- The Coordinated Entry System improves service delivery for individuals and families experiencing homelessness and increases the efficiency of the homeless response system by simplifying access to housing and services for people experiencing homelessness; prioritizing housing assistance based on need; and quickly connecting households to the appropriate housing intervention.
- The Lead CoC agency, is responsible for oversight of the Coordinated Entry System.
- The Coordinated Entry System provides households experiencing homelessness access to services from cooperating agencies at multiple locations to ensure a fair and consistent process is applied across the continuum. Entry into the system may be initiated in person at a program access point or community hub location. All access point providers will enter into Agency Agreements with Arizona Department of Housing and complete all HMIS requirements including but not limited to submission of signed Code of Ethics and all assigned trainings. All coordinated entry locations and methods (phone, in-person, online, etc.) offer the same assessment approach and referrals using uniform decision-making processes. A person presenting at a particular coordinated entry location is not steered towards any particular program or provider simply because they presented at that location.
- All households facing homelessness should be assessed and may not be prevented from accessing the Coordinated Entry System because of any barriers including but not limited to income, active or history of substance use, domestic violence history, lack of interest in services, disabling condition, evictions or poor credit, lease violations or any type of criminal record.
- The coordinated entry process makes referrals to all projects receiving Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and CoC Program funds, including emergency shelter, RRH, PSH, and transitional housing (TH), as well as other housing and homelessness projects. Projects in the community that are dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness fill all vacancies through referrals, while other housing and services projects determine the extent to which they rely on referrals from the coordinated entry process.
- Referrals and prioritization of people with the greatest needs will be determined by chronic homelessness criteria, length of time homeless, and by use of the individual and family VI- SPDAT
