Coordinated Entry System

The Coordinated Entry System (CES) is a standardized process to prioritize the people experiencing homelessness with the highest vulnerabilities to limited housing opportunities. The CES is facilitated by network of local service providers, non-profit organizations, government, and other homeless services providers that help to identify people experiencing homelessness and support them through the process to access and utilize available shelter, housing and supportive services resources.  Unlike a waitlist, the amount of time on the CES Community Queue does not affect prioritization. The priority factors considered for CES are explained under “How is the Community Queue prioritized?” 

After households have been assessed by an Access Point and collected the minimum required documentation, CES prioritizes those households with the use of Community Queues (CQs). The CQ is a tool used to prioritize and match the most vulnerable households experiencing homelessness in our community to apply to housing opportunities. This matching process is commonly known as a referral. Unlike a waitlist, the amount of time a household has been on a CES CQ does not affect priority. The priority factors considered for CES are explained under “How is the Community Queue prioritized?”

There are separate CQs for families (households with at least one minor and one adult), individuals (adult-only households), and for survivors fleeing domestic violence.

To access CES, you can connect with a CES Access Point. A CES Access Point is an agency that acts as a point of entry into the CES program and offers additional assistance via referrals, services, and resources to support with housing crisis needs.  There are many CES Access Points throughout Orange County, including some that only serve specific subpopulations. 

If you are experiencing homelessness and are already working with a homeless services provider, you can ask the homeless service provider whether they are a CES Access Point and if they can connect you to CES. If the homeless service provider is not a CES Access Point, you may request to be referred to a CES Access Point.   

You may also call 2-1-1 to be connected to a CES Access Point.

To view a list of CES Access Points and their locations and contact information, click here. 

For households with  a child under 18, a pregnant person, and/or are working on being reunited with minor children, call 2-1-1 and ask specifically about the Family Coordinated Entry System. 

For households with a Veteran (served in the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves) and want to work with the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) directly towards housing, you can also call the VA’s Santa Ana Community Resource & Referral Center (CRRC) at 844-838-8300 in addition to any of the other options. 

Once connected to a CES Access Point, the CES Access Point will assess your housing needs and preferences and the type of housing programs the participant could potentially be eligible for.

There are three types of housing programs that are most commonly available through CES. 

Rapid Rehousing (RRH) programs offer financial assistance with move-in costs (deposits, first month’s rent, etc.) and short to medium rental assistance (usually from 3 to 24 months), as well as supportive services to help participants achieve housing stability. The goal of the rental assistance is for it to decrease over time, as the household’s increase income and take over the full payment of rent on their own when the program ends.

Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), also commonly referred to as Section 8, offers a tenant-based voucher (rental assistance that is tied to the tenant and not the unit) which allows the tenant with the HCV to move between different units and properties. HCVs can be used to rent from a private landlord and often rent is calculated based on household income.  Upon occasion the HCV may be tied directly to units within dedicated affordable housing properties. CES referrals to HCVs are different than ones made from Public Housing Authority’s Section 8 Waitlists for the general public, and you can can be in both the CES and Section 8 Waitlists.

Public Housing Authorities open the general waitlists periodically but may maintain other lists or take referrals from partners for special purpose vouchers for people experiencing homelessness and other populations (people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, etc.). View links to the Public Housing Authorities and other resources here. 

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) programs offer permanent housing assistance and wrap-around supportive services. There are two different PSH models, project-based units and scattered-site units. Project-Based PSH is where the rental subsidy, often a housing choice voucher, is tied to specific units, and most often supportive services are co-located on the property. Scattered-Site PSH is where units are scattered throughout Orange County rather than in a concentrated location, and supportive services are provided on-site and/or off-site. For both forms of PSH, households pay rent calculated based on household income, can receive voluntary long-term supportive services and case management to support housing stability in these programs. Some of these programs have additional eligibility requirements such as Veteran status or people with a severe mental illness. 

The CES also has a Bed Reservation System which is a Community Queue for available shelter opportunities at certain County-owned and/or funded shelters. This includes congregate shelters and/ non-congregate shelters. Congregate shelter refers to a shelter that has large dormitory rooms and shared open space, with limited individual privacy. Whereas non-congregate shelter that provides semi-private or private spaces or rooms.

Once entered into CES, you are encouraged to remain in contact with the CES Access Point in order to work towards obtaining documents necessary for housing, such as identification (ID or DL, Birth Certificate, social security card, etc.), income documents, proof of city residency, and other. This will support you and the CES Access Point with having the needed information to complete a housing application should a match to housing be made through CES. Once all documents are collected, remain in contact with the CES Access Point for no less than once every 90 days to stay enrolled in CES.

Unfortunately, neither CES Access Points nor the CES Administrators can give an estimate of the time it may take to get a housing referral. There is no guarantee that you will receive a referral to permanent housing through CES. Almost all housing opportunities matched through CES are prioritized for people experiencing chronic homelessness. The priority factors are explained under “How is the Community Queue prioritized?”

The Community Queue is prioritized based on the CES Prioritization Policy as adopted by the Orange County Continuum of Care Board, which considers the following factors: 

1. Chronic homelessness (see definition below)
2. Disability status.
3. Length of homelessness.
4. Program eligibility criteria

Some other factors in being eligible for specific opportunities can include if you are a senior, have a minor child, are a Veteran, how many people are in your household, and what city you live in or have other ties to (work, school, receiving disability-related services in that city).  In addition, some housing opportunities are for people with a serious mental health disability, and you can read more about that process below.

To ensure correct prioritization, work with your CES Access Point to ensure your length of homelessness and disability status are properly documented.

