Coordinated Entry

LHC Releases Coordinated Entry Request for Interests (Lake Charles)

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), on behalf of the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), has opened its local competition for funding available under the Funding Year (FY) 2021 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its FY 2021 CoC Program NOFO in August 18, 2021. The CoC Program funds eligible organizations to provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness, including people fleeing domestic violence.

Through its local competition, the LA BOSCOC expects to make approximately $23 million available, including more than $2 million for new projects.

The LA BOSCOC welcomes and encourages applicants that have not previously received CoC Program funding to apply.

The LA BOSCOC will publish all information about its local competition on its website at https://laboscoc.org/fy21-coc-program-competition and via its email distribution list. Click here to subscribe to the LA BOSCOC’s email distribution list.

Final documents

Today, the LA BOSCOC published a Coordinated Entry Request for Interest (RFI). Under this RFI, LHC seeks to identify potential subrecipients to receive an estimated $50,000 to fund Coordinated Entry activities, including single site access and street outreach.

Inquiries are due by 4 PM CST on October 1, 2021.

The RFI can be found here: https://laboscoc.org/fy21-coc-program-competition

About the LA BOSCOC

The LA BOSCOC is Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness. It serves more than half of Louisiana’s geography, including more than 20 parishes and the cities of Baton Rouge, Houma, and Lake Charles.

For more information, please contact Carrie Patterson, Continuum of Care Manager, at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

Job Opportunity: Coordinated Entry Specialist

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), as the collaborative applicant (i.e. lead agency) of the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), is hiring a Coordinated Entry Specialist.

Click here to read more about the position and apply via the state civil service website.

The LA BOSCOC is 'Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness. On an annual basis, it funds more than $20 million in housing and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness through dozens of projects and subrecipients. LHC serves as the LA BOSCOC’s managing staff, ensuring that the LA BOSCOC’s member-agencies are equipped to succeed in preventing and ending homelessness.

The Coordinated Entry Specialist’s primary responsibilities include:

  • Overseeing the LA BOSCOC’s Coordinated Entry System, which is the LA BOSCOC’s process for intake, assessment, triage, and referral of people experiencing homelessness;

  • Managing the LA BOSCOC’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program-funded Coordinated entry grants, which together total more than $1 million annually;

  • Coordinating the Baton Rouge Street Outreach Network, a street outreach and case conferencing working group dedicated to connecting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness with the resources they need to quickly return to housing;

  • Refining the LA BOSCOC’s Coordinated Entry System by continuing to develop its policies and procedures, applying and reapplying for relevant funding, and expanding the LA BOSCOC’s knowledge of new and best practices by engaging other high performing CoCs.

In addition to the requirements posted on the civil service website, the right candidate will demonstrate a drive for public service, a passion for serving marginalized populations, and an interest in working with complex systems. Previous experience working with CoCs or in homeless services is a plus but not a requirement; we welcome applications from anyone open to learning and growing with the position.

Note: this position is a reposting; if you are still interested in being considered for this position, you must apply again.

Please direct any questions to Gordon Levine, CoC Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Released: Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures (Version 2.2)

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) has released its Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures (Version 2.2).

This version incorporates changes that were approved by the Board on October 6, 2020, as well as the full text of the Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement, which is now deprecated.

A list of changes in Version 2.2 can be found on page 41. Notably, this version temporarily removes the Intervention component of CES for the Houma Region, which at this time is able to move the majority of participants rapidly from its CES Prioritization List to housing.

Accessing the document

Click here to download the policy.

Public Comment: LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures (Version 1.1)

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) is seeking public feedback on its draft updated LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures (Version 1.1).

This version update provides for the following:

  • Removes the Intervention core component from the Coordinated Entry System (CES) for the Houma Region, as the Houma Region currently has sufficient beds to move the majority of people quickly from the CES Prioritization List into housing

  • Allows the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) to designate a non-congregate shelter (NCS) for the purposes of being a special population irrespective of whether LHC is funding the NCS

  • Reduces the time between being added to and removed from the CES Prioritization List from 180 to 90 days while adding a requirement that LHC or its designee attempt to recontact anyone removed in this way and referring them, as appropriate, to an Access Point for reassessment and readmission

  • Other changes as specified in the document

Note: this document will continue to be updated as additional guidance and best practices emerge.

