This month, in the Scoop:
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Coordinated Entry 101 Training
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The role of the CES assessor for single adults and youth will be expanded
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New policy clarifies who can become an assessor and how to do it
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Emergency Housing Vouchers
- Leadership Committee Recap
Coordinated Entry 101 training
Coordinated Entry 101 is a training designed for service providers and advocates. You will learn the following about Hennepin County Coordinated Entry:
- What Coordinated Entry is
- Why Coordinated Entry is used
- How the Coordinated Entry system works: assessments and referrals
- Housing resources for clients
Next training
Date: Tuesday, September 28th
Time: 11:00 am - Noon
Register:https://ces101.paperform.co/
The role of the CES assessor for single adults and youth will be expanded
Building efficiency by assuring referred households are ready to move-in to housing
Over the past two (plus) years our community has infused over 35 new housing focused case managers to the system. We have strengthened connections to waivered services and people’s access to benefits – but there is of course still so much more to do!
We know that one common issue that occurs when trying to find housing both in general and within the Coordinated Entry system is that many households do not have copies of their vital documents (birth certificate, ID, social security card) that they need to move into most housing options. We know that it can be very confusing regarding who is ‘responsible’ for assisting people in gathering vital documents. Once someone starts pursuing a housing option it can take several weeks or even months to gather those vital documents -- all while the available housing unit remains vacant and the likelihood that the person moves into the unit diminishes.
The CES Leadership Committees are aware of this challenge and have decided to implement some exciting changes to help make sure that folks are ready to go when they receive a housing referral through CES and to ensure that all parties involved know who is ‘responsible’ for taking the lead on gathering those vital documents. Assessors will be asked to do things a little differently moving forward in order to build a system that works efficiently and effectively for clients and housing programs.
Assessors will soon be able to take the lead to assist households in obtaining their vital documents!
The CES Leadership Committee recently made the decision to expand the Hennepin CES Assessor role/service to include the collection and storage of vital documents for households. Taking the lead on gathering these vital documents will increase both efficiency in the coordinated entry system and the success rate of housing referrals for households. The hope is that the housing focused case managers that have been infused into the system, by working closely with CES assessors, will shorten the wait period for households, and decrease time that housing units remain open. Please note that eligibility is not changing for CES, the Leadership Committees are simply clarifying this expectation to ensure the system works better for people experiencing homelessness. Workflows are being added in HMIS to support the assessors with this new focus around vital documents.
Overview of the Hennepin CoC Coordinated Entry Assessor Role.doc
Support and training that will be upcoming
Training will be provided to all assessors before these new duties are implemented. The training will be part of the Assessor Renewal Training that will take place in October and will include HMIS & CES Connect information, tips and tricks for how to obtain vital documents, and a resource list including additional workers in the community that are able to assist households in obtaining these vital documents.
No action is needed right now, but assessors and providers should be aware that this change is coming and will be implemented within the next few months.
Thank you for your continued commitment to move people experiencing homelessness into homeless dedicated units as quickly and sustainably as possible. This system couldn’t exist without your passion and expertise! If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to the CES Team at CES.Hennepin@hennepin.us
New policy clarifies who can become an assessor
Hennepin CoC CES for Singles & Youth trained assessors offer people who are experiencing homelessness a comprehensive assessment to enter the Coordinated Entry housing priority pool. A new policy details who can be an assessor. The goal of the policy is to improve the quality of assessor data, ensure that assessors are strategically located and appropriately trained and that technical assistance is available for assessors.
Who will be approved to be an assessor?
Agency assessor approval will be contingent on:
How are assessors approved?
To become an assessor an Agency will complete the assessor request form and submit to CES.hennepin@hennepin.us for consideration. Agency request will be approved if they meet the criteria in the policy
Read the full Assessor Determination policy
Emergency Housing Vouchers
Households are receiving Emergency Housing Vouchers referrals
Through the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program, HUD is providing 70,000 housing choice vouchers to local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in order to assist individuals and families.
In Hennepin County, we have been allotted approximately 350 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). So far about 30 referrals have been requested by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA).The Coordinated Entry Team has begun to match Coordinated Entry participants to the emergency housing vouchers. Referrals with Metro HRA are anticipated to start in September.
Case Management Services
All EHV referrals are being completed through coordinated entry. To receive an EHV referral, a household must connected to case management services. This could mean they have an existing case manager or they will be matched with a new case manager.
Hennepin County is putting in place a new case management/community health worker team. This team will be up and running in late September. They will be able to provide EHV case management to some of the referrals.
Emergency Housing Vouchers and Case Management Services HMIS Workflow
Case managers that are providing services for EHV recipients should be aware of the workflow that needs to be completed in HMIS – acknowledging the referral, marking it as successful/unsuccessful, opening an entry in the Entry/Exit tab, adding date housed, etc. Here is a link to the full instructions: Tracking Emergency Housing Vouchers - ICA Minnesota's HMIS Knowledge Base (helpscoutdocs.com)
Leadership Recap
Single Adults and Youth Leadership Committee
Families Leadership Committee
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