The Balance of State (BoS) Continuum of Care (CoC) has established a Coordinated Entry System. Coordinated Entry is a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access to resources and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance, based on the person’s needs. Sometimes communities use other terms when describing Coordinated Entry, such as Coordinated Access System (CAS), Coordinated Assessment System (CAS), Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System (CAHPS), and others.
Provisions in the CoC Program Interim Rule at 24 CFR 578.7(a)(8) require that CoCs, in consultation with the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, establish and operate a centralized or coordinated assessment system (i.e., Coordinated Entry) that provides an initial, comprehensive assessment of the needs of individuals and families for housing and services. Additional federal requirements about Coordinated Entry can be found in 24 CFR 578.7.
Per U.S. Department of Housing (HUD) requirements and the CoC Program Interim Rule at 24 CFR 578.7(a)(8), BoS CoC implemented Coordinated Entry on January 23, 2018.
BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Participating Agencies List: This document lists all the agencies currently participating in the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry System.
- BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, Version 2.16. The BoS CoC Governing Board approved the Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures in June of 2020 and the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Committee made updates in June of 2022. The Policies and Procedures document outlines the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry requirements. The Coordinated Entry Committee is consistently working to update the document, as informed by Coordinated Entry implementation throughout the BoS CoC.
- Bos CoC Coordinated Entry Data Use & Confidentiality Agreement. The BoS CoC Governing Board has voted to approve the use of the Data Use and Confidentiality Agreement across the BoS Coordinated Entry System. This form should be completed by every individual who attends Case Conferencing or Coordinated Entry meetings within the BoS. This form will take the place of regional MOUs and Confidentiality Agreements and will be managed by BoS CoC staff. Please direct any questions about this Agreement to dola_bos_coc@state.co.us.
- BoS CoC Release of Information (ROI). The Balance of State Governing Board has voted to approve the use of the Colorado Homeless Management Information System (COHMIS) Client ROI for Coordinated Entry purposes within the BoS CoC. Starting 8/5/2024, all Coordinated Entry providers in the BoS CoC must use the COHMIS Client ROI. A list of COHMIS Participating Agencies and Balance of State Coordinated Entry Participating Agencies is available on the COHMIS Help Desk.
- BoS CoC Client Intake Forms: Please use this link to find the updated Balance of State Client Intake Forms available on the COHMIS Help Desk. These updated forms can be used for any HMIS project type, including Coordinated Entry.
- VI-SPDAT Tools. VI-SPDAT Tools are listed in the "VI-SPDAT Training and Documents" sections of this website and in Appendix H of the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures Document.
VI-SPDAT 3.0 Training
Guidance from Indigenous Partners and for Survivors of Violence and Domestic Assault
The guidance documents below are required reading and understanding prior to administering the VI-SPDAT 3.0.
- Guidance from Indigenous Partners on How to Administer VI-SPDAT V3
- Guidance for Administering the VI-SPDAT V3 to Survivors of Domestic Assault and Intimate Partner Violence
VI-SPDAT 3.0 Related Trainings (Updated 4/2022)
The VI-SPDAT V3 (Singles and Families) Training videos, as well as updated versions of other VI-SPDAT tools and support documents, can be found below.
- Individual (Single Adults) VI-SPDAT 3 Training. 48-minute training video, presented by Orgcode (creators of the VI-SPDAT), for the VI-SPDAT 3.0 for Individuals (single adults)
- Family VI-SPDAT V3 Training. 30-minute Training video, presented by Orgcode (creators of the VI-SPDAT), for the VI-SPDAT Version 3.0 for Families.
- Justice Discharge JD-VI-SPDAT. The Justice Discharge VI-SPDAT (the JD-VI-SPDAT) is to be used with adults who have been incarcerated 31 or more days, and it is within 30 days of their release (either 30 days prior to release or within 30 days of being released). Please read through the JD-VI-SPDAT and familiarize yourself with the questions and the differences between this document and the Single Adults VI-SPDAT. As always, the VI-SPDAT is meant to be used as a quick triage tool and not as a full assessment.
- Transition-Aged Youth TAY-VI-SPDAT V2. The Transition-Aged Youth VI-SPDAT (TAY-VI-SPDAT) is to be used with youth ages 18 to 24. Please read through the TAY-VI-SPDAT familiarize yourself with the questions and the differences between this document and the Single Adult and Family VI-SPDAT trainings and assessments. As always, the VI-SPDAT is meant to be used as a quick triage tool and not as a full assessment.
The BoS CoC Governing Board approved the “Coordinated Entry System (CES) for Youth & Young Adults: Policy and Process for Youth Focused Partners” in February of 2020, to be implemented once partners are appropriately trained on the process. Until that time, regions should continue to follow local guidance as well as guidance from the BoS CoC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures. The documents below contain the policy and process for CES for Youth & Young Adults.
- 10.a Step 1 - CO Adapted TAY-Triage Risk Assessment, Intro & Scoring
- VI-SPDAT V1 and V2 for Transition Aged Youth (Ages 18 to 24) found in the VI-SPDAT Training and Documents section of this webpage