Some housing opportunities are for people with a serious mental health disability. These housing opportunities are prioritized for those who have already been assessed and verified as having a serious mental health disability under the criteria of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), and secondarily people who disclose having an indefinite or permanent mental health disability during the CES assessment. Those who believe they may meet the MHSA criteria are encouraged to work with a CES Access Point to ensure their information and documentation reflects this.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the Defining Chronically Homeless Final Rule clarifying the definition of chronic homelessness. The definition of an individual who is chronically homeless is:

• A homeless individual with a disability as defined in section 401(9) of the McKinney-Vento Assistance Act   (42 U.S.C. 11360(9)), who:
  • Lives in a place not meant for human habitation,* a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter, and
  • Has been homeless and living as described for at least 12 months** or on at least 4 separate occasions in the last 3 years, as long as the combined occasions equal at least 12 months and each break in homelessness separating the occasion included at least 7 consecutive nights of not living as described.
• An individual who has been residing in an institutional care facility, including jail, substance abuse or mental health treatment facility, hospital, or other similar facility, for fewer than 90 days and met all of the criteria of this definition before entering that facility***; or
• A family with an adult head of household (or, if there is no adult in the family, a minor head of household) who meets all of the criteria of this definition, including a family whose composition has fluctuated while the head of household has been experiencing homeless.

* Examples include on the streets, in a vehicle, etc.

**A “break” in homeless is considered to be 7 or more nights.

***An individual residing in an institutional care facility for less than 90 days does not constitute a break in homelessness.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines a person with disability(ies) as a person who:

• has a disability as defined in Section 223 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.423), or
• is determined by HUD regulations to have a physical, mental or emotional impairment that:
• is expected to be of long, continued, and indefinite duration;
• substantially impedes his or her ability to live independently; and
• is of such a nature that such ability could be improved by more suitable housing conditions, or:
• has a developmental disability as defined in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 15002(8)), or
• has the disease acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or any conditions arising from the etiologic agent for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV).

In short, definition of disability for CES does not require you to be unable to work or receive disability payments, but that you have a disability of indefinite or permanent duration that makes your life harder and that housing would improve the situation. 

Length of homelessness calculates the number of days since the approximate date a households most recent episode of homelessness began. Stays in an institutional setting (hospitals, treatment facilities, jails/prisons) less than 90 days at a time do not constitute a break in homelessness. A “break” in homeless is considered to be 7 or more nights, in which the household is not sleeping on the street, a place not meant for human habitation or a shelter.

Length of homelessness is reported by CES Access Points to CES based on the information the household provides during in the intake process. CES requires households work with a CES Access Point to produce documentation verifying all episodes of homelessness in the last three years, at minimum, to be prioritized appropriately.

f you are already referred to the CES Community Queue, reach out to the CES Access Point that put you on the CES CQ or the current CES Access Point you are working with for more details. All CES Access Points are required to provide contact information for their agency, and you can search for a specific CES Access Point here.  If you cannot  get in contact with a specific CES Access Point, please contact 211 or the Office of Care Coordination at CoordinatedEntry@ceo.oc.gov.

There are unfortunately more people experiencing homelessness than there are housing resources in CES. There is no guarantee that you will get a referral to permanent housing through CES. Continuing to work with a CES Access Point and other organizations to explore other housing options outside of the CES while also remaining on the CES Community Queue is strongly encouraged.

Some housing options outside of CES include:

• Receiving assistance with security deposits or other move-in costs from family, friends, and/or community- based organizations.
• Working to obtain employment or other ongoing income to pay rent.
• Figuring out ways to stay with family locally or in other areas, even if it’s only for a short time.
• Getting connected to other resources that do not take referrals from CES, including:
• The local Public Housing Authorities periodically open their general Section 8 waitlists, which are separate from CES.
• Multiple cities in Orange County operate affordable housing waiting lists separate from CES and Section 8   waitlists.
• Many affordable housing complexes operate their own waitlists or take applications on a first-come first- serve basis.

You can view links to the Public Housing Authorities and other resources here. 

For Veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves and are experiencing homelessness, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may be able to make a connection to housing opportunities. Veterans are encouraged to call the VA’s Santa Ana Community Resource & Referral Center (CRRC) at 844-838-8300 to get connected with possible housing opportunities and housing assistance.

You can view links to some other resources and area specific resource guides here, or use 211’s website to view resources by category here.

Organizations serving as CES Access Points should have internal grievance procedures and/or grievance procedures. If there is a problem with a CES Access Point, you should first attempt to resolve the issue with that CES Access Point, by contacting that CES Access Point and requesting to file a grievance and following the individual agency established grievance processes. If the grievance cannot be resolved after going through the CES Access Point’s grievance process, please contact CoordinatedEntry@ceo.oc.gov for further assistance.

To report a concern with how a CES Access Point has handled data in HMIS, please review the HMIS privacy and grievance forms here.

You can always request to work with a different CES Access Point whether you already work with another agency that serves as an CES Access Point, or want to seek out services from another agency that you are more comfortable with. 

Some responsibilities of CES Access Points include: 

• Follow Housing First principles (see an explanation here)
• Serve all people experiencing homelessness fairly, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected group they are a part of.
• Connect eligible households to CES and assess their housing needs.
• Offer additional services and resources to support with housing crisis needs.
• Assist participants with gathering documents both before and after any housing match is made.
• Maintain regular contact with participants and support them throughout the housing process.

To stay active in the CES and continue to be considered for housing opportunities, you should remain in regular contact with an CES Access Point. If you do not have contact with a CES Access Point for 90 days or longer, you will be automatically removed from the CES Community Queue.  

Also, you are encouraged to remain in frequent contact with your CES Access Point to work towards obtaining documents needed to obtain housing and discuss your housing plan and other needs.