LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisors Holly J. Mitchell and Lindsey P. Horvath’s motion to adopt a unifying countywide vision for prevention and to establish the infrastructure to achieve it, through the Prevention and Promotion Systems Governing Committee – an inaugural Brown Act body comprised of County department leaders working together to significantly improve the conditions necessary to foster well-being for Angelenos and solve for risk factors throughout a person’s life that lead to engaging in government systems like foster care, justice, and public social services.

This motion meets the urgent call for a shared and coordinated commitment to prevention that charts new paths for residents to be able to avoid the County’s safety net and closes the gaps within our current prevention strategies so that residents are no longer falling through the cracks that perpetuate poverty and trauma and are instead supported with the resources to truly thrive” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.

“While many programs and services offered by LA County are intended to prevent people from losing housing, a job, food assistance, or custody of a child, there’s so much more we can and must do to strengthen delivery and impact of our services,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “Building a prevention infrastructure has the power to redefine the County’s role in people’s lives, moving from the safety net system we have today, to a system of care that prevents harm and promotes individual and family wellbeing by focusing on front end investments. I proudly join Supervisor Mitchell in this bold plan to bring our County departments and stakeholders together to shake up how we do business to do better by the people counting on us to protect them.”

The motion dedicates an initial investment of $5 million to establish the infrastructure committee that will include Los Angeles County Departments of Public Social Services, Child and Family Services, Homeless Initiative, Mental Health – and other relevant departments and partners – tasked with aligning the County’s numerous prevention strategies into a well-coordinated model equipped to: catch residents before they fall into the county’s safety net, lessen the time and negative effects residents experience within government services and programs and demonstrably improve outcomes for communities through a transparent process for public input and accountability.

Dr. Jackie Contreras, Director of the Department of Public Social Services and inaugural Chair for the Prevention and Promotion Systems Governing Committee, shared “this is an incredible opportunity to come together as one County family to realize the achievable vision of a system of care that works upstream to support individuals and families, holistically and equitably. Building on the strong work of the Prevention Services Task Force, and in partnership with and service to our most marginalized communities, I’m confident our actions and results will bring to life our shared commitments.”

A Prevention Services Task Force was assembled in 2021, through a Board of Supervisors directive calling for bold recommendations to address racial disparities and prevent harm within the County’s government systems – which account for the largest foster care and jail system in the world. Today’s motion to establish a shared prevention vision and infrastructure model is one of the key calls-to-action provided by the taskforce along with additional recommendations reflected throughout the ten directives of the motion.

“I am honored as a community member and someone with lived experience to be part of the Prevention Services Task Force that contributed the recommendations to make this important moment possible” said Fran Sereseres, Resident and Prevention Services Task Force member. “We are relying on the leadership of LA County to make our community informed recommendations real. This will help strengthen collaboration and ensure that we get the services we need to create a LA County with fewer hardships.”

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell provided the following statement in response to the release of bodycam footage today by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The body cam footage Sheriff Luna released of a male deputy using excessive force during an interaction with a Black woman and her infant in Palmdale, CA is shameful. This footage, along with the most recent display of excessive force by deputies from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, are further indication of the need for a culture shift that ends the long history of brutality directed towards Black people and communities of color by law enforcement. Simply put, these acts of violence cause immeasurable harm and I expect zero tolerance for this behavior.”

“I want to thank Sheriff Luna for working towards increased transparency and accountability in the department. If our goal is to end excessive force and the trauma it causes, then this level of transparency is necessary for rebuilding public trust and must be paired with investigative measures to help prevent it from happening again.”

“After hearing Inspector General Huntsman’s oversight recommendations during this week’s public Board of Supervisors meeting, it is my expectation that the LA County Sheriff’s Department will join other local law enforcement entities in changing its policies to permit internal investigations to proceed concurrently with criminal investigations in order to expedite justice and increase transparency for the public. It is also my expectation that this department, along with every County department, fully embrace its role in helping to achieve our inaugural Racial Equity Strategic Plan so as we work to deliver public service to 10 million residents, we are preventing harm and creating more just, safe, and thriving communities.”

“I look forward to the outcomes of the investigation into these matters and will continue to work with the Office of the Inspector General, the Civilian Oversight Commission, and the Sheriff’s Department to address the systemic issues that are at the root of this issue and can only be solved by working together.”

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In a landmark vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a motion authored by Supervisors Holly J. Mitchell and Hilda L. Solis to establish a Right to Counsel ordinance and universal access to legal representation through the Stay Housed L.A. initiative. The motion calls for the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), County Counsel, and other impacted County departments to return before the end of next year with eligibility requirements, sustainable funding sources, and an ordinance to codify that will make available, for the first time, legal representation at no-cost for qualified tenants facing eviction in unincorporated communities.

“Legal representation is often unaffordable and inaccessible for many working people, especially when hit with an eviction notice. Right to Counsel allows us to remove these barriers and helps thousands of residents maintain their housing” said Supervisor Mitchell, representing the Second District. “This is a necessary part of our strategy to end homelessness and sets us on a path to provide universal access to legal representation – a resource that every Angeleno deserves.”

“No one, absolutely no one, should ever have to face eviction without the opportunity to be legally represented. Having a right to counsel will help level the playing field for tenants in court with landlords,” said Supervisor Solis, representing the First District. “This is about justice. This is about equity. This is about cementing Los Angeles County’s guiding principle—serving as a safety net for our most vulnerable.”

According to national data from The Center for American Progress, an estimated 10 percent of tenants facing eviction in the County have legal representation compared to 90 percent of landlords. In 2020, $2 million in Measure H Funds along with additional investments from the County and philanthropy, launched Stay Housed L.A.- the County’s comprehensive eviction defense program, that provides a full range of critical services, including short-term rental assistance and legal aid to stem the tide of residents becoming unhoused. The County’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs projects that within this year alone, over 15,000 residents who live in unincorporated communities and cities outside of Los Angeles, will seek SHLA’s services.

Currently, SHLA’s capacity to serve residents is outnumbered by the growing demand for its homelessness prevention services. To help ensure the eviction protections provided by SHLA can reach more residents regardless of their income, the motion also calls for the County’s Chief Executive Office to allocate $5,000,000 to help supplement SHLA’s budget and for Department of Business and Consumer Affairs to work with cities throughout the County to develop funding models that will allow SHLA to quickly stand-up services.

“Renters make up the majority of every part of Los Angeles County. To achieve housing justice, we must ensure that renters have the resources to assert their rights when facing the loss of their homes. We applaud the leadership of Supervisors for their work on supporting tenants and Right to Counsel,” said Sasha Harnden, Senior Public Policy Advocate at the Inner-City Law Center and a member of the L.A. Right to Counsel Coalition.

To read the full motion, click here.