Committee weighs CAO outreach report; members seek maps, bed data and clearer matching

March 28 — The Los Angeles City Housing and Homelessness Committee heard the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) report on homelessness outreach services and policy and directed staff to return with updated data, maps of outreach coverage, staffing and budget impacts before the committee selects a citywide model.

The CLA presented options ranging from consolidating outreach into district or regional structures to a model that would make outreach housing‑focused — that is, deploying outreach teams only when a housing resource (a voucher or immediate interim housing placement) is available. David Wimsatt of the CLA said the office’s inventory and needs assessment led to a single best practice recommendation: “outreach should be generalist outreach … housing‑focused and only occur with a housing voucher or housing placement available.”

Why it matters: committee members said the city needs real‑time access to bed availability and clearer coordination with county multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and LAHSA so outreach can be effective when people are ready to accept placements. Council member John Lee told the committee he strongly supports the CLA’s option 3 — discontinuing city‑funded outreach through LAHSA and expanding Circle teams to assume responsibilities — but said any change must preserve successful elements such as street medicine and Skid Row outreach and must include citywide guidelines and one system for tracking and…