City Council adopts 35 performance measures to track homelessness spending after debate over LAHSA data

The Los Angeles City Council on Aug. 26 voted unanimously to adopt a set of 35 performance measures intended to track and evaluate city spending on homelessness services.

Councilmember Rodriguez, who called the item forward, said the measures are intended to make clear how city dollars are being used but warned that “we have to talk about where the source of the data is being derived from.” Rodriguez criticized reliance on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and said the city must be able to take corrective action if service providers fail to meet expectations.

The vote came after extended discussion about who will collect and vouch for the underlying data. Councilmembers pressed Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD/LEHD) staff to explain how the bureau will supervise contracts administered by LAHSA. Callie Hudty of LAHD said the department is preparing a staffing report and that philanthropic support — identified in the meeting as funding from the Hilton Foundation — is currently underwriting consultant work to begin tracking the measures. Regina Alcazar, an LAHD analyst, said the 35 performance measures will be incorporated into a new framework agreement intended to restructure parts of the city’s contracting relationship with LAHSA and to include corrective mechanisms for failures to perform.

Councilmember Raman urged colleagues to approve the measures, saying the metrics will allow the city to answer whether its spending is producing housing outcomes. Raman noted the data set will draw from multiple sources, including HMIS, LAHD, HACLA and county data, and said some improvements were already visible when the city began collecting the information. Councilmember Lee successfully added a friendly amendment to include at least one indicator on prevention activity — asking the department to evaluate the effect of prevention programs on keeping people housed — and Rodriguez’s amendment (seconded by Councilmember Park) asking for clarity on how corrective actions would be triggered was included. Raman also clarified language to reference coordination with Los Angeles County officials, including the county CEO.

Several council members and staff described practical challenges: LAHD said its homelessness bureau currently has a small team (described in the discussion as six staff) that has been overwhelmed by contract administration and that additional staffing will be necessary to implement ongoing oversight. Councilmembers repeatedly flagged a broader concern: the city pays LAHSA to administer many service-provider contracts (a figure cited during discussion as $35,000,000), and both council members and the county have recently questioned LAHSA’s performance. Councilmember Rodriguez and others said the county has pulled funding from LAHSA and that the council must decide whether LAHSA should remain the primary contract manager or whether responsibility should shift to another entity.

The measure passed as amended, 15 ayes, with council giving LAHD direction to continue building the bureau’s capacity, to incorporate the 35 performance measures into contract frameworks and to report back with staffing and implementation details. The council recorded the vote as 15 ayes; no dissenting votes were recorded on the floor.

The council directed LAHD to bring back a staffing report and to work with the City Administrative/Chief Legislative offices (CLA/CAO) on the framework agreement. Councilmembers said they expect follow-up reporting to clarify data sources, corrective actions, and who will administer and audit performance going forward.

Next steps noted in the meeting included LAHD returning with a staffing plan and the CLA/CAO engagement on a framework agreement; councilmembers said they will monitor implementation and expect reports that tie the measures to contract enforcement.