Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum resigned Friday afternoon, just days after the troubled agency was told it would be losing most of its funding and employees to a new homeless services department within Los Angeles County government.
L.A. County supervisors voted on Tuesday, April 1 to create the county’s own agency for homeless housing and services, which would be responsible for $1 billion in annual taxpayer funds from the new county homeless services initiative, Measure A.
The new county department would siphon away the $350 million its sends to LAHSA annually and instead, use it to seed its own department. Also, the new county department would be directly responsible for spending Measure A dollars.
Adams Kellum sent a resignation letter to media outlets, saying it was time for her to leave:
“With the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors implementing the 2020 Blue Ribbon recommendations, shifting key responsibilities from LAHSA to L.A. County, now is the right time for me to resign as CEO,” she said in her letter, according to LAHSA.
“I joined LAHSA two years ago to help lead change after decades of challenges within the system and agency. I knew change wouldn’t be easy, but I eagerly took this opportunity to tackle the humanitarian crisis on our streets. This work is my life’s mission,” she added.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who was critical of the agency and led the effort to create a county agency to take control of homeless services, responded to Adams Kellum resignation on Friday afternoon:
“I wish Dr. Adams Kellum the best as she makes this critical decision for herself and her family. This is a pivotal moment—one that calls for long-overdue change. LAHSA has seen multiple leadership transitions during challenging times. While change is uncomfortable for some, it’s what this moment requires,” Horvath said in an emailed response.
Adams Kellum is expected stay on board for a transition period of 120 days or longer if needed, according to a letter she submitted to LAHSA’s board of commissioners Friday afternoon.
“I am incredibly proud of LAHSA’s talented and dedicated staff and deeply grateful for their tireless work. I thank them and the Commission for the opportunity to serve as CEO and for our partnership in reducing homelessness in our region,” she wrote.
She was thanked by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who hand-picked her for the position two years ago as a leader who could improve the agency’s performance.
“Dr. Adams Kellum has saved thousands of lives in Los Angeles. She worked with my office to create Inside Safe – the first and only citywide program to resolve entire encampments and bring people inside,” wrote Bass in a statement.
Bass said Adams Kellum fixed many problems with the agency. She noted that street homelessness declined for the first time in more than six years last year, and early reports show the progress may continue a second year.
“She helped us move the needle to save lives, restore neighborhoods and show that homelessness can be solved. She is an agent of change,” wrote Bass.
LAHSA was hit hard by a recent negative audit and fierce public criticism in recent months.
A series of audits over the past year have raised significant questions about LAHSA’s handling of taxpayer funds. In November, the Los Angeles auditor-controller reported that LAHSA, as of July 2024, had only recovered 5% of the $50 million in cash advances issued to its partners since 2017 due to its failure to establish formal agreements determining “how and when” those advances should be repaid.
The agency was unable to provide adequate supporting documents for approximately $5 million of the advances, according to the audit. Other payments to its partners were made excessively late, or improperly paid out using the wrong funding sources, the report said.
In December, L.A. City Controller Kenneth Meija, in an audit of the city of Los Angeles’ interim housing programs, found that LAHSA “does not have a formal process in place to regularly review the performance of providers” or to “hold underperforming service providers accountable.” The review found that fewer than 20% of people in the city’s interim housing programs ended up in permanent housing. An average of one-in-four interim beds went unused, at a cost of $218 million to taxpayers, over the five-year period reviewed, according to the report.
Last week, a federal judge said that he “distrusts” figures the city was receiving from homeless service providers and has “grave doubts” about efforts to monitor the programs. During a hearing, Judge David Carter presented a history of attempts to audit the city’s homeless services since 2007, with most revealing poor oversight, inaccurate accounting, unclear metrics and untrustworthy results. At least two studies pointed to LAHSA as a source of problems.
Staff writer Teresa Liu and City News Service contributed to this report
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