Accessing the documents

Click here to download the draft LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on Thursday, October 1, 2020.

Public Comment: Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement and Participant Triage Tool

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on its draft LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement and Participant Triage Tool (PTT)

The LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement makes several significant changes to the existing Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, including:

  • Replacing the VI-SPDAT with the PTT;

  • Clearly delineating which participants should be referred to Permanent Supportive Housing projects and which should be referred to all other projects, including Rapid Re-Housing projects;

  • Shifting the participant referral order from focusing almost exclusively on assessment tool scores to focusing first on prioritized populations, then on assessment tool scores.

The PTT was developed by CoC staff in partnership with several technical assistance providers. It replaces the VI-SPDAT and is intended to benefit the Coordinated Entry process in the following ways:

  • The PTT is shorter, meaning it requires less time from both staff and participants;

  • The PTT is simpler, meaning its scoring is easier and more transparent to both staff and participants;

  • The PTT focuses on questions that are specifically relevant to the LA BOSCOC, ensuring that participants are only asked for information that will contribute to meaningful triage among the CoC’s homeless population.

Accessing the documents

Click here to access the Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement.

Click here to access the Participant Triage Tool.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Aundrea Braniff, Coordinated Entry Specialist, at abraniff@lhc.la.gov and to Laura Martinez, Coordinated Entry Committee Chair, at laura.martinez@startcorp.org.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on July 13, 2020.

Public Comment: LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on its draft LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures.

These Policies and Procedures (P&P) provide additional guidance and modify existing policies and procedures, including the LA BOSCOC Written Standards and LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

Note: this document is likely to be frequently updated as additional guidance and best practices emerge.

Accessing the documents

Click here to download the draft LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on March 31, 2020.

Funding Available: Coordinated Entry Incentive Program -- Baton Rouge

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) has issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for its Coordinated Entry Incentive Program (CEIP).

The CEIP is a pilot project that provides low-cost non-cash incentives to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Baton Rouge for the purposes of increasing their engagement with the case management features of the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC)’s Coordinated Entry System (CES).

This NOFA does not require an application; any organization that is a Coordinated Entry Access Point operating in the Baton Rouge Region can request reimbursement under this NOFA via its non-contract reimbursement process.

Funding will become available Tuesday, January 14, 2020 and continue through June 2020 or until funding made available under this NOFA is exhausted.

Click here to download the NOFA.

Questions?

Questions about this NOFA can be submitted to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov or 225-242-1388.

Public Comment: Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures Version 2.1

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on the revisions proposed in its Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures Version 2.1.

Changes

A full list of changes can be found in the new “Appendix D: Change Log” section of the document.

Key changes include:

  • The Board is now empowered to exempt certain older CoC Program projects from some of the document’s requirements;

  • People fleeing human trafficking are no longer required to receive Intervention or wait 30 days before receiving the VI-SPDAT and access to the Prioritization List;

  • The document clarifies how Access Points should attempt to recontact participants and when they should exit uncontactable participants from the BoS CES project in HMIS;

  • The document outlines how projects dedicated to people experiencing chronic homelessness (i.e. primarily PSH projects) should fill beds if no people experiencing chronic homelessness can be contacted.

Accessing the document

Click here to download the Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.1 draft.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Aundrea Braniff, Coordinated Entry Specialist.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on August 30, 2019.

Coordinated Entry Committee Outcomes - Week of July 29

Overview

The Coordinated Entry Committee voted by Slack throughout the week of July 29, 2019.

Attendance

VOTING ATTENDANCE [LISTED AS NAMES, ORGANIZATION (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Layla Pedigo, United Way of Southwest Louisiana

  • Kristin Brooks, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury

  • Alex Hamilton, Hamilton Investment Properties Community Development Organization

  • Edna Semar, ASSIST Agency

  • Chelsea McCoy, Empower 225

  • Gail Gowland, St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program

  • Keneisha Keener, Volunteers of America - Greater Baton Rouge

Vote: Coordinated Entry for People Fleeing Human Trafficking

The DV Tiger Team voted unanimously to propose the following amendment to the Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures:

People fleeing human trafficking (including but not limited to sex trafficking and labor trafficking) should not be required to receive the Intervention Component or wait 30 days before receiving the Assessment Component and access to the Prioritization List.

