CE Participation Agreement

Responsibilities

1. All CE End Users are required to triage all households experiencing a housing crisis to determine if they meet any HUD homeless categories. (If a household does not meet any categories, the CE End User should provide or refer to other resources.)
2. All CE End Users are required to offer all individuals/households that meet HUD Homeless Categories ("CE Participants") the opportunity to enter the Coordinated Entry System.
3. All CE End Users are required to document the Current Living Situation for all CE Participants and for CE Participants experiencing street homelessness geolocation data must be recorded.
4. All CE End Users are required to execute a written Release of Information form with CE Participants.
5. All CE End Users should attempt Diversion with all CE Participants.
6. All CE End Users are to complete the Coordinated Entry Assessment Packet and/or enter the CE enrollment and CE Assessment into HMIS. (If the CE End User does not have access to HMIS, they must send the CE Assessment Packet to CES@kshomeless.com or their Regional Coordinator in accordance with their applicable Regional Plan.)
7. All CE End Users must inform all CE participants of their ability to file a nondiscrimination complaint at the time of completing the CES assessment in accordance with the CES Policies and Procedures.
8. Attend the Regional CE Case Conferencing Meeting. (All agencies that completed an assessment with a client, need a referral, or received a referral are required to have at least one CE End User at their region’s CE Case Conferencing meeting.)
9. All CE Participating Agencies that recieve CE Referrals to fill program openings must request referrals during Regional CE Case Conferencing Meetings and/or by filling out the CES Help Desk & Referral Request form at https://kshc.freshdesk.com.
10. All CE Participating Agencies should determine program eligiblity within 10 business days. Once program eligiblity is determined, the agency must accept or deny the referral. Agencies may have additional time by utilizing the "Check In" function within the referral.
11. All CE End Users may request assistance regarding CE Enrollments, Referrals and VI-SPDAT errors by filling out the CES Help Desk Ticket at https://kshc.freshdesk.com.
12. All CE End Users must understand that while HMIS access may or may not be applicable to everyone, CES Data is stored within HMIS. Therefore HMIS Policies and Procedures, HMIS Data Quality Plan and HMIS Privacy Policies may be applicable and enforced.
13. All CE End Users will ensure Data Security Measures are followed. Unencrypted protected personal information (“PPI”) can not been electronically stored or transmitted in any fashion (including, without limitation, by hard drive, flash drive, email, excel, etc.). The CES Lead Agency may present PPI during CE Case Conferencing Meetings (which are closed to the public) for the purposes of making referrals, recieving client updates and updating the CES List.

CES Training

CES training will be provided at no cost. This training is mandatory for all individuals administering CE assessments, attending CE Regional Case Conferencing meetings and accessing CES within HMIS. Proof of training completion is kept on file with the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition. Training must be completed once every two years unless the CEC requires training to be completed sooner due to major changes in the assessment tool, best practices, or CES policies and procedures.

Low Barrier

In accordance with HUD Coordinated Entry Notice Section II.B.4, by signing this Agreement you agree that you will not screen people out of the CE process because of perceived barriers to housing or services, including but not limited to: too little or no income, active or a history of substance abuse, domestic violence history, resistance to receiving services, the type or extent of disability-related services or supports that are needed, history of evictions or poor credit, lease violations or history of not being a leaseholder, or criminal record.

Non-Discrimination

KS BoS CoC operates CES in compliance with applicable civil rights and fair housing laws and requirements. All CE End Users must comply with nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of federal civil rights laws including but not limited to the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III of the Americans with Disability Act, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Equal Access Rule. There shall be no discrimination of any person or group of persons on account of race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, age, handicap, ancestry, or national origin in the operation of CES.

Confidentiality

Each CES participant will be required to sign the HMIS/Coordinated Entry Release of Information (ROI) form that will obtain participant consent to share and store participant information for purposes of assessing and referring participants through CES. The signature of this ROI does not require a CES participant to enter PPI into the HMIS or CES systems. All CES participants will be informed of this right by the CE End User and/or the agency to ensure that the participant is aware that services can be provided without entering PPI into the system.
As a CES End User, you and your agency will have access to certain confidential information. As such, I agree that my agency (including staff, volunteers, and board members) and I will not at any time disclose confidential information and/or material without the consent of the CES participant. Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information shall be considered a material breach of this agreement. At all times, client releases will be secured before confidential client information is exchanged. Confidential client information will be handled with the utmost discretion and judgment.

Data Security

Each CE End User must ensure the following security measures:

• Each HMIS/CES workstation computer password information, including each authorized user’s identification information, is kept electronically and physically secure.
• Documents printed from HMIS/CES are sent to a printer in a secure location where only authorized users have access.
• Non-authorized persons are unable to view any HMIS/CES workstation computer monitor.
• Each HMIS/CES workstation computer has antivirus software with current virus definitions (i.e., within the past twenty-four (24) hours).
• Each HMIS/CES workstation computer has and uses a hardware or software firewall.
• Unencrypted PPI can not been electronically stored or transmitted in any fashion (including, without limitation, by hard drive, flash drive, email, etc.)
• Hard copies of PPI (including, without limitation, client files, intake forms, printed reports, etc.) are stored in a physically secure location.

Data Sharing

CES End Users must ensure that participant information is shared only when needed to access housing and supportive services and not shared when information is not necessary for the coordination or delivery of these services. As CES is stored and managed within HMIS, all HMIS Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security protocols will be enforced.

Data Quality

KSHC conducts Data Quality Reports to evaluate data timeliness, completeness, consistency, and accuracy.

• CE End Users/CE Participating Agencies are required to correct any identified data errors or provide the reasons that the data is correct.
• CE End Users will not misrepresent client records and other transactions in CES by knowingly entering inaccurate information (e.g., users will not purposely enter inaccurate information on a new record or override the information entered by another agency).

Terms of Agreement

This Agreement shall be reviewed and revised as needed to ensure compliance with CES Policies and Procedures and HUD regulations. This Agreement shall be in effect until terminated by either party in writing.

Prior to CE Access, you agree that you must:

• Complete the CES Training, located at www.kshomeless.com/ces-training
• Complete the HMIS Trainings and Agreements (if applicable), located here and here, and submit a Help Desk Ticket at https://kshc.freshdesk.com to request access.
• Understand that KSHC may immediately suspend access to any CE End User/CE Participating Agency for the purpose of investigating any suspicion of breaching this Agreement and any verified breach of this Agreement will result in immediate termination of access.
• Understand that the CE End User and/or Agency may terminate this agreement in writing by emailing ces@kshomeless.com.