Background

In order for a household to be considered for any units that become available, the Head of Household must have the following:  an active enrollment in either the Individual Coordinated Entry System (ICES) project or the Family Coordinated Entry System (FCES) project in HMIS;  a completed Bed Reservation assessment for the Head of Household;  a Homelessness Verification or Chronically Homeless Verification form on file in HMIS for the household; the Needs Bed Reservation Assistance service entered by the Access Point into HMIS for the household; and a completed Current Living Situation Assessment. If all of these criteria are met on a given week, the household will be considered to be placed in a unit if one becomes available. However, all households considered for housing opportunities will be prioritized by vulnerability, and they are still subject to meeting the eligibility requirements of the project.

 

Ensure the Household is Enrolled in the Individual CES or Family CES Project

Step 1: Search for the Head of Household in HMIS, and navigate to the client's History page.

 

Step 2: Click on the View dropdown button, change the Type dropdown to Programs, and click on Search to narrow the client's history to project enrollments. If the Head of Household doesn't have an active enrollment in the ICES or FCES project, the client can call 2-1-1. (For FCES, clients may also complete an online Family Service Request Form to be connected to an Access Point.)

 

Step 3: The Access Point should review the Enrolling Clients in a Project knowledge base article for instructions on how to enroll a household.

 

 

Upload the Head of Household's Homelessness Verification into HMIS

The head of household needs a Homelessness Verification or Chronically Homeless Verification document uploaded into HMIS in order to be eligible for a shelter opening.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Head of Household's Files page, and confirm whether or not this file has already been uploaded. If it has not been uploaded, click on Add File.

 

 

Step 2: Change the Category dropdown to Coordinated Entry Documentation, and select the type of verification that has been received from the Head of Household. Select the location of the file on your computer, and click on Save Changes.

 

 

Add a 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.

Add the Needs Bed Reservation Service

Providing the Needs Bed Reservation Assistance service is required to allow the the household to be considered for units.  If the household is selected for a unit, a representative from the project will contact the Head of Household to schedule their intake into the project.  A new Bed Reservation Service needs to be added every week the client wants to be considered for a unit. See the section below, titled Confirm the Household still needs Bed Reservation Assistance. 

 

Provide the Service to One Head of Household

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Provide Services  tab under the Head of Household's CES enrollment. 

 

Step 2: Click on the caret next to Bed Reservation Waitlist service, then click on the Needs Bed Reservation Assistance caret.  Ensure the Event Date reflects the correct date, and click on Submit. The household will be considered for any units that become available for the seven days following the Event Date. If the household still needs Bed Reservation assistance after seven days, enter a new service with new Event Date 

 

 

 

Complete the Bed Reservation Assessment

The Bed Reservation Assessment must be completed in order to add the household to the Bed Reservation Community Queue.

 

Step 1: Navigate to the Head of Household's Assessment tab under their ICES or FCES enrollment, and click on Start next to the [OC Custom] Individual Bed Reservation Assessment or [OC Custom] Family Bed Reservation Assessment.

 

Step 2: Answer the assessment questions, and click on the Save button. Please note additional question may appear depending on how the client answers each question.

 

 

Step 3: Once the assessment has been completed, the household can be added to the Bed Reservation Community Queue if the head of household already has a Homeless Verification or Chronically Homeless Verification on file in HMIS and the Needs Bed Reservation Assistance Service has been added. To add the household to the Community Queue, click on the checkbox next to Bed Reservation, and click Refer Directly to Community Queue.

 

Confirm the Household still needs Bed Reservation Assistance

Every Tuesday at noon, each Access Point will receive a list of Heads of Household that are currently active on the Bed Reservation Community Queue. The Access Point should regularly be in contact with all households that they have entered into the CES project, and therefore the Access Point should know if the household still needs Bed Reservation assistance. If the household does still need Bed Reservation assistance, the Access Point must add a new Needs Bed Reservation Assistance service into HMIS for the Head of Household by Wednesday at 9am in order for the household to be considered for any units that become available. As a reminder, providing this service will allow the household to be considered for units for the next week; after that time the service needs to be added every seven days in order for the household to be considered for units.

 

Review the steps in the Add the Needs Bed Reservation Service section.

 

Automatic Removal from the Bed Reservation Community Queue

Heads of households that have not had any activity in HMIS in the previous 7 days will automatically be removed from the Bed Reservation Community Queue. Please note that removal from the CQ occurs early in the morning on the 7th day, so activity should be entered into HMIS by the end of the 6th day. Entering the Needs Bed Reservation Assistance service mentioned above will suffice to keep the head of household active on the Community Queue. If a household is automatically removed from the Community Queue due to inactivity, but still needs Bed Reservation assistance, the user can add the household to the Bed Reservation Community Queue again by navigating to the Assessment screen under the client's Coordinated Entry enrollment, and clicking on the Eligibility button next to the client's latest Bed Reservation assessment. A new Bed Reservation assessment does not need to be completed again unless the client's responses have changed.