The Los Angeles Post

LA County Announces Historic Legal Settlement With LA Alliance to Bring New Resources to Fight Against Homelessness

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Agreement will add 1,000 new mental health/substance use disorder beds and 450 subsidies for enriched residential care at board and care facilities

Los Angeles, Ca (April 19, 2023) – Los Angeles County announced that it has reached a groundbreaking settlement with LA Alliance to resolve this long-running litigation with a pledge to commit up to an estimated $850.5 million in additional funding to increase beds, services, outreach, and interim housing for the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.

The new resources are in addition to the $293 million in new funding the County committed to during the course of the lawsuit to provide 6,700 beds for people experiencing homelessness near freeways and for unhoused seniors—bringing the County’s total commitment to more than $1 billion.

The new settlement with LA Alliance will provide 1,000 new mental health and substance use disorder beds for the unhoused while making available 450 subsidies to provide individuals at risk of homelessness with enriched residential care in board and care beds throughout the County.

The historic settlement also increases the number of County street outreach teams to cover all Los Angeles City Council Districts, while committing to providing wrap-around medical and social services for the more than 13,000 permanent and interim housing beds the City has committed to build in its separate settlement with LA Alliance.

County leaders hailed the settlement as a historic milestone. Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn said the County looks forward to collaborating with the plaintiffs and the City of Los Angeles to implement the agreement, which represents significant progress towards saving and improving the lives of the unhoused once the lawsuit is dismissed.

“We are locking arms with our partners at LA City and doubling down on our resolve to address this crisis of homelessness together, with the shared aim of saving lives, alleviating suffering and finding truly regional solutions to move us forward,” Supervisor Hahn said.

“I want to thank Mayor Bass for stepping in and urging us to do better,” she added. “This agreement shows we did and I hope Judge Carter agrees and signs off on this settlement. The County is committing to a significant increase in resources and we are happy to put this litigation behind us so we can devote our full attention to helping people and communities that need our assistance.”

Both sides will now ask U.S. District Judge David O. Carter to dismiss the case against the County so the settlement can go into effect.

The County and LA Alliance reached an initial settlement last year but continued to negotiate, which led to an expansion of mental health and substance use disorder beds from 300 to 1,000, as well as 450 new subsidies for enriched residential care for board and care beds.

“This agreement means more beds and services for our unhoused residents, including those living on Skid Row in my district,” said Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “I look forward to working with the City of Los Angeles as we continue to implement strategies that we know will bring people indoors. I’m thankful to Mayor Karen Bass for her continued leadership in serving our joint constituencies.”

This settlement comes as the County moves urgently to mobilize additional resources under the local emergency on homelessness declared by the Board of Supervisors in January. These efforts include an intensive focus on encampment resolution, close collaboration with cities, providing additional interim and supportive housing, and expanding mental health and substance use disorder services.

The emergency declaration builds on extensive efforts by the County over the past 5½ years that placed more than 90,000 people in permanent housing, provided nearly 124,000 with temporary shelter, and prevented 22,000 others from falling into homelessness.

Additional details of the settlement are spelled out in the fact sheet below.

FACT SHEET

The settlement between the County and LA Alliance will provide the following additional resources to fight the homelessness crisis:

  • 1,000 new mental health and substance use disorder beds for people experiencing homelessness (an increase from the 300 beds originally proposed)
  • 450 subsidies to help provide individuals at risk of homelessness with enriched residential care at existing adult residential facilities or at residential care facilities for the elderly beds, also known as board and care beds.
  • A significant increase in the number of County Multi-Disciplinary Teams conducting clinical outreach in the City—from 22 to 34 teams—ensuring there is at least one team in each LA City Council District. These teams have expertise in medical and mental health, substance use disorders, case management and peer support.
  • Increasing from 5.5 to 10 the number of Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement teams, which specialize in psychiatric support and intensive case management. These teams will be assigned exclusively to the City of Los Angeles.
  • Funding to provide wrap-around medical, mental health and substance use disorder services for all eligible occupants of the permanent housing units and interim housing units that the City has committed to building as part of its own separate agreement with LA Alliance.
  • Provide City-funded outreach teams with access to various County services directly and through coordination with outreach teams assigned within the City.
  • Work to ensure County outreach teams have access to County Homeless Initiative-funded high service need interim housing beds for people experiencing homelessness.
  • Work with the City to make public land available within the City for new interim or permanent supportive housing sites.
  • Work with the City to secure additional state and federal funding to fund services for people experiencing homelessness with mental health illness or substance use disorders.
  • Consider and potentially amend this settlement agreement to enhance housing and services city-wide or county-wide if County receives new funding from the potential future extension of Measure H.