Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 Released for Public Comment

Overview

The Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures Working Group voted unanimously by email on 1/11/19 to release the draft LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 for public comment and further review by the Coordinated Entry Committee.

The LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 can be found here.

Changelog

This document is a comprehensive rewrite of the v1.X Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures; you are encouraged to read the entire document.

A selection of core changes include:

  • Document has been rewritten to provide specific guidance to each project type (broken down by funding source) regarding which components of the Coordinated Entry System it is required to implement;

  • The Coordinated Entry process has been broken down into several stages (“components”), each of which has specific actions and requirements;

  • A new component, Diversion, has been added:

    • Diversion occurs at the time a person initially presents for housing to a Coordinated Entry Access Point or outreach worker;

    • All Access Points and outreach workers are required to provide Diversion;

    • Diversion means “a one-time service, recorded in HMIS or an HMIS-comparable database, in which a case manager or outreach worker attempts to return a person to housing before enter an emergency shelter or spend the night on the streets or in place not meant for human habitation”;

    • Diversion is intended to be our CoC’s first response to people experiencing homelessness; it will reduce the number of people experiencing first time homelessness by ensuring people who can return to housing with few barriers do so as quickly as possible;

  • A new component, Intervention, has been added;

    • Intervention occurs any time after a person initially presents for housing to an Access Point or outreach worker;

    • All Access Points and outreach workers are required to provide Intervention;

    • Intervention means “a service, recorded in HMIS or an HMIS-comparable database, in which a case manager or outreach worker attempts to return a person to housing via their existing support networks and/or other non-permanent housing benefits before they are referred to the Coordinated Entry Prioritization List”;

  • The Coordinated Entry Prioritization List will be kept in a database outside HMIS and will draw referrals from HMIS, HMIS-comparable databases, the RRH to PSH Bridge, and the Emergency Transfer Plan;

    • HMIS referrals will be taken directly from HMIS by the LA BOSCOC’s HMIS Specialist (i.e. our current practice);

    • HMIS-comparable databases will need to refer participants by email or fax to the HMIS Specialist using a dummy name for participants to ensure confidentiality is maintained;

    • The RRH to PSH Bridge allows RRH projects to — rarely — request that the CoC Manager approve transferring an eligible participant from RRH to PSH;

    • The Emergency Transfer Plan allows participants who are fleeing domestic violence and who are already enrolled in a TH, RRH, or PSH project to be quickly transferred to another TH, RRH, or PSH project in a different Region;

  • Participants cannot be added to the Coordinated Entry Prioritization List until they meet BOTH of the following criteria:

    • The participant has received at least one instance of Intervention (recorded in HMIS or an HMIS-comparable database);

    • At least 30 days have passed since the participant initially presented for housing (measured as 30 days from the participant’s date of entry into the Coordinated Entry project in HMIS or using an equivalent measure in an HMIS-comparable database);

      • RRH to PSH Bridge and Emergency Transfer Plan participants do not need to meet either of the above criteria.

Public Comment Period and Process

The LA BOSCOC is accepting comments on the LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 through 4 PM on Friday, January 25.

Public comments can be submitted by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov and/or to Laura Martinez, Coordinated Entry Committee Chair, at laura.martinez@startcorp.org.

The LA BOSCOC will collate and publish a de-identified list of comments after the public comment period ends.

Steps Going Forward

After the public comment period ends, the Coordinated Entry Committee will consider all public comments, recommend any changes to the document, determine a date on which these policies will take effect, and refer the final document to the LA BOSCOC Board for approval.

The LA BOSCOC Board will review the document and vote to approve the document or return it to the Coordinated Entry Committee for further revision.

The Collaborative Applicant, in partnership with the Coordinated Entry Committee, will provide training throughout February on the new Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, including in-person training and webinars.

The LA BOSCOC projects that the new Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures will take effect on or around March 1, 2019.

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care is dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Louisiana. We believe all people are entitled to safe, stable, and secure housing. We are committed to working with stakeholders across our geography, in different professional circles, and from every background to create a Louisiana in which no person lives in fear of homelessness.