The Coordinated Entry Committee voted unanimously to adopt the DV Tiger Team’s recommendation and propose it to the Board for final approval.

Public Comment: Coordinated Entry Brochure

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is developed a Coordinated Entry Brochure for distribution to (1) organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness and (2) people experiencing homelessness who engage the Coordinated Entry System.

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on the brochure’s current draft before finalizing it for Coordinated Entry Committee and Board review.

Content

The Coordinated Entry Brochure is intended to fulfill all of the following purposes:

  1. Helping people experiencing homelessness access housing and services through Coordinated Entry;

  2. Informing people who engage the Coordinated Entry System about the process — what it CAN do, what it CAN’T do, and the timing of each part of the process;

  3. Empowering organizations that work in any way with people experiencing homelessness

Accessing the brochure

Click here to download the brochure draft.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Aundrea Braniff, Coordinated Entry Specialist.

The LA BOSCOC is particularly interested in the perspectives of case managers and other stakeholders who work closely on a daily basis with people experiencing homelessness who can offer language and formatting suggestions to make the brochure as accessible as possible to a broad audience.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on August 16, 2019.

Coordinated Entry (One Stop) RFP Selection

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation is pleased to announce that its Scoring Committee has selected Start Corporation to serve as its subrecipient under the Coordinated Entry (One Stop) Request for Proposals (RFP).

The Scoring Committee received a number of excellent proposals, many of which came from organizations that play a critical role in Baton Rouge’s Coordinated Entry System. The Louisiana Housing Corporation and te Scoring Committee extend their sincere appreciation for the applicants’ time, attention, and commitment to Baton Rouge’s coordinated community approach to ending homelessness.

Start Corporation will receive approximately $147,000 in funding to perform intake, diversion, and assessment activities at the One Stop for people experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, and fleeing domestic violence. This funding will likely become available in late Q1 or Q2 2020.

LA BOSCOC Board Outcomes - June 11, 2019

Overview

The Board met by conference call for its regular bimonthly (every other month) meeting.

Attendance

VOTING ATTENDANCE [LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION (SEAT) (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Winona Connor, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Louisiana Housing Corporation) (Chair)

  • Laura Hasenstein, Louisiana Department of Health (Louisiana Department of Health)

  • Eric Gammons, Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless (HMIS Lead)

  • Antiqua Hunter, Louisiana Department of Education (Louisiana Department of Education)

  • Addie Duval, Start Corporation (Baton Rouge Region)

  • Tarek Polite, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury (Lake Charles Region)

  • Gail Gowland, St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program (Plaquemines/St. Bernard Region)

NON-VOTING ATTENDANCE (LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION, (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Gordon Levine, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Continuum of Care Manager)

  • Terry Hale, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Board Secretary)

CoC Manager Report

The CoC Manager provided an overview that included the following items:

  • The Point in Time (PIT) Count;

  • The CoC’s System Performance Measures (an overview of project outcomes at the CoC level);

  • The CoC does not expect to merge with any other CoCs during calendar year 2019;

  • LHC intends to hire an additional CoC Coordinator in the near future; LHC intends for that person to be based in Lake Charles to provide localized support to the Lake Charles and Natchitoches/Sabine Regions.

CoC Program Local Competition

The CoC Manager briefed the Board on LHC’s plans for the Funding Year 2019 (FY 2019) CoC Program Local Competition. Highlights included:

  • Several projects have reallocated; as a result, there will be additional new project funding available;

  • LHC anticipates that new project funding will be as follows (subject to the actual funding made available by HUD):

    • ~$450,000 available to all Regions for projects that exclusively serve people fleeing domestic violence;

    • ~$400,000 prioritized to Baton Rouge for new rapid re-housing (RRH), permanent supportive housing (PSH), and joint component transitional housing/rapid re-housing (TH-RRH) projects;

    • ~200,000 prioritized to Lake Charles for new RRH, PSH, and TH-RRH projects;

    • LHC will apply for ~$700,000 in new project funding to create Coordinated Entry Access Points in the Houma, Natchitoches/Sabine, and Plaquemines/St. Bernard Regions; to fund the Access Point at the One Stop Homeless Services Center in Baton Rouge; and to fund 1.0 FTEs of a Coordinated Entry Navigator through St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge;

  • NOTE: prioritized funding is restricted to Baton Rouge and Lake Charles only insofar as projects that propose to serve those Regions score at least 70 points on their application; if no such projects exist, or if any money remains after such projects are funded, those prioritized funds become available to all projects in all Regions;

  • The Scoring Tools and Detailed Instructions will have similar content and substance to last year, but their texts have been drastically simplified (shortened by ~50%).

