About Coordinated Entry
HMIS Partners – find Coordinated Entry FAQ and forms at bottom of this page
Coordinated Entry is a process that ensures that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access to services. The process does two important things:
- It builds a centralized list of people in our community who need housing assistance to ensure that that those who need services the most receive them first.
- It allows participating housing providers to access the list and contact individuals who may be eligible for their services as housing resources become available.
211 Connecting Point is the access point for Coordinated Entry in Nevada and Placer Counties. Coordinated Entry callers will speak to a 211 call specialist who will walk them through a series of questions. The caller’s answers are entered by the 211 call specialist into HUD’s Housing Management Information System (HMIS), which can be accessed only by designated organizations that provide housing services.
The Coordinated Entry process is led by the Homeless Resource Council of the Sierras (HRCS), a coalition of housing and shelter providers, consumers, advocates, and government representatives who work together to shape planning and decision-making around the issue of homelessness. HRCS coordinates the Placer-Nevada Counties Continuum of Care, a joint effort to end homelessness in our two counties.
Accessing Coordinated Entry
Nevada County
Call 211 Connecting Point at 2-1-1 or 833-DIAL211 (833-342-5211). Provides referrals to emergency shelter as well as additional resources, including food, healthcare, transportation, legal assistance, and more. Callers can choose to be included on a centralized housing assistance list.
Placer County
Call the Homeless Resource Helpline at 2-1-1 or 833-3PLACER (833-375-2237). Provides referrals to emergency shelter. Callers can choose to be included on a centralized housing assistance list.
HMIS Partners
In addition to Connecting Point and the Homeless Resource Council of the Sierras (HRCS), the following partner organizations have access to the HRCS Homeless Management Information System (HMIS):
| AMI Housing (AMIH) | Nevada County Health & Human Services |
| Bright Futures for Youth | Placer County Health & Human Services |
| CalWORKs | Sierra Community House (formerly Project Mana) |
| Community Beyond Violence | SPIRIT Peer Empowerment Center |
| Everyone Matters Ministries | St. Vincent de Paul |
| Foothill House of Hospitality | Stand Up Placer |
| FREED | The Gathering Inn (merged with Lazarus Project) |
| KidsFirst | The Salvation Army |
| Nevada County Behavioral Health | Unity Care |
| Nevada County Department of Social Services | VOA Home Start (formerly Roseville Home Start) |
HMIS Partners – Updates, Coordinated Entry FAQ, & Forms
- Coordinated Entry FAQs-041922 – Start with FAQs
- Coordinated Entry Assessment (CEA) – three formats: Word, PDF, online
- Nevada-Placer County Vulnerability Assessment Tool (VI) – two formats: Word, PDF
- Coordinated Entry EXIT form 050322 – two formats: Word, PDF
APRIL 2022 UPDATES
- Coordinated Entry intake forms MUST BE SECURELY SUBMITTED. If you are not able to securely submit forms (i.e. you cannot encrypt email or fax to Connecting Point) please have your clients call 211 (or 833-342-5211) to do the intake so their personal information is secure. This is a HUD requirement.
- NO DATA ENTRY WILL BE DONE UNLESS FORMS ARE SECURELY SUBMITTED.
- Please consider having all your clients call 211 for their intake. This is the preferred method. Calling 211 gets clients into HMIS faster because call agents get all needed information at the same time. They can also offer additional resources to clients. You may be with the client during the intake, or they can verbally authorize you or someone else to do it on their behalf. You can fill out the CEA and VI forms with the client, then call 211 when able with the forms in hand. Client can verbally authorize in two ways:
- by calling 211 when they are with you and telling the call agent that they authorize you to do the intake on their behalf.
- by calling 211 on their own ahead of time and telling the call agent that they authorize you, or someone else, to do the intake on their behalf. The call agent will note the name of who is authorized by the client.
- A Release of Information form is no longer required for HMIS, but your organization may require ROIs for some or all services. See info at end of FAQ document about how personal information is used in HMIS.
- There is now one email address for the HMIS data entry team at 211 Connecting Point: ceintake@connectingpoint.org.