2021 Coordinated Entry Evaluation

Executive Summary

Coordinated Entry (CE) is an opt-in process with a goal of connecting people experiencing homelessness to stable housing, using a prioritization methodology based on risk factors, and then referring people to available housing options that are appropriate to their needs. The KCRHA Coordinated Entry team uses self-evaluations and feedback to continuously iterate and improve the CE process, aligned with our values of equity, social justice, and centering lived expertise. 

Fulfilling HUD’s requirement for an annual evaluation of CE, this evaluation covers regional CE activities undertaken throughout 2021. The findings of this evaluation will be shared with CE staff and the CE governing bodies in order to continuously improve the services that they offer to the community. 

6 Key Findings:

• Housing supply is not meeting demand, and lack of supply means that CE is not able to place a majority of participants. 

  • 1. • In King County, where the need for housing far outpaces the currently available resources, there are more people experiencing homelessness than housing options available to CE.

       • We recommend developing a live inventory of housing resources, and conducting a gaps analysis to identify the deficit in housing resources available through CE to the priority pool. For example, the CE team has observed that there are insufficient housing options for young people with high behavioral health needs. 

• CE is only being accessed by a fraction of those who are eligible. 

  • • • Housing resources through CE are only available to those who have a profile in HMIS and have been assessed.

      • As we know from the King County DCHS integrated data analysis, there are many people experiencing homelessness that are not enrolled in HMIS programs.

      • We recommend considering additional privacy protections and HMIS membership for targeted agencies that are not currently funded by RHA, such as those serving immigrant and refugee communities. 

      • We also recommend working with partners in the healthcare and criminal legal systems to explore ways that their clients could access CE.

      • Our future vision is that CE could be a “front door” to the full homeless response system.

• COVID Prioritization is prioritizing, referring and enrolling BIPOC households for housing resources at higher rates than in the past, and using less invasive assessment procedures. 

  • • • Previous prioritization using the VI-SPDAT tool was proven to have inequitable outcomes. In October 2020, the CE team began using a more equitable Covid prioritization framework, which is a success worth celebrating. We are now using administrative data, which has demonstrated more equitable access for historically marginalized communities.

      • We recommend further refinement of prioritization tools to ensure equitable enrollment, using existing administrative data to inform prioritization, including information regarding disability, behavioral health, gender identity, intimate partner violence, and criminal legal system involvement 

• Increased navigation capacity is needed, especially for the single adult population. 

  • 1. • Support for individuals as they navigate through multiple social service systems and the requirements of housing providers is essential for housing success

       • Lack of navigation capacity contributes to the gap between people who have been prioritized and referred, and people who are successfully placed in housing

       • Related, when housing providers are unable to connect with a referred household, the housing resource risks going to "external fill." The housing provider is then able to fill the resource with a household of their choice, rather than a regionally prioritized household.

       • We recommend leveraging the RHA Systems Advocates team and By Name List as a resource for connecting people from referral to placement.

• There have been fewer placements through Coordinated Entry since 2019. “External fills” that bypass CE prioritization have continued to grow, and are now consistently above 50% of placements ( ~65%). 

  • 1. • While some contraction of the system may be due to fewer overall service connections during COVID, PME partners indicate that much of the contraction is likely due to provider disengagement. 

       • Of concern, there were just 274 placements through CE in 2021, down from 782 in 2019.

       • Expanded access, further refinement of prioritization, and increased navigation capacity, as recommended above, may have an effect on usage.

       • We recommend ongoing conversation about ensuring equitable prioritization and strategic utilization of scarce housing resources.

• Feedback from households experiencing homelessness should be incorporated into continuous quality improvement. 

  • 1. • Consistent with RHA values of centering people with lived expertise, there should be regular mechanisms to gather feedback from CE participants to inform system policy and design improvements

       • We recommend incorporating feedback processes into regular monthly or quarterly meetings with the Lived Experience Coalition and Youth Advisory Board

       • We also recommend reviewing information about CE with the RHA Ombuds team.