comes from state funding,” Contreras said, and she warned changes in federal proposals (work requirements or rebalanced federal matching rates) could sharply affect county services.

Key DPSS requests included 37 new positions (net increase of 26) to address IHSS administration needs, investments in customer service and EBT anti‑fraud measures (including support for the recent rollout of chip‑enabled EBT cards), funding adjustments for General Relief and guaranteed income pilots for transition‑age youth, and security upgrades for district offices. Contreras said the department is tracking disaster‑related payments and support for wildfire‑impacted residents and staff.

Mental Health: Dr. Lisa Wong, director of the Department of Mental Health, told supervisors the department is preparing for a major state policy change. “The Behavioral Health Services Act modifies the allowable use of funds generated under the existing Mental Health Services Act,” Wong said, and she noted the new law directs a significant portion of previously flexible MHSA funding to housing supports and adds administrative and planning requirements.

Wong said DMH will need new staff and new operating models to implement BHSA without disrupting care. She described DMH efforts to expand child and adolescent programs, add bed capacity and behavioral‑health bridge housing, and keep a rapid response in place after the January wildfires: roughly 200 clinicians and paraprofessionals were deployed for grief counseling and trauma supports across affected communities, she said. Wong said her department will track BHSA implementation carefully and continue to press for state flexibility to preserve prevention and workforce programs.

Countywide context and budget pressures: CEO Faecia Davenport gave a broader briefing on county fiscal strategy and risks. She told the board that departmental budget briefings reflect incremental requests tied to the currently adopted base, and she reiterated concerns shared earlier: wildfire recovery costs, uncertainty about sales‑tax receipts in a changing housing market, and large long‑term liabilities that could require use of county fund balance.

Davenport and other department heads said the county is also watching major federal budget proposals that could reduce Medicaid (Medi‑Cal) matching or restrict federal participation for state‑funded coverage expansions; early CEO estimates supplied to the board office set a range of potential impacts for affected departments in the hundreds of millions of dollars if major federal reductions occur.

Two pilots approved: arts internship and library mental‑health teams

- Arts internships: The board approved a motion to proclaim March as Arts Education Month and to accept Bloomberg Philanthropies’ commitment to fully fund a Los Angeles County Bloomberg Arts Internship Program (item 11). The program will place paid internships and mentorships in arts and cultural organizations for high‑school students; the board vote carried 4–0. Several arts organizations addressed the board in support, stressing the program’s workforce and equity goals.

- Library clinicians pilot: The board also approved a motion to implement a library mental‑health pilot (item 12) that will temporarily assign mental‑health clinicians and outreach teams to a set of high‑need county libraries and expand services and training for library staff. The pilot builds on a pre‑pandemic program that DMH and libraries reported had successfully reached patrons in crisis. Dr. Lisa Wong said DMH will temporarily reassign staff from its interim‑housing outreach program (IHOP) to stand up the pilot; if the pilot is continued the department will request dedicated positions in a later budget phase. The board approved the pilot 4–0.

Hiring freeze discussion: supervisors asked for more detail before approving a separate CEO request to authorize a countywide “hard hiring freeze” (item 29c) that would delegate authority to the CEO to craft and implement a freeze and a protocol on services/supplies curtailments. Several supervisors said they wanted clearer protocols, a list of planned exemptions (for sworn law‑enforcement, wildfire recovery and other revenue‑funded positions were cited as likely exclusions), and a periodic reporting structure before giving the CEO open authority. The CEO offered to refer the item back, develop detailed exemptions and reporting plans, and return to the board with more information.

What the board asked for next: Supervisors asked for clearer, measurable follow‑ups from departments and for reporting templates that would show the fiscal effect of options (hiring freezes, curtailments, use of fund balance) without cutting essential services. They also directed staff to return with more detailed proposals on the proposed hiring‑freeze protocol if it is to move forward.

Ending note: across the presentations, directors repeatedly framed the same core tension: rising demand and specialized workforce needs (child welfare, mental health, homelessness response) versus reduced or uncertain external revenues and substantial new local costs from wildfire recovery and long‑running federal funding shifts. Supervisors pressed for measurable reporting — not just list of asks — before committing to new recurring expenditures.

Votes at a glance: the board recorded these outcomes during the meeting: the consent approvals for multiple consent calendar items earlier in the session passed on a Solis/Hahn motion (roll call 4–0); item 11 (Arts Education Month/Bloomberg internship) passed on a Solis/Horvath motion (roll call 4–0); item 12 (library mental‑health pilot) passed on a Mitchell/Hahn motion (roll call 4–0). The CEO’s hiring‑freeze proposal (item 29c) was discussed and referred back for further development rather than approved outright.

Ending: Supervisors asked the CEO and department heads to return with specific, measurable follow‑ups — including the proposed hiring‑freeze protocol, clearer exemption rules, and tracking of program impacts — so the board can weigh fiscal tradeoffs and protect essential services as budget uncertainties unfold.