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Background
To access housing through the Coordinated Entry System, households must be enrolled in the Coordinated Entry project and referred to the CES Housing Community Queue.
Only HMIS Access Point agencies who have CES Access can enroll and refer participants to the Coordinated Entry System. These Access Points are known as CES Access Points.
Staff of CES Access Point Agencies who need access the County of Orange for Coordinated Entry System must complete the HMIS Coordinated Entry Training, and must also be approved for access by the agency managing the Coordinated Entry project (CES Lead) for each system.
Before a client is referred to the Community Queue:
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Enroll the client into the appropriate CES project and complete the CES Assessment;
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Add a Homeless Verification Form to the client record;
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Add a Current Living Situation Assessment;
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Complete the CES Assessment.
Enroll the Household, and complete the Individual or Family CES Assessment
Step 1: Switch over to the County of Orange agency.
Step 2: Open the 'program' tab at the top of the screen. Within the Programs screen, find the section titled, PROGRAMS: AVAILABLE.
Step 3: Create an enrollment for all household members under the appropriate Coordinated Entry project in HMIS:
Individual CES = household composed of all adult members (18+).
Family CES = at least one adult and minor child ages 0-17 household.
Ensure that household members wanting to access housing together are enrolled as a group into the CES project. Only the Head of Household will be assessed and referred to the Community Queue.
The enrollment screen will include custom questions that are required for clients that are being served through CES. Please visit our Knowledge Base article on Enrolling Clients in a Project for more information.
Step 4: Once an enrollment has been created for for each client in the household, go to the Assessment tab under the Head of Household's enrollment. Click Start next to the appropriate assessment.
- Individuals should complete the Individual CES Assessment.
- Families should complete the Family CES Assessment.
- Youth and Veteran households should complete the CES assessment that matches their household composition.
Please note Veteran households will be included on the Veteran CES reports when the Head of Household's veteran status is yes on the client profile and they are enrolled in CES. Youth households will be included on the TAY CES reports if all household members are under the age of 25 years and are enrolled in CES.
Step 5: Complete the CES Assessment Questions
Housing Interest Information:
Select which of the following types of housing opportunities the client is interested in. General descriptions of each housing type are included to help guide the client's decision.
The client can skip or select as many of the housing options lists. Clients will only be considered for the housing types selected; their selections do not guarantee eligibility for any given project.
Accessibility Needs:
Housing resources outfitted with ADA accommodations or the ability to adapt for ADA needs are prioritized for those identified has having ADA needs.
If anyone the household has a disability, they may benefit from accessible housing. This includes accommodations like ramps or wider entrances, space for medical equipment or a wheelchair, or special light
switches, electrical outlets, and other fixtures.
The CES assessment includes questions are about some common needs. If the client has needs not addressed by the questions, users should list them at the end of the assessment.
Step 6: After answering all the Individual or Family CES Assessment questions, click Save.
At this point the household is considered Assessed but has not added to the Community Queue to access CES housing opportunities.
Adding Required Documentation
Before the household can be referred to the Community Queue, ensure that the required documents have been collected. Please follow the process below to learn how to enter the household's documents and add the household to the Community Queue.
Step 1: Search for the Client Profile for the client you want to add documents under, and click the Edit icon. Documents should be added to the Head of Household's record. Please visit our Knowledge Base article on Searching for Client Records for more details.
Step 2: Click on the Files tab of the client record, and click on the Add File icon.
Step 3: Select the following information on the Upload a File section, and click Add Record.
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Category: Select Coordinated Entry Documentation
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Name: Select the type of document that us being uploaded
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File: Upload the file from your computer
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Private (optional): Select this switch if the record should be made private
Once the Head of Household has the required documentation on file, the Head of Household must be added to the Community Queue in order to be matched with a housing opportunity.
Do not add the Head of Household to the Community Queue until the required documentation has been uploaded.
Participants can be referred to the Community Queue with the minimum required documentation - a verification of literal homeless status (required).
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If the client disclosed a disabling condition at enrollment, users should obtain and upload a form of disabling condition verification. Use the 'Disabling Condition Verification,' label.
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If the client meets the definition of Chronic Homeless status, users should collect and upload Third Party Homeless Verifications and select the document label, 'Chronic Homeless Verification,' in addition to the verification of disabling condition.
For more information about Coordinated Entry Documentation visit the OC Office of Care Coordination's page for CES Partner Documents and Resources.
Update the Current Living Situation
Please refer to the Completing Current Living Situation Assessments knowledge base article for instructions on creating and updating the Current Living Situation in HMIS.
Referring Households to the Community Queue
Step 1: Under the Head of Household's profile go to Program tab, and click on Edit next to the client's Coordinated Entry enrollment.
Step 2: Go to Assessment tab, and click on the Eligibility button.
Step 3: Toggle the Coordinated Entry System button and press 'Refer Directly to Community Queue(s).'
Step 4: On the next screen, you are given the option to write a note to the Referral Agency. Notes can include information on housing preference, client characteristics, or information you have gathered during case management. Click on Send Referral to add the household to the Community Queue.
At this point, the household is Document Ready and has been added to the Community Queue. The household is now waiting to be matched to a housing opportunity.
Please note that referred household member's record must have activity at least every 90 days in order to remain on the Community Queue. Review the Maintaining Households on the Community Queue article for more information.
