LA County to Provide More Services for Homeless Pregnant Women and New Parents

On July 1, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to provide additional services to homeless pregnant women and new parents. This is follow up to a motion from the board in 2024 to strengthen services for this vulnerable group, tasking multiple county departments with developing a comprehensive support plan, including the Department of Health Services’ Housing for Health, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), The Department of Public Health, and the Department of Children and Family Services.

The Department of Health Services’ Housing for Health provided a report in February 2025 that outlined ways to expand services, and additional services needed. The report explained that pregnancy was high among homeless women, with 26% of homeless women age 18 to 44 reporting pregnancy, and 40% of homeless women 18 to 24 reporting pregnancy.

The board’s motion states that there are lots of county services to help homeless pregnant women and new parents, but there are still gaps in those services. It states that they may have trouble finding housing due to resource shortages in the Family Coordinated Entry System.

The board’s motion instructs LAHSA, the Department of Public Social Services and other county departments to report back to the board twice a year with an assessment of the capacity of CalWORKs Homeless Programs and the Family Coordinated Entry System. In addition, it tells the Department of Public Health to report back in 90 days on funding options to continue and potentially expand the Department of Public Health’s Project H.O.P.E. and Abundant Birth Project.

Just a week before, on June 24, Federal Judge David O. Carter issued a ruling stating that the City of LA failed to create enough housing for homeless people. Carter’s ruling states that the city must come up with a comprehensive plan for more housing by Oct. 3, 2025.

Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted his own strategy for creating more affordable housing in the state, bypassing environmental review, much to the chagrin of environmentalist groups.

The most recent LA County homeless count was in February 2025. Based on preliminary data, the county believes that homelessness was reduced from 5 to 10% from the previous year.