LA Homeless Services CEO resigns after county pulls funding

The head of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, resigned on Friday after the Board of Supervisors pulled hundreds of millions of dollars of funding.

"With the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors implementing the 2020 Blue Ribbon recommendations, shifting key responsibilities from LAHSA to LA County, now is the right time for me to resign as CEO," Dr. Adams Kellum wrote in her resignation letter. "Thank you for the opportunity to serve as CEO and for our partnership in reducing homelessness in our region."

The Adams Kellum's agency has been under fire for years, with accusations of mismanagement, and most recently, an audit found that the agency could not account for tens of millions of dollars. During a federal court hearing last week, county and city leaders acknowledged problems with accounting but said the independent audit did not create an action plan to address the deficiencies. The elected officials said they want to meet with the auditors to figure out solutions. 

"Working with LAHSA, the City was finally making real headway against our most intractable crisis," Councilmember Nithya Raman said in a statement. "I deeply hope that this momentum won't be lost, because it would be the most vulnerable people – those on our streets – who would suffer."   

Raman criticized the county's decision to slash the agency's funding during Wednesday's Board of Supervisors meeting. 

"What I fear most is that we're moving the money from one bureaucracy to another, one that the city of LA has much less visible to, potentially jeopardizing all of the shared progress that we've made," Raman said.

Supervisors who favored gutting LAHSA of much of its funding said a new county homeless department would consolidate and streamline services while also adding greater accountability. 

The new county department replacing LAHSA, which was jointly operated by city and county officials, will manage $1 billion and staff more than 1,000 employees, according to Supervisor Janice Hahn. The board expects the agency to open by Jan. 1, 2026. 

"I think it's time to make a change," Hahn said at Tuesday's meeting, saying the passage of Measure A and other tax proposals intended to fund the fight against homelessness shows LA voters are "willing to continue to tax themselves" to resolve the crisis.

LAHSA has notched some recent victories. Last year's homeless count showed a slight decrease in the number of people living on the streets. It also said that this year's count appears to show a 5 to 10% drop in homeless across the county. However, those numbers have not been finalized. 

Adams Kellum said she would stay at LAHSA for at least 120 days to help transition the new leader. 

"I joined LAHSA two years ago to help lead change after decades of challenges within the system and agency," she wrote. "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."