Vice Chair

The Board was scheduled to elect a new Vice Chair; however, given that many of the Regional seats were not present during that point of the meeting, this election was tabled and scheduled to be held via email.

Board Seat for the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

The Board voted unanimously to add a designated seat to the Board for the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. This seat will remain in place until the next LA BOSCOC General Meeting, at which time the general membership will need to ratify the seat as part of the LA BOSCOC Governance Charter.

Early Outcomes from Coordinated Entry

The Board discussed early outcomes data for the Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 (CES P&P). Early data indicates that the new mechanisms (30 day wait, Diversion and Intervention required) are working: a comprehensive survey of every person who visited a Coordinated Entry Access Point during April 2019 indicated that nearly half returned to housing with friends, family, or on their own.

The CoC Manager cautioned not to overextend this data, as it requires additional details (breakdowns by subpopulation, especially chronically homeless, youth, and DV) and more data points to be truly predictive.

The Board voted unanimously to recommend to the Coordinated Entry Committee that the Committee consider revising the CES P&P to empower the Board to grant exemptions to portions of the CES P&P for CoC Program projects funded before 2015. The Board voted unanimously to recommend to the Coordinated Entry Committee that the Committee consider not revising the CES P&P to create other ‘loopholes’ for target populations until LHC has aggregated more data.

Options Foundation Waiver of Good Standing

The Board voted to deny Options Foundation’s request for a waiver of the Good Standing requirement for the FY 2019 CoC Program NOFA. The vote roll recorded 1 vote to approve, 3 votes to deny, and 1 abstaining.

Next Board Meeting

The next Board meeting will be held in Baton Rouge and via conference call on Tuesday, August 6, from 1 PM to 3 PM. More information can be found on the LA BOSCOC Events page.

Request for Proposals - Coordinated Entry (One Stop) - FY 2019

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), as the Collaborative Applicant for the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), has released this Request for Proposals (RFP) in advance of the anticipated Funding Year 2019 (FY 2019) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

LHC expects to apply for up to $150,000 in funding for a new project under the Coordinated Entry project type under the FY 2019 CoC Program NOFA. If funded, LHC expects to contract with one sub-recipient through that project to create and operate a Coordinated Entry Access Points at the One Stop Homeless Services Center in the City of Baton Rouge.

This RFP is intended to generate a list of eligible and interested organizations to serve as the project sub-recipient. LHC expects to select one organization from that list.

LHC expects to make up to $150,000 available to the sub-recipient during the first year (renewable each subsequent year subject to the requirements of the CoC Program and the LA BOSCOC) under the project.

Click here to access the full RFP, including information about requirements and eligible expenses.

How to Apply

Proposals are created and submitted online through Google Forms: https://forms.gle/pZFaTAeSsFo43WESA

Applicants that cannot submit their proposal electronically may request a waiver to submit their proposal via postal mail instead. Waiver requests can be submitted to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov or by postal mail:

Continuum of Care Manager
Louisiana Housing Corporation
1690 N. Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Timeline and Deadlines

Proposals must be submitted by July 12, 2019 at 11:59 PM.

The LA BOSCOC encourages potential applicants to attend its Coordinated Entry Request for Interest Webinar, which will be held on June 24, 2019 from 1:30 PM to 3 PM. The webinar’s details, including its login information, will be announced via the LA BOSCOC email list. To be added to the email list, please email Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Questions

Questions can be submitted to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

LA BOSCOC Board Outcomes - Week of June 10, 2019

Overview

The Board voted by email throughout the week of June 10, 2019 on several issues.

