Balance of State Continuum of Care, Coordinated Entry System

The Continuum of Care Program requires that all CoCs’ implement a Coordinated Entry System (CES) in collaboration with any projects funded by the CoC Program, Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG), and HOPWA Program.

Projects and agencies that are not funded by HUD or the Bureau of Housing Supports that otherwise provide services to people at risk of or experiencing homelessness are strongly encouraged to participate in coordinated entry as well. CES is defined to mean a centralized or coordinated process designed to coordinate program applicant(s) intake, assessment, and provision of referrals for housing and services. Coordinated entry works by establishing a common process to understand the situation of all individuals, youth, and families who request assistance through the housing/ homeless system.

BoSCoC’s CES is designed to:

  • To create a system where experiencing homelessness is a brief, rare, and nonrecurring;
  • To strive for reducing the length of time a household experiences homelessness to 30 days or less;
  • Ensure that anyone who needs assistance to know where to go to get that assistance, to be assessed in a standard and consistent way, and to connect with the housing/services that best meet their needs;
  • Ensure clarity, transparency, consistency, and accountability for anyone at risk or experiencing homelessness, referral sources and housing service providers throughout the assessment and referral process;
  • Facilitate exits from homelessness to stable, permanent housing in the most rapid manner possible given available resources;
  • Ensure that anyone can gain access as efficiently and effectively as possible to the type of available intervention most appropriate to their immediate and long-term housing needs; and
  • Ensure that people who have experienced homelessness the longest and/or are the most vulnerable have priority access to scarce permanent housing resources.

To achieve these objectives, BoSCoC’s CES includes:

  • A uniform and standard assessment approach to be used for all those seeking assistance and procedures for determining the appropriate next level of assistance to resolve any housing crisis, including those who are at risk of homelessness, living in shelters, on the streets, or places not meant for human habitation;
  • Establishment of uniform guidelines among components of housing assistance (Rapid Re-housing, and Permanent Supportive Housing) regarding: eligibility for services, priority populations, expected outcomes, and targets for length of stay;
  • Agreed upon priorities for accessing housing assistance; and
  • Referral policies and procedures from the Coordinated Entry System to housing services providers to facilitate access to services.

The Bureau of Housing Supports, as the collaborative applicant for the Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoSCoC), is excited to share the Coordinated Entry System (CES) trainings with its members as it continues to work towards an effective Coordinated Entry System.

Homeless Services

HUD’s coordinated entry requirements involve access points that are either virtual or physical, where an individual, youth, or family in need of assistance can access the coordinated entry process. Within NH, Regional access points are system entry points for coordinated entry with NH 211 acting as the single point of entry. Most of the regional access points have a physical location and a main housing staff member to assist the citizens of NH in finding and connecting to housing services. 

List of Regional Access Points

 

To learn more about the Coordinated Entry System, watch the following YouTube videos:

 

 Escape Site