LAHSA Faces County Review Amid Payment Delays and Funding Shifts

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has initiated a review of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) financial and operational practices, citing concerns over “serious gaps” in oversight and delayed payments to homeless service providers . The agency is currently led by Interim CEO Gita O’Neill, appointed in July 2025 during a period of significant transition .

County Initiates Evaluation

The county sent a letter to LAHSA CEO Gita O’Neill on Wednesday, February 26, 2026, notifying the agency of the evaluation. The review will focus on LAHSA’s invoice processing, which has led to delays in payments to county-funded service providers, as well as the failure to issue scheduled pay advances at the end of January 2026.

The review is expected to initiate next week and conclude in approximately two weeks, according to the county letter.

Concerns from Supervisor Horvath

“Our communities are done with LAHSA’s mismanagement and payment delays. These failures have destabilized providers and eroded public trust — and they must end,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement . “Taxpayers deserve transparency. Providers deserve to be paid on time. People experiencing homelessness deserve a system that works,” Horvath added.

Significant Financial Backlog

The delays in payment came to light during a heated meeting of the LAHSA Financial Committee last week. LAHSA is expected to disburse nearly $700 million to contractors. As of halfway through the fiscal year, the agency still owes 116 service providers for their services, totaling at least $69 million in outstanding invoices .

Agency Response and Planned Improvements

O’Neill stated that the agency takes its responsibility seriously and is working “aggressively to get these resources into providers’ hands as quickly as possible.” The agency has acknowledged a backlog caused by contracting delays, outdated internal policies, and the loss of experienced staff due to funding shifts.

In December, LAHSA implemented a restructuring plan for contracts to prevent a similar backlog. Officials are also planning to hire consultants to help with payment issues, including modernizing advance issuance, cash request submissions, and disbursement procedures.

“We are confident that the Auditor-Controller Office’s review of our aging payables will show the same pain points in our invoice payment processes that LAHSA is already identifying,” O’Neill said in a statement. “We look forward to its insight and assistance as we move forward with planned changes to this process.”

Internal Challenges and County Support

Janine Lim, LAHSA’s deputy chief financial officer, explained that the agency has yet to receive funds for city-funded contracts and that county-funded contracts were delayed due to timing issues. Lim also noted that financial department staff are overworked, overwhelmed, and experiencing low morale.

LAHSA Commissioner Amy Perkins criticized the agency’s structure, stating, “This is exactly why we have said for a long time the structure of LAHSA doesn’t work.”

Last year, the Board of Supervisors voted to move $300 million away from LAHSA, a process scheduled to begin in July. These funds will support the county’s new Homeless Services and Housing Department. Perkins noted that the county offered LAHSA two dozen trained staff to assist with processing payments, but the agency opted to have them focus on contracts instead.