The King County Council is moving toward dismantling the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) after a forensic audit raised concerns about the agency’s finances, a step that could reshape how homelessness services are coordinated in Burien and other South King County cities.
According to FOX 13 Seattle, legislation introduced Tuesday, April 28, would begin a process to dismantle the agency. FOX 13 reported that the transition is expected to take 90 to 120 days so more than 200 service contracts and federal grants can be transferred without disrupting services.
Effects on DESC Bloomside in Burien
The proposed dissolution does not appear to directly close or defund DESC’s Bloomside supportive housing site in Burien based on available information. However, it could affect how referrals and some homelessness system coordination are handled. DESC says Bloomside applicants apply through KCRHA’s Coordinated Entry program, while KCRHA says it oversees the homelessness crisis response system but does not provide direct services.
Bloomside opened at 801 SW 150th Street in Burien in May 2024 and houses 95 people who had experienced homelessness, including 25 former veterans, according to DESC. DESC says the building includes supportive services onsite and was its first housing development outside Seattle.
DESC says Bloomside was funded through Low Income Housing Tax Credits, county and state funding, private donations, King County support services funding and 95 King County Housing Authority vouchers. DESC also says the city of Burien does not fund the program.
The proposal follows a recently released forensic audit by Clark Nuber that found major financial concerns. KUOW reported that the audit said KCRHA was $48 million in the red when the review ended last summer and that $8 million could not be accounted for. KUOW reported that the audit did not find evidence of fraud but said weak accounting meant fraud could not be ruled out.
King County Councilmembers Speak Out
Councilmember Reagan Dunn, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the audit showed the regional model was not working.
“Individuals experiencing homelessness deserve effective support, not bureaucratic mismanagement,” Dunn said.
Councilmember Rod Dembowski also supported ending the agency.
“It’s now time for elected officials to bring this failed experiment to an end,” Dembowski said.
In a joint statement, Dembowski, Councilmembers Jorge L. Barón and Steffanie Fain said they want to preserve stability for service providers and people who rely on homelessness programs while officials consider KCRHA’s future.
“We want to be clear: our goal is to ensure stability and continuity for those providers and the people they serve as we work through next steps,” the councilmembers said. “We must be responsible for our taxpayer dollars but we must also be responsible for the people of King County who rely on these programs.”
Zahilay Calls For Stronger Oversight
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said the audit shows the need for stronger oversight while maintaining services for people who rely on the regional homelessness system.
“I’m committed to identifying immediate concrete next steps to achieve better financial oversight and stewardship in short order to help stabilize KCRHA,” Zahilay said.
KCRHA Urges Improvements
KCRHA said on its website that officials should focus on strengthening the regional homelessness response system rather than abandoning it.
“We have work to do, and we are already moving quickly to continue to strengthen controls, improve accountability, and ensure this organization operates at the highest standard,” KCRHA said. “The evaluation makes clear that additional work is required, and we are committed to continuous improvement of KCRHA.”
City References Partnerships Amid Uncertainty
The city of Burien says it participates in several regional homelessness efforts, including the South King Housing and Homelessness Partnership and KCRHA’s South King County subregion. The city says its human services staff meet regularly with a KCRHA liaison to discuss area needs and implementation of KCRHA plans.
The city has not posted a public statement on its website about the proposed KCRHA dissolution. Its homelessness response page still describes Burien as participating in KCRHA’s South King County subregion.
Stop the enabling and require Bloomside and all DESC facilities to provide mandatory addiction treatment or you don’t live there, anything less is just warehousing an addict until they OD one last time.