Coordinated Entry

Helping people move through the system faster Sends households to intervention best fit from

the start Reduce new entries into homelessness by

looking for prevention and diversion opportunities

Improves data collection and quality Provides accurate information about what

services consumers need

Purpose of Coordinated Entry

Models

A single location for walk-in clients Works well in small or easily navigated cities Staff do intake and assessment Connect clients to housing or shelter resources,

make referrals to other resources, and/or other resources as determined by the community

One center may not be equally accessible to everyone/Fewer sites are necessary and no time is needed to coordinate multiple providers

Geographically Centralized

Single phone number and hotline staff Could be used in any community, especially

helpful in large or spread out communities Staff do intake and basic assessment Make referrals to other resources, and/or other

resources as determined by the community Need for additional or in-person assistance can

slow down process/ Easier to handle a larger number of clients

Centralized Telephone

Multiple coordinated locations throughout the city Works well for physically spread out or large

community Staff do intake and assessment Connect clients to housing or shelter resources,

make referrals to other resources, and/or other resources as determined by the community

Less control over consistency and potentially more costly/More locations are available to clients

Decentralized

Centralized data entry and/or single procedure

Trained intake staff Open HMIS Data sharing agreement between all

providers Real-time information on bed availability

(preferably through HMIS)

Tools Needed by All Three

Assessment

Gather just enough information to identify the best intervention and program for the household

Include: Where the household slept last night Reasons for coming for assessment Last time/place household had permanent housing Household income Additional factors identified by looking at other

communities’ forms, HMIS, funder’s data requirements

Assessment

Prevention/diversion should be considered first Services may include financial assistance, case

management, conflict resolution Shelter entry occurs only when prev/div are

not an option

Referrals

Goal is to rehouse households or enroll in a more appropriate program as quickly as possible Shelters should create a permanent housing

plan and connect households to community resources

Assessment for Rapid Rehousing should happen the first week in shelter

Referrals

A small percentage of the population are not well served by the prior services

More intensive housing and service interventions include: Substance abuse treatment Transitional housing Permanent supportive housing

Intensive Interventions

Making the Transition

Individual providers must release some or all control over the intake process, for the following benefits: Individual agency’s staff no longer bear the burden of

assessment Providers know that households coming to their

programs have already been determined to be eligible Coordinated Entry can be a component of

incorporating the systems focused approach encouraged by HEARTH

System Considerations

Staff should be prepared for the changes in intake procedure

‘Side doors’ should be eliminated

Program Considerations

Ongoing evaluation looks at: Increase in Prevention and Diversion Length of stay New entries into homelessness Repeat episodes of homelessness Program capacities – which programs have waiting lists and

which have openings Consumer survey responses Feedback from staff Other indicators chosen by the community

A feedback loop should be established to review this information regularly and make system changes in response

Evaluation