A Westside nonprofit that has received at least $25 million in taxpayer funds from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority since 2021 paid its CEO more than $900,000 in a single year while running a deficit, according to federal tax filings first reported by the Los Angeles Times and detailed by the Westside Current.

The revelation lands one week after the Santa Monica City Council voted Aug. 5 to take direct control of its own homelessness services, replacing a county-reliant system that funneled public dollars through LAHSA-contracted nonprofits with limited local oversight.

Carol Adelkoff, who has led 1736 Family Crisis Center since 1984, received $907,923 in total compensation in 2023 and $742,181 in 2024, the filings show. Her combined pay over those two years exceeded $1.6 million. Roughly $824,000 of that came from accumulated unused vacation paid out before her retirement.

Even without the vacation payout, Adelkoff's stated base salary of approximately $405,000 is more than two-and-a-half times the $159,737 median compensation among 16 comparable LA County nonprofits reviewed by the Times.

In the fiscal year Adelkoff received $907,923, the organization reported $13.26 million in revenue against $13.44 million in expenses. The deficit: $172,704. Her pay equaled nearly 7% of all revenue.

Taxpayers fund almost all of it. Ninety-four percent of 1736's latest revenue came from government sources, according to the filings. The nonprofit's net assets have declined for three consecutive years, dropping roughly $1.3 million between fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2025.

1736's attorney Kerry Garvis Wright told the Times the board "worked with legal counsel and financial experts to reduce the growing liability" of Adelkoff's accumulated vacation. Wright said other employees were subject to caps on vacation accrual while Adelkoff was not.

For comparison, People Assisting the Homeless paid its CEO roughly $379,000 while operating on about $175 million in annual revenue. 1736 had by far the smallest revenue base among the organizations reviewed, yet the highest executive compensation.

What this means for Santa Monica

Santa Monica residents contribute to LAHSA through county taxes. Until the Aug. 5 vote, the city relied heavily on LAHSA-contracted providers for homeless services.

City Manager Oliver Chi has described that old system as "challenging" and "disjointed." At a July 17 town hall, Chi outlined the new approach: "Nobody gets into the facility unless we direct them there. There's going to be a screening, there's going to be an assessment."

Under the new system approved Aug. 5, the city will contract directly with providers like The People Concern to operate facilities such as the Palm Motel interim housing site. The overhaul followed 14 community meetings held between April and July.

No city official has addressed the Adelkoff compensation publicly or specified what financial vetting standards will apply to nonprofits under the new local system. Santa Monica's 2026 Point-in-Time Count found 718 people experiencing homelessness in the city, down from 812 in 2025, even as the countywide number rose to 73,040.