Committee moves CIFD survivor services recommendations forward after hours of testimony and CAO caution

The Los Angeles City Budget and Finance Committee on Thursday moved forward the Community Investment for Families Department—s (CIFD) recommendations to expand the city—s survivor services system while noting a City Administrative Officer (CAO) report that urged fiscal caution.

The CIFD sought approval to execute contracts and use already-allocated funds to expand emergency shelter and specialized services for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. The committee voted 5-0 to move CIFD—s report, note and file the CAO—s report, and direct CIFD and the CAO to return jointly with options to sustain and fund the expansion.

The recommendation matters because CIFD told the committee it is addressing what it described as a large gap between need and capacity: "We turned away 9,000 survivors when we were doing this analysis," CIFD general manager Abigail Marquez said during her presentation. CIFD said the department received more than 20 proposals requesting roughly $28 million during a July RFP, and that the adopted budget included $6.5 million intended in part as a VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) backfill.

In written and oral testimony, more than a dozen service providers and survivors urged full funding for programs that provide confidential shelter, nonconfidential emergency housing, transitional housing and specialized services for trafficking survivors. "These services are not just necessary. They are life saving," Carol Rodriguez of Haven Hills said during public comment.

CIFD outlined specific elements of its transmittal: use of $6.5 million already allocated to the department, creation of a survivor services replacement operator list, awards to several providers via conditional pre-award letters, and an intention to add capacity including new nonconfidential and trafficking-specific beds. CIFD told the committee it had conducted site visits and moved with urgency after receiving a large number of proposals.

The CAO, represented by Yolanda Chavez and Julie Jacoby, emphasized that the recommendation to limit expansion was fiscal rather than programmatic. "Our recommendation has nothing to do with the merits of the program," Chavez told the committee. The CAO said the city faces projected overexpenditures and uncertainty in federal funding, and recommended prioritizing sustaining current services. CAO staff also clarified that the CAO report did include funding for a one-year VOCA backfill of approximately $2.2 million that is already in CIFD's budget.

CIFD and the CAO described differences between CIFD's proposed awards and the CAO's analysis. CIFD said it identified $2.7 million in internal savings and was proposing awards that would increase per-bed rates (from past levels of roughly $13-$15 per bed to $35-$40 per bed) to address agency cost pressures. CIFD warned that a $137,588 reduction reflected in the CAO materials would translate, by CIFD's estimate, into a loss of roughly 20 beds. CIFD also described that the Crisis to Shelter program (which CIFD characterized as an existing program funded initially with CDBG and later general fund dollars) would be expanded to add another vendor to serve trafficking survivors; CAO materials had characterized some elements as new and recommended holding on expansion.

Providers and advocates pressed the committee for funding stability and speed. Genesee Center, Haven Hills, CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking), Peace Over Violence, Saint Anne—s Family Services and others described unmet needs, high demand and program outcomes. CAST and other providers highlighted gaps in trafficking-specific beds (CAST currently contracts for about 25 trafficking beds, CIFD said) and asked the committee to preserve proposed expansions that would serve transition-age youth and single adults.

The committee responded by approving CIFD—s transmittal and noting the CAO report, then directing CIFD and the CAO to return jointly with a plan to: (1) confirm which elements can be executed immediately using existing CIFD budget authority, (2) confirm the count of new beds that can be maintained through June 30, 2027, so they can count toward regional alliance goals, and (3) provide recommendations for how to rationalize bed funding across the city—s homeless and survivor systems. Chair Yaroslavsky said the committee will convene relevant departments and LAHSA to examine payment rates, alignment with federal funding and sustainability.

The committee recorded the motion and passed it on a 5-0 roll call (Yaroslavsky, Blumenfield, Hutt, McOsker, Hernandez voting yes). CIFD said it will pursue contract execution for conditional awardees but noted some awards are contingent on final budget action and the committee—s direction.

Implementation risks flagged during the hearing included pending federal allocations (CDBG entitlement timing), restrictions in certain grant sources, and the city's broader projected overexpenditures. CAO staff repeatedly cautioned that the recommendation to pause expansion was driven by the need to safeguard services into the next fiscal year.

Committee members asked for a rapid joint return and for CIFD to prioritize contract execution where funding is already appropriated so service disruptions are minimized.