Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Services to End and Prevent Homelessness (SEPH) seeks to end and prevent homelessness by developing a coordinated Crisis Response System that focuses on permanent and stable housing. The mission of SEPH is to make homelessness a rare, brief, and non-recurring event. Family in a housing crisis needs a safe and decent place to go. The type of housing assistance considered may be Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), Rapid Rehousing(RRH), State Rental Allowance and County Rental Assistance Programs and other interventions based on vulnerability and severity of service needs, to ensure that families who need housing assistance the most receive it in a timely manner. The Contractor must utilize a low-barrier and housing focused approach to providing families who are homeless with housing quickly and providing services as needed. Families may not screen out for assistance because of perceived barriers to housing or services, including, but not limited to, lack of employment or income, drug or alcohol use, or having a criminal record. This program must have nondiscriminatory policies in place in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-ADA/Home.html . This may include ensuring reasonable accommodations for persons with the disability if they meet criteria for entry. 1. The Contractor must operate the shelter 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days of the year, with adequate daily staffing to serve the facility’s maximum intake number of resident families. The Contractor must fill all vacant spaces within 48 hours with new families referred by DHHS. The intake process must be flexible to access emergency shelter at all hours, independent of the operating hours of the coordinated entry assessment process. The Contractor must provide directly or allow access to three (3) meals per day to all families in the shelter. The Contractor’s kitchen in the facility or housing structure must meet all required codes and local health requirements for food preparation and handling. 2. The Contractor must accept in its shelter facility all homeless families referred by DHHS CES. The majority of the families referred for shelter services may consist of one female parent head of household, however; the Contractor must also serve two-parent families with minor children regardless of gender and age when such families are in need of shelter services. Some homeless families may exhibit problems and barriers to re-housing that may include, but not be limited to the following: a. substance dependence, mental health, and co-occurring disorders; b. criminal justice involvement; c. developmental or physical disabilities; d. limited education and lack of employment skills; e. unemployment and low-income; and f. domestic violence. 3. The Contractor must accept referrals from the County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) via a standardized referral form provided by CoC’s Coordinated Entry System from all providers such as outreach case managers, treatment providers, other DHHS agencies and nonprofit agencies. The CES serves the entire geographic area of Montgomery County through multiple access points for homeless families in need of emergency shelter, rapid re-housing, transitional and permanent housing options. 4. The Contractor must contact the designated DHHS Contract Monitor and DHHS Case Manager within 24 hours, via telephone or email, if a referred family fails to show up or accept the vacant bed.