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Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness

The Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness seeks to ensure that people living in Vermont have a safe, stable, affordable home, and — if homelessness does occur — it is brief, rare, and non-recurring and those experiencing homelessness are treated with dignity and respect.

Now Available: Updated VT BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Assessment Form

November 1, 2024

Today is the day!  It has finally arrived!  You will find the newly updated Vermont Balance of State CoC Coordinated Entry Assessment linked here.

The attached CE Assessment Form was introduced at the CE Summit in Waterbury on September 9th.  That summit was a training on the updates to the form and some guidance for rollout.  The initial rollout was delayed as we wanted to give time to ensure we had the paper or hard copy of the assessment smoothly aligned with the HMIS version, as such slight alterations have been made on the form you are receiving today and the one you were presented on September 9th.  Please take time to carefully and thoroughly review the document in its entirety prior to the go live date of use.  The document is a complete tool and has detailed instructions for its use built into its pages, so do not fear change or the unknown because you have the information and tools you need for the task at hand.  😊 

  • Over the next week Lead Agencies will need to distribute this updated CE Assessment Form to all regional Assessment Partners.
  • Lead Agencies will need to connect with all their CE Assessors and make sure they have the new CE Assessment, have reviewed the new Assessment and are aware of the timelines for implementation.
  • Lead Agencies are encouraged to use their next scheduled meetings with Assessment Partners to review the Assessment tool.
  • Assessors will start using the new assessment starting next week Thursday November 7th.   
  • Paper copies of the form should be filled out with any new households starting 11/7 and be held for entry into HMIS when the system is updated. 
  • Information collected in the paper CE Assessments can be entered into HMIS after users have completed the training presented by ICA on November 12th and when your coordinated entry agency access is reinstated.  More information about this is below in the timeline. 

For Households already enrolled in CE we will send out a short update form before November 14th.  This form will identify the questions on the updated Assessment Form that are the new required questions and affect Prioritization.   Please note that this update form should be completed as soon as possible at the next point of contact with the household to ensure that households are correctly prioritized as resources become available, but no later than January 15th 2025. 

At the Coordinated Entry Summit in Waterbury on September 9th we heard from a number of people who wanted us to update the Coordinated Entry training.  We heard your request and have been working to update and enhance the curriculum.  We are planning two statewide train-the-trainer events where we will introduce and share the updates.  These events will be held in the next two months, one in a northern Vermont location and one in a southern Vermont location.  This will give you the information and tools needed to host regional trainings for broader groups of CE partners and allies in early 2025.  More information with specific dates and locations will follow shortly. 

The following is updated information on the timeline for implementing the new updated Balance of State CoC Coordinated Entry Assessment. 

November 1st – The new updated CE Assessment will be distributed. 

November 1st –  TODAY is the day by which ICA needs CE Lead Agencies to identify who to send the Prioritization Report to.  If you have not already done so, please use this link to identify the staff member to receive the report:  https://forms.gle/7vsDoMQBAjSBjMNF6

November 4th-6th – Distribute and review the CE Assessment tool to all regional Assessment Partners

November 6th – All Coordinated Entry data must be entered into HMIS no later than 5pm. 

November 7th – Coordinated Entry Agency HMIS blackout period begins.  Users will not have access to the CE Projects in HMIS until after system updates and trainings have been completed (11/14).

November 7th – CE Lead Agencies (LA) will receive most recent Prioritization report from ICA.  ICA will work with LA to identify the correct recipients of this information for each LA.  Lead Agencies will use these lists to support

November 7th – Assessors will start using new updated assessment and will hold paper copies until training is completed and HMIS CE Agency access reinstated. 

November 12th – ICA will host a  live training for ICA Balance of State HMIS Coordinated Entry Homeless and At Risk Projects from 10-12. HMIS Users must sign up for the training and attend on their unique link in order to receive credit.  

November 13th – ICA will send out a newsletter and post the recorded version on their website of the HMIS training for HMIS users who were not able to attend the live training.

November 14th – HMIS users who attended the live training on the 12th will receive access to their HMIS CE Agency by end of business day. Users who utilize the recorded training can expect to gain access within 24 business hours of completion. 

Week of November 18, 2024 – CE Lead Agencies will receive communication regarding when an updated Prioritization report will be available and any additional training than might be needed.

November 19, 2024 – ICA will be holding Office Hours (more information to come)

November 21, 2024 – ICA will be holding Office Hours (more information to come)

Updated Information on the Timeline for Implementing the New Updated Balance of State CoC Coordinated Entry Assessment

Tuesday October 22, 2024

November 1st – The new updated CE Assessment will be distributed. 

November 6th – All Coordinated Entry data must be entered into HMIS no later than 5pm. 

November 7th – Coordinated Entry Agency HMIS blackout period begins.  Users will not have access to the CE Projects in HMIS until after system updates and trainings have been completed (11/14).

November 7th – CE Lead Agencies (LA) will receive most recent Prioritization report from ICA.  ICA will work with LA to identify the correct recipients of this information for each LA.  Lead Agencies will use these lists to support 

November 7th – Assessors will start using new updated assessment and will hold paper copies until training is completed and HMIS CE Agency access reinstated. 

November 12th – ICA will host a  live training for ICA Balance of State HMIS Coordinated Entry Homeless and At Risk Projects from 10-12. HMIS Users must sign up for the training and attend on their unique link in order to receive credit.  

November 13th – ICA will send out a newsletter and post the recorded version on their website of the HMIS training for HMIS users who were not able to attend the live training. 

November 14th – HMIS users who attended the live training on the 12th will receive access to their HMIS CE Agency by end of business day. Users who utilize the recorded training can expect to gain access within 24 business hours of completion.   

The CE Committee is working on updating the Coordinated Entry Assessment training to send out so that regions can plan to hold training events. More information will be available about that soon.