Coordinated Entry System
The Balance of State (BoS) Continuum of Care (CoC) has established a Coordinated Entry System. Coordinated Entry is a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access to resources and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance, based on the person’s needs. Sometimes communities use other terms when describing Coordinated Entry, such as Coordinated Access System (CAS), Coordinated Assessment System (CAS), Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System (CAHPS), and others.
Provisions in the CoC Program Interim Rule at 24 CFR 578.7(a)(8) require that CoCs, in consultation with the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, establish and operate a centralized or coordinated assessment system (i.e., Coordinated Entry) that provides an initial, comprehensive assessment of the needs of individuals and families for housing and services. Additional federal requirements about Coordinated Entry can be found in 24 CFR 578.7.
Per U.S. Department of Housing (HUD) requirements and the CoC Program Interim Rule at 24 CFR 578.7(a)(8), BoS CoC implemented Coordinated Entry on January 23, 2018.
BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Participating Agencies List: This document lists all the agencies currently participating in the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry System.
- BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, Version 2.16. The BoS CoC Governing Board approved the Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures in June of 2020 and the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Committee made updates in June of 2022. The Policies and Procedures document outlines the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry requirements. The Coordinated Entry Committee is consistently working to update the document, as informed by Coordinated Entry implementation throughout the BoS CoC.
- BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Agency Partnership Agreement. Every agency who participates in Coordinated Entry within the Balance of State is required to complete this Agreement. By signing this agreement, the Agency is stating that they have reviewed the BoS CoC P&P and agree to follow the principles outlined within that document. The Agency is also agreeing that they understand the principles of the Coordinated Entry and agree to adhere to them.This Agreement should be filled out by leadership or by individuals with decision making authority as only one per agency is required. Please direct any questions about this Agreement to dola_bos_coc@state.co.us.
- Bos CoC Coordinated Entry Data Use & Confidentiality Agreement. The BoS CoC Governing Board has voted to approve the use of the Data Use and Confidentiality Agreement across the BoS Coordinated Entry System. This form should be completed by every individual who attends Case Conferencing or Coordinated Entry meetings within the BoS. This form will take the place of regional MOUs and Confidentiality Agreements and will be managed by BoS CoC staff. Please direct any questions about this Agreement to dola_bos_coc@state.co.us.
- BoS CoC Release of Information (ROI). The Balance of State Governing Board has voted to approve the use of the Colorado Homeless Management Information System (COHMIS) Client ROI for Coordinated Entry purposes within the BoS CoC. Starting 8/5/2024, all Coordinated Entry providers in the BoS CoC must use the COHMIS Client ROI. A list of COHMIS Participating Agencies and Balance of State Coordinated Entry Participating Agencies is available on the COHMIS Help Desk.
- BoS CoC Client Intake Forms: Please use this link to find the updated Balance of State Client Intake Forms available on the COHMIS Help Desk. These updated forms can be used for any HMIS project type, including Coordinated Entry.
Any individual using COHMIS and/or completing VI-SPDATS must complete the appropriate training through the COHMIS Help Desk.
For HMIS Training: If your organization is not yet set up in COHMIS, please reach out to dola_bos_hmis@state.co.us to begin the process. If your organization is already set up in COHMIS, please ask your agency DPAL to fill out the New End User Training for Balance of State form which can be found the COHMIS Help Desk.
For VI-SPDAT training, please visit VI-SPDAT Training for Balance of State on the COHMIS Help Desk.