Attendance

VOTING ATTENDANCE [LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION (SEAT) (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Laura Hasenstein, Louisiana Department of Health (Louisiana Department of Health)

  • Antiqua Hunter, Louisiana Department of Education (Louisiana Department of Education)

  • Addie Duval, Start Corporation (Baton Rouge Region)

  • Brooke Guidry, Start Corporation (Houma Region)

  • Tarek Polite, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury (Lake Charles Region)

  • Mitzi Harris, Project Celebration (Natchitoches/Sabine Region)

  • Gail Gowland, St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program (Plaquemines/St. Bernard Region)

LA BOSCOC Committee and Attendance List

The Board voted unanimously (7-0) to maintain a public-facing list of the attendance records for all general meetings, committee meetings, and Board meetings retroactive to 2018 and moving forward. This list will also contain information about each organization’s Good Standing status. This list will be maintained by LHC. For more information about Good Standing, please refer to: https://laboscoc.org/good-standing

Coordinated Entry Request for Proposals - One Stop

The Board voted unanimously (6-0) to approve LHC releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to fund up to $150,000 in Coordinated Entry activities at the One Stop Homeless Services Center in Baton Rouge, LA through the upcoming Funding Year 2019 Continuum of Care (FY 2019 CoC Program) Competition. This amount will be deducted from the competitive amount prioritized to the Baton Rouge Region. The LA BOSCOC anticipates that there will still be a significant amount of competitive funding available to the Baton Rouge Region.

HUD Technical Assistance: Governance

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has invited the LA BOSCOC to join a Community of Practice (CoP) related to CoC governance. These CoPs are remote group learning opportunities where multiple CoCs collaborate on sharing best practices and learning from HUD TA providers on a given topic.

This CoP will last roughly 6 months; Addie Duval will attend for the Board and Aundrea Braniff will attend for LHC.

Vice Chair

No members of the Board were nominated for the Vice Chair position. As such, that position will remain open until such time as someone is nominated to fill it.

HMIS Committee Outcomes - June 12, 2019

Overview

The HMIS Committee met on June 12, 2019.

Attendance

VOTING ATTENDANCE [LISTED AS NAMES, ORGANIZATION (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Clay Boykin, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Chair)

  • Gail Gowland and Joyce Watson, St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program

  • Betty Grant, Capital Area Human Services District

  • Keneisha Keener, Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge

  • Weston Schild, Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless

NON-VOTING ATTENDANCE (LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION, (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Gordon Levine and Aundrea Braniff, Louisiana Housing Corporation

CoC Manager’s Introduction

The CoC Manager presented his vision for this meeting and this Working Group: that during this meeting, the group would set its intentions for the next 12 months and hold biennial elections for its chair.

Chair’s Introduction

The Chair indicated that his intention for the Committee was that it help improve providers’ familiarity with and valuation of HMIS data as a tool rather than a requirement. He also expressed a desire to assist providers in learning how to request and produce reports on their data.

EmpowerDB and HMIS

The Committee discussed many of the practical aspects of data sharing between EmpowerDB and HMIS, specifically the process for referring a participant from EmpowerDB to HMIS and how a DV provider can check to see participant status on the Prioritization List.

Training

The Committee voted unanimously to instruct the Louisiana Housing Corporation to provide HMIS training as follows:

  • Every other month and by project type, open to all providers operating projects of that type;

  • One instance of HMIS training for PATH providers in partnership with the Office of Behavioral Health.

Committee Chair

The HMIS Committee tabled its biennial Chair election.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held by conference call. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled. To join this Working Group or be informed about its next meeting, please contact Gordon Levine, CoC Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov, or Clay Boykin, Committee Chair, at cboykin@lhc.la.gov.

DV Working Group Outcomes - June 16, 2019

Overview

The DV Working Group met on June 16, 2019.

Attendance

VOTING ATTENDANCE [LISTED AS NAMES, ORGANIZATION (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Delma Porter, Southwest Louisiana Law Center (Chair)

  • Gail Gowland, St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program

  • Pam Hutcheson, Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

  • Trashica “Keysha” Robinson, IRIS Domestic Violence Shelter

  • Tammara Crawford and Krysta Heathcock, Empower 225

  • Antiqua Hunter, Louisiana Department of Education (by phone)

NON-VOTING ATTENDANCE (LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION, (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Gordon Levine, Aundrea Braniff, Clay Boykin, Louisiana Housing Corporation

CoC Manager’s Introduction

The CoC Manager presented his vision for this meeting and this Working Group: that during this meeting, the group would set its intentions for the next 12 months, review and approve the referral form from EmpowerDB to HMIS, and hold biennial elections for its chair.

