The head of Los Angeles’ homeless services agency is under fire over a $2.1 million contract that she signed with her husband’s employer.
Va Lecia Adams Kellum has led the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, since March 2023. The agency that her husband works for, Upward Bound House, or UBH, is a longtime vendor for LAHSA and had done work for LAHSA before Adams Kellum came on board. However, state law prohibits public officials from authorizing contracts in which they have a financial stake. That includes contracts with companies or organizations that pay their spouse’s salary.
The $2.1 million contract with UBH was signed by Adams Kellum in 2024. The funds would help unhoused people find shelter, with case management and administrative costs included in the price tag. There were two other contract amendments with the organization that were also signed by Adams Kellum. The three documents were signed on two separate dates.
LAHSA Spokesperson Paul Rubenstein told LAist that the contracts were placed in front of Adams Kellum by mistake.
“Dr. Adams Kellum has not been involved in any discussions regarding Upward Bound House contracts,” Rubenstein wrote in an email to LAist. He added that Adams Kellum “has never been involved in overseeing any programs or agreements with UBH."
“LAHSA is taking steps to further ensure this does not happen again, including requiring additional staff training,” he added, noting that all contracts go through multiple reviews and require “three staff signatures before being sent to the CEO or her designee.”
Adams Kellum has also denied wrongdoing. She says she was upfront about her husband’s employment from the get-go and that she is “completely recused from matters that involve or impact Upward Bound House.” Yet LAist reports that she also had conversations with UBH’s CEO regarding public complaints about the agency’s performance.
LAHSA has been the subject of scrutiny for years. A scathing 2024 audit found the agency repeatedly mishandled taxpayer funds and failed to properly track its spending, leaving tens of millions of dollars unaccounted for. The audit also accused LAHSA of late payments to contractors and said it failed to ensure that contractors’ obligations were fulfilled.
The problems at LAHSA — which long precede Adams Kellums’ tenure — are so extensive that both city and county officials have proposed severing ties with the agency in recent years.