How LA County's 'Care First' strategy is combating homelessness

LA County's 'Care First' homelessness strategy

Responding to a recent Supreme Court ruling and a directive from Gov. Gavin Newsom for counties and cities to be more aggressive in clearing homeless encampments, the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment against "criminalizing" homelessness.

The board approved a motion aimed at adhering to a "Care First" approach to resolving homeless encampments and insisting that county jails "will not be used to hold people arrested due to enforcement of anti-camping ordinances."

The action came following a June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the so-called Grants Pass case that authorized governments to enforce anti-camping laws even if no alternate housing is available. The decision allows punishments for violating anti-camping laws, including citations or arrests.

"Unfortunately, in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, cities across the country are already seizing the opportunity to establish anti-camping ordinances," Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath wrote in a motion that went before the board Tuesday.

"Arresting people for sitting, sleeping, or lying on the sidewalk or in public spaces does not end their homelessness, and will only make their homelessness harder to resolve with a criminal record and fines they can't afford to pay," the motion states. "Moving people from one community to another does not resolve their homelessness."

During Tuesday's meeting, the board heard from representatives from the CEO's Homeless Initiative, County Counsel, Sheriff Robert Luna and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority about the impact of the Grants Pass ruling on homelessness initiatives and implications on unhoused individuals.

Officials insisted that programs like the county's Pathway Home and the city of Los Angeles' Inside Safe have made significant progress in bringing people out of encampments and into at least temporary housing.

According to the report, more than 3,000 people have been moved into housing through 56 Inside Safe and 17 Pathway Home operations since homelessness was declared a local emergency in January 2023.

Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of LAHSA said, "The evidence is clear that criminalization is an ineffective homeless intervention."

Luna added that "criminalizing homelessness is not the answer" and insisted that the sheriff's department is committed to a "Service First" approach.

Luna added that LASD has very strict acceptance criteria for bookings into custody facilities and the protocols will remain the same for misdemeanor offenses.

"We will not change our established custody standards because of what we're hearing about today," he said.

Solis also stressed the importance of the county's "Care First, Jails Last" approach and highlighted the gap between state and local governments, saying, "Some things are better deliberated at the local level and oftentimes we're not consulted -- while we're well-intended and so are folks in Sacramento."

The motion by Solis and Horvath notes, "As the county contends with the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling, it should work with cities and Councils of Governments to minimize disparate impacts of the ruling, especially on unincorporated areas."

The motion calls for a report back to the board in 120 days, with a strategy for addressing encampments in the county through measures that prioritize a humane approach, exclusion of jails as holding place for individuals experiencing homelessness, community outreach programs and partnerships with local municipalities.

In a statement following the board's discussion and vote, Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement, "I want to be clear: enforcement is certainly an important tool, but it needs to be applied strategically and in a way that sustains permanent change. It will remain a last resort to maintain public safety and public health. Some believe our work to resolve homeless encampments isn't happening fast enough, but fast doesn't always mean successful."

The report from county officials to the board included recommendations for developing a countywide strategy on the encampment issue, including:

Continuing efforts that are already in place and showing results;
Partnering with local municipalities to devise evidence-based solutions;
publicly acknowledging homelessness as a regional crisis;
Leveraging public safety agencies for their expertise and skills to make efforts from grassroots level; and
Discussing implications of increasing involvement of law enforcement in homelessness efforts.