Coordinated Entry (CE)is a key component of San Francisco’s Homelessness Response System. In late 2021, the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) began a two-phased process to evaluate and redesign San Francisco’s Coordinated Entry system.
The goal of the first phase was to produce an evaluation to learn, understand, and document how CE is currently structured and operates for adults, families, and youth experiencing homelessness in our community.
CE is intended to provide a consistent, streamlined process for households experiencing homelessness to access available housing and community resources to resolve their housing crisis. These resources include problem solving services, temporary shelter, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and other permanent housing solutions.
CE was developed to prioritize and match households experiencing homelessness to available resources because there has not been enough housing to meet the entire need. A functioning coordinated entry process is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the receipt of Homeless Response System Resources.
This evaluation report synthesizes the work done in Phase One. The evaluation will support the strategic planning and developing recommendations for the redesign of CE that will happen in the second phase. The evaluation is intended to answer key questions including:
- Are CE processes equitable?
- What is working well?
- What is not working well?
Work in Phase Two of this process to refine or redefine the Coordinated Entry process will draw on the feedback and learnings for this evaluation. It will need to consider the data findings, equity, and current data shortcomings, and the feedback of system users and other stakeholders.
The SIP housing process pioneered some new approaches and innovations which may be valuable to also bring to the next phase of planning. The report can be found HERE.