Workforce Capacity

UNITED WAY’S COMMITMENT TO Strengthening the Homeless Sector Workforce

While having one of the largest unhoused populations in the nation, Los Angeles County operates with one of the leanest workforce ratios. Over the last several years, United Way of Greater Los Angeles has worked to strengthen the workforce of the homeless service sector. Informed initially by a sector analysis conducted by global consulting firm KPMG, and a cross-sector advisory table called the Workforce Development Leadership Table, UWGLA deployed a series of investments to develop new recruitment and onboarding strategies to bolster sector pipelines and enhanced retention efforts and supports to sustain a critical workforce providing frontline and back-office support for providers across Los Angeles County. With funding support from Cedars-Sinai, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, L.A. Care Health Plan, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and Health Net, our Homeless Sector Workforce Initiative supported over 130 local service organizations across LA County over the past five years.

While strengthening the homeless service sector workforce is still paramount, what this looks like is changing as the sector grapples with significant funding reductions as state and federal resources are cut. Looming budget cuts threaten to shrink this already strained workforce even further. To better understand this new workforce need, United Way of Greater LA hired KPMG to conduct an updated analysis, the results of which are outlined below to support the sector and agencies in navigating this moment and informing UWGLA and its philanthropic partners in structuring investments and solutions to help our system sustain as many possible services as we reshape and resize to our new resource realities.

2026 Homeless Sector Workforce Analysis

United Way of Greater Los Angeles contracted KPMG to conduct an assessment of the homeless service sector and provide recommendations on workforce strategies to mitigate budget impacts on services and sustainability of providers.

This study drew insights from 30 agencies, 725 employee survey responses, 10 leadership interviews, and 15 focus groups across the Greater Los Angeles homeless services sector, along with comparative cross-sector data to validate findings. That rich set of data was paired with sector data and KPMG’s proprietary database to help define the current state of the sector and reveal key sector-wide workforce constraints and opportunities in the context of wider trends. Through this data, we have learned that an early homeless sector workforce forecast indicates an initial loss of 11% workforce reduction (Loss of 1145 currently employed workers) due to budget constraints, with further role and worker loss into the following year. At the same time, we project an increase in people experiencing homelessness as households already at-risk of losing their housing face higher barriers to accessing services and supports, and the nonprofit sector faces reduced staffing and service capacity resulting in longer wait times and more households going unassisted.

Los Angeles cannot make progress on homelessness without a capable and adequate workforce. This report intends to provide actionable insights to minimize disruption and maximize the efficiency of the resources in the sector.

Key Recommendations

This report is anchored by three interconnected themes – Collaborative Service Delivery, Digital Enablement, and Talent Optimization – that can help continue to strengthen the workforce. Embedded within these pillars are eight strategic opportunities for improvement.

Collaborative Service Delivery

This model encourages agencies to work together through contractual agreements, shared standards, resources, and accountability to deliver seamless and equitable access to clients across LA. Formal and informal collaboration enables continuity of care for clients, improves system-wide efficiency, and allows providers to be more adaptable during times of funding uncertainty. Key strategic opportunities include:

Target Operating Model

Formal Partnership and Shared Services

Sector-Wide Center of Excellence

Digital Enablement

Strategically leveraging technology to increase capacity, enhance service delivery, and empower its dedicated workforce. Effective technology is one part of the solution; the other is ensuring people are equipped with the right skills to use it. Providing good training equips staff to utilize the right tools for routine tasks so they can focus on the work that matters most. Key strategic opportunities include:

Unified Digital Ecosystem

Responsible AI Adoption Framework

Talent Optimization

To directly combat burnout and turnover, investment in staff needs to be prioritized. This opportunity encourages strategic alignment of roles, skills, career paths, and cultural drivers that build resilience and sustain workforce capacity and quality. Key opportunities include:

Targeted Retention and Performance Bonuses

Reexamine Role Architecture

Customized Development and Succession Planning

For full details on each of these recommendation areas and related opportunities, please download the full report.

Additionally, visit our Research & Resources page to learn about and download the previous 2022 Workforce Sector Analysis and a special 2024 Workforce Recruitment Report, which drilled into strategies specifically to bolster the pipeline of workers coming into the sector.

CURRENT AND PAST REPORTS

This report has been consolidated into a final report, Homeless Services Sector: Budget Forecasting, Workforce Analysis & Recommendations, that provides a view of the current challenges confronting the sector and outlines strategies to minimize disruption. To help strengthen the sector, we have included Opportunities for Improvement for sector-wide and agency-level consideration. The Voice of Sector portion of our report provides perspectives, needs, and recommendations of sector employees who were part of the development of this report.