"In early August, data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority showed only two out of 88 beds at an East Hollywood homeless shelter were occupied, a shockingly low rate in a county where some 47,000 sleep on the streets. There's just one big problem, according to the nonprofit PATH, which operates the shelter. The data were dead wrong. Path's internal data showed 84 beds were filled."
"LAHSA, a joint city-county agency established in 1993, has long faced criticism for not adequately tracking its programs and funds, potentially leaving them open to waste and fraud. According to LAHSA, the process of placing people into shelter beds in L.A. County was cumbersome and time consuming and relied on spreadsheets, phone calls and daily emails to track inventory and get people shelter. While LAHSA directly placed people into many beds, nonprofits handled the process at many other shelters, each doing it somewhat differently."
LAHSA developed a 'real-time' inventory system intended to replace spreadsheets, phone calls and emails and speed bed placements across L.A. County. The system has produced frequent inaccuracies, including reports showing only two occupied beds while operator PATH logged 84 occupied beds. Nonprofit shelter operators report the system is difficult to use and can mislead referrals, sending people to sites without availability. LAHSA sought the module to coordinate placements, prioritize highest-need individuals and reduce cumbersome matching processes. Critics note LAHSA has faced longstanding concerns over tracking programs and funds, raising risks of waste and fraud.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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