Referral Form

By general acclamation, the Working Group approved the EmpowerDB-to-HMIS Referral Form. This Form will be submitted to the Coordinated Entry Committee for review, then submitted to the Board for final approval.

Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 Discussion

The Working Group discussed many of the changes implemented in the Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 (CES P&P 2.0), particularly the 30-day wait requirement. Many of the providers presented made the case that the 30-day wait will lengthen the amount of time people fleeing DV spend waiting to enter housing; the CoC Manager requested data to support that position and committed to reviewing the CES P&P in light of that data. LCADV committed to collecting that data from providers, while the CoC Manager and LCADV jointly committed to discussing the issue further with national technical assistance providers.

DV Working Group Chair

By general acclamation, the Working Group selected Trashica “Keysha” Robinson from IRIS as its new Chair.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held by conference call. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled. To join this Working Group or be informed about its next meeting, please contact Gordon Levine, CoC Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov, or Trashica “Keysha” Robinson, Working Group Chair, at krobinson@stopdv.org.

LA BOSCOC Board Outcomes - April 1, 2019

Overview

The Board met in person to discuss a variety of issues on April 1, 2019.

Attendance

VOTING ATTENDANCE [LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION (SEAT) (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Winona Connor, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Louisiana Housing Corporation) (Chair)

  • Eric Gammons, Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless (HMIS Lead)

  • Antiqua Hunter, Louisiana Department of Education (Louisiana Department of Education)

  • Addie Duval, Start Corporation (Baton Rouge Region)

  • Brooke Guidry, Start Corporation (Houma Region)

  • Tarek Polite, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury (Lake Charles Region)

  • Gail Gowland, St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program (Plaquemines/St. Bernard Region)

NON-VOTING ATTENDANCE (LISTED AS NAME, ORGANIZATION, (ROLE, IF ANY)]

  • Aundrea Braniff, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Acting Secretary)

  • Gordon Levine, Louisiana Housing Corporation (Continuum of Care Manager)

  • More than a dozen members of the CoC sat in on the meeting; roll was not taken

PIT Count

The CoC Manager provided an overview of the Point in Time (PIT) Count, both the January 2019 count and the LA BOSCOC’s PIT Count in general.

Strengths highlighted included:

  • Baton Rouge’s count is improving its methodology every year;

  • Lake Charles implemented an innovative single night shelter option to collected sheltered data;

  • Starting next year, each Region will have a CoC Program-funded Coordinated Entry Access Point to help develop the PIT Count capacity.

Vulnerabilities highlighted included:

  • Natchitoches/Sabine continues to conduct no count;

  • Plaquemines/St. Bernard continues to conduct no unsheltered count;

  • Lake Charles needs to conduct a more comprehensive unsheltered count;

  • No Region is conducting an effective rural count;

  • Planning needs to start earlier (September/October rather than December/January) to build capacity;

  • Baton Rouge count needs to identify a new PIT Captain for January 2020, as the previous PIT Captain (Joe Keegan) is retiring).

Coordinated Entry

The CoC Manager provided an overview of the Coordinated Entry System (CES) after its first 12 months of operation.

The key finding is that while the CES is ensuring the CoC is serving people in order of their level of need, the CoC’s ratio of referrals to successful intakes is very low (approximately 10%). This is primarily due to poor or incomplete contact information collected by Coordinated Entry Access Points and outreach workers, particularly regarding people experiencing chronic homelessness.

As a remedy, the Board unanimously authorized funding from the FY 2019 CoC Program NOFA for a Coordinated Entry Navigator, whose job will be to (1) establish and record the required documentation for people experiencing homelessness who are high on the LA BOSCOC’s Prioritization List and (2) ensuring contact information is correct and current. The authorized funding is up to $80,000 and will be drawn from the Baton Rouge Region’s annual allocation.

Scoring Committee

Historically, the LA BOSCOC’s project applications to the CoC Program NOFA have been scored by members of the Governor’s Council on Homelessness using exclusively information present in those project applications.

The Board voted unanimously to include a mechanism in the LA BOSCOC’s project application scoring process by which Scoring Committee members could ask clarifying questions of the project application’s organization and adjust the project’s score as appropriate.

