CES

The Coordinated Entry System (CES) is a process (within HMIS database) designed to ensure that people experiencing a housing crisis are quickly identified, assessed, and connected to appropriate housing and services.

CES does not provide funding or case management; rather by centralizing intakes and referrals, CES aims to reduce duplication of efforts, improve access to services, and assist with appropriate and efficient distribution of resources.

Help for Households

Participating Agencies

CoC Meetings

CoC Regions

CES Committee

CES Core Components

Access, Assessment, Prioritization, & Referral

When the Coordinated Entry System is implemented correctly, it creates a standardized and consistent data collection process that aligns with HUD’s requirements. This linkage ensures that all data collected across different entry points and service providers is uniform, making it easier to track and manage homelessness services and outcomes.

Access

This is how people enter the system. It could be through a phone call, a visit to a service center, or outreach workers meeting people where they are. The goal is to make it easy for anyone in need to get help.

CES Access Points

An access point in the Coordinated Entry System (CES) is a designated location or service where individuals and families experiencing homelessness can begin the process of getting help.

These access points can be physical locations like shelters, community centers, or government offices, as well as virtual options like phone lines or outreach teams.

Access Points are expected to provide an assessment to any households that present at their location, even if the access point does not have funding or capacity to serve the household themselves.

CES Access Points – Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition (kshomeless.com)

How to become an access point

There are trainings and forms required to become a CES access point. The trainings will walk you through how to use the CES within the HMIS; while the forms are in place to ensure you understand why and how the data collected through CES will be used.

Agencies can request to become an access point by sending a Freshdesk ticket to the HMIS team.

CE DV Service Policy

CE DV Service Policy .pdf

Assessment

Once someone is in the system, they go through a standardized assessment which helps determine their needs and the best type of support for them. The BoS uses a custom assessment that can be updated to better fit our community with approval from the CES Committee.

KS BoS CoC Prevention Assessment

CES Prevention Assessment

The goal of Prevention CES is to identify households at risk of homelessness early and connect them to tailored support to help them remain housed.

This assessment is for households who are currently housed but at imminent risk of losing their housing. Households may be eligible if:

They have received an eviction notice or are at risk of eviction within the next 21 days; or
They are experiencing severe financial hardship that could result in losing housing within the next 30 days; or
They are at risk of losing housing due to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

KS BoS CoC Homeless Assessment

CES Homeless Assessment

Homeless CES helps prioritize referrals to ESG and CoC-funded permanent housing programs, focusing on those with the highest needs—such as people who are chronically homeless, veterans, or fleeing domestic violence.

CES is for households with no safe, stable place to stay or those fleeing DV without a safe alternative. This includes people who meet HUD Homeless Categories 1, 2, or 4:

Category 1 – Literally Homeless:

Staying in places not meant for habitation (e.g., streets, cars).
In emergency shelter or transitional housing (including hotel stays paid by charity/government).
In a hospital/institution, if homeless before entry.

Category 2 – Imminent Risk:

Will lose housing within 14 days and have no other options or support.

Category 4 – Fleeing DV:

Fleeing or attempting to flee DV or other dangerous situations, with no safe place to stay.

Prioritization

Prioritization uses assessment data and case conferencing to identify households with the highest needs, ensuring efficient allocation of limited housing and supportive services. This process allows CoCs to better allocate and track referrals.

During case conferencing, households are reviewed and prioritized based on severity of service needs, with service providers able to advocate for adjustments if they believe the assessment score does not accurately reflect the household’s circumstances.

CES Policies & Procedures

KSHC Written Standards

KS BoS CoC 507 Written Standards

Referral

Referral (+ Linkage) is the final step, where households are matched and linked to housing programs. When a referral is received, the provider is responsible for reaching out and gather documentation for program eligbility.

A referral is requested during CES case conferencing or through a ticket in Freshdesk.

Linkage

Linking is the process of forming a connection between a referral and program enrollment. It documents that the household enrolled in the housing program was referred to it. A chain link icon will automatically appear next to a program if enrollment and referral happened in the correct order (referral first, enrollment second).

KS BoS CoC Emergency Transfer Plan

CES Workflow interactive Chart

Click on the different elements of this graphic to get more information about each step of the process. To make this chart full-screen, click the three dots in the bottom right corner. If you are taken to another page, click the home icon in the top right corner to return to the CES workflow chart.

Participation Agreement

Training Site