This is Part Two of a conversation with Leila Towry and Aimery Thomas of The Future Organization (TFO) about their recent year-long research study into Los Angeles County ARFs and RCFEs. These are commonly referred to as “board and care” homes, but the researchers make a case that the community and regulators should intentionally move away from that labelling as we attempt to forge new policy in this space.
The study was supported by an Initiative, involving the participation of Brilliant Corners, the LA County Department of Mental Health, the LA County Department of Health Services, and Genesis LA, funded by the California Community Foundation and Cedars Sinai.
In this interview, we discuss TFO’s findings relative to the connections between this segment of the housing market in LA County and our crisis of homelessness. We will explore how licensed facilities are not seen as part of the continuum of housing options in the “homeless services” sector, and, in fact, the federal department of Housing and Urban Development does not recognize licensed facilities as housing according to federal regulations which require individual leases.
As the study authors will assert, not recognizing the market of ARFs and RCFEs and the vulnerable populations they serve represents a blind spot in public policy discourse on ending structural homelessness.
We will also focus on just ten of the more than 50 recommendations offered in this report, across the domains of key players affecting outcomes for this Market – municipalities, Los Angeles County, the State’s Community Care Licensing Division that licenses and regulates facilities, and the facilities operators themselves. Los Angeles County owners and operators have been collectively advocating for change and improvement through a newly-formed organization, the Licensed Adult Residential Care Association, or LARCA.
Resources associated with this episode:
Here are some links to help you navigate this issue:
Summary of study findings from Brilliant Corners website re/ this study.
Full report, Serving our Vulnerable Populations: Los Angeles County Adult Residential Facilities and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, August 2023.
August 26, 2023 article in LA Times summarizing key finding of TFO report.
July 12, 2022 article in LA Times about continuing closure of board & care homes
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