Board Meeting Frequency

The Board voted unanimously to meet on a bimonthly basis. (Previously, the Board was convened approximately quarterly on an ad hoc basis and in response to specific needs.)

Next Board Meeting

The next Board meeting will be held in person in Baton Rouge with a dial-in option. Some portion of the Board meeting will be open to the public. The Board has not yet set a date for this meeting; however, it will be scheduled for early June.

Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0 Approved and Released

Overview

The LA BOSCOC Board has unanimously approved for release the LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures v2.0.

This document significantly revises the LA BOSCOC’s Coordinated Entry System (CES). The LA BOSCOC urges all organizations that receive funding through the CoC Program, ESG, PATH, and SSVF to read the new policy in full.

This document goes into effect April 1, 2019.

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

Training

The LA BOSCOC will provide comprehensive training on the new CES policies and procedures to all organizations that receive funding through the CoC Program, ESG, PATH, and SSVF, and to any other agencies that use CES to refer people experiencing homelessness to housing or to receive referrals for housing.

Organizations are STRONGLY encouraged to send outreach workers, case managers, etc. to training (in addition to manager- and director-level staff).

Training will be provided by the Louisiana Housing Corporation, Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless, and the Coordinated Entry Committee. Training will include:

  • “Mini guides” for each project type that is required to interact with CES (e.g. CoC Program PSH, ESG Emergency Shelter, etc.) summarizing each project’s CES process in simple-to-understand language;

  • Updated HMIS workflows for Diversion, Intervention, and other elements of the updated CES process;

  • Louisiana Housing Corporation staff will provide on-site training to each CoC Program-funded Coordinated Entry project as requested (as soon as possible, schedule permitting);

  • Louisiana Housing Corporation staff will provide some level of online training via webinar in March;

  • Louisiana Housing Corporation and Coordinated Entry Committee staff will provide training during the Baton Rouge Subcommitee meeting on March 12, 2019 in Baton Rouge;

  • Louisiana Housing Corporation staff will provide training during the LA BOSCOC General Meeting on April 1, 2019 in Baton Rouge.

Additional training and materials may be available. If you have a specific need that isn’t addressed by the list above, please submit a training request to Gordon Levine, CoC Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov or Laura Martinez, Coordinated Entry Committee Chair, at laura.martinez@startcorp.org.

Changelog

This document is a comprehensive rewrite of the v1.X Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures; the LA BOSCOC encourages you 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.

Request for Proposals - Coordinated Entry - FY 2019

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), as the Collaborative Applicant for the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), has released this Request for Proposals (RFP) in advance of the anticipated Funding Year 2019 (FY 2019) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Under the FY 2019 CoC Program NOFA, LHC expects to apply for up to $450,000 in funding for a new project under the Coordinated Entry project type. This funding will be used to create and operate Coordinated Entry Access Points in three Regions: Houma, Natchitoches/Sabine, and Plaquemines/St. Bernard.

If LHC receives funding for this new project, it will select one sub-recipient from each of the above Regions to receive up to $150,000 (during the project’s first year and renewable each subsequent year) to operate the Coordinated Entry Access Point in that Region.

This RFP is intended to generate a list of eligible and interested organizations in Houma, Natchitoches/Sabine, and Plaquemines/St. Bernard. LHC expects to select three eligible organizations — one from each Region — to serve as sub-recipients under its proposed new project.

Click here to access the full RFP, including information about requirements and eligible expenses.

How to Apply

Proposals are created and submitted online through Google Forms: https://goo.gl/forms/lIfNnwBrmYTedrjt1

Applicants that cannot submit their proposal electronically may request a waiver to submit their proposal via postal mail instead. Waiver requests can be submitted to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov or by postal mail:

Continuum of Care Manager
Louisiana Housing Corporation
1690 N. Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Timeline and Deadlines

Proposals must be submitted by March 15, 2019 at 11:59 PM.

The LA BOSCOC encourages potential applicants to attend its Coordinated Entry Request for Interest Webinar, which will be held on June 24, 2019 from 10 AM to noon. The webinar’s details, including its login information, will be announced via the LA BOSCOC email list and on the LA BOSCOC website at https://laboscoc.org/new-blog/.

Questions

Questions can be submitted to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

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.