Communities that receive funding from The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are required to have a coordinated entry system in place. Coordinated entry systems transform a Continuum of Care from a collection of homeless assistance programs into an aligned strategy for crisis response and care coordination.
When multiple nonprofit organizations and government agencies in a community collaborate and pool resources together, they can better deliver homeless assistance programs and strengthen preventative efforts.
Coordinated entry systems are typically supported by Homeless Management Information Services (HMIS) technology, enabling continuums of care to securely share client data, manage referral networks, collaborate on interventions, and responsibly allocate limited resources.