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How Coronavirus Could Devour LA County's Social Safety Net
A a row of homeless tents above the 101 Freeway earlier this month near downtown L.A. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
As L.A. County leaders confront the large holes that the coronavirus crisis has carved into tax revenues, they're expressing fear that social safety net programs could be endangered without a new round of federal help.
Extended foster care, substance abuse beds and hotels rooms for homeless Angelenos are just a few programs Los Angeles County supervisors invoked while they discussed the upcoming 2020-21 budget on Tuesday.
So far the county has dipped into reserves to cover a $1.3 billion shortfall for the current fiscal year, primarily due to lost sales taxes while the region is mostly at a standstill. The new budget kicks in July 1 — and it brings another billion-dollar gap to fill.
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