Preparing Tomorrow’s Homeless Sector Leadership Pipeline

Affordable housing and homelessness

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

There is a significant workforce shortage within the homeless sector. A 2022-23 National Homeless Services Workforce study shows almost 40% of participating social workers are actively looking to leave or considering leaving their job, citing low pay, staff shortages, turnover and feeling unable to do enough. An LA-focused study conducted by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and KPMG found that attrition in the homeless sector, which should be 10%, was 30%. Case Managers reported “a lack of training” as the most significant challenge.
In response, CSH developed the HSWE program (detailed above), which utilizes a modular approach that adapts to students’ interests. 80% of students felt the training prepared them for a career in the homeless sector and more than half of HSWE students surveyed are working in the sector. This refined certificate program will provide tailored coursework, hands-on experience, and financial incentives to grow/strengthen LA’s homeless services workforce.

This project is an exciting opportunity to refine and test a promising solution to the staffing shortage within LA County’s homeless services sector.
To gauge the efficacy of HSWE, CSH held workgroup discussions with participating University of California (UC) and California State (Cal State) staff, students, alumni, homeless service providers and individuals with lived experience of homelessness. CSH will adopt these recommendations to create and test a Certificate in Homeless Services program in two LA County universities. CSH will:
Develop two new college level courses on homeless services to be taken concurrently with a practicum in the homeless sector.
Secure agreements with two four-year universities (one bachelor’s program and one master’s program) to pilot the certificate program.
Secure agreements with homeless services agencies for internship field placements and post-graduate hiring commitments.
Recruit and finalize the 30-student cohort for coursework and field placement.
Secure agreements with homeless services experts and individuals with lived experience of homelessness to deliver the two courses.
Launch the pilot, to take place during the 2026-2027 academic year (August-May).
Administer stipends to participating students, monitor field internships, and collaborate with hosting homeless services agencies to ensure continuous quality improvement.
This grant will set the stage for a successful pilot that can be scaled within UC and Cal State systems.

This project will set the stage for developing a pipeline of competent, compassionate, professionals eager to pursue a career in LA’s homeless sector. If successful, we will have a body of evidence for a program that equips students with adequate compensation and the knowledge and support they need to sustain a career in the field.
Homelessness is one of the most pressing, intractable issues facing LA. It requires cross-sector collaboration, a wide range of perspectives, and creative solutions. LA is recognized as a hub of innovation that garners public and private sector support to pilot, test, and scale promising models that can be a roadmap for communities across the U.S.
To tackle homelessness, we must strengthen and grow the homeless sector workforce. Leveraging learnings from HSWE, we are poised to design, launch, and test the LA County Certificate in Homeless Services, make the case for sustained public investment, and set the stage for scale across the UC/Cal State systems.