Specifications include, but are not limited to: Proposals for a Professional Evaluation of: (1)The Rhode Island Coordinated Entry System (CES) in Rhode Island as Required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Pursuant to 24 CFR 578.7(A)(8), (2)The Rhode Island Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).The Coordinated Entry System is a state-wide initiative to match households experiencing homelessness with an intervention that will most efficiently and effectively end their homelessness as quickly as possible. Crossroads Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, the Rhode Island Continuum of Care (RICoC), and the Rhode Island Office of Housing and Community Development work in partnership designing and implementing the most effective system possible. Crossroads Rhode Island manages the "front porch" of the system, facilitating Diversion with clients who need homeless services in Rhode Island. Crossroads Rhode Island also manages Rapid Resolution from homelessness. The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness manages the Coordinated Entry call center and prioritization and referrals into shelter and housing programs. The RICoC has designed the Statewide CES to coordinate and strengthen access to homelessness prevention, diversion, rapid resolution, shelter, and housing services for households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness throughout the state of Rhode Island. The CES institutes consistent and uniform assessment and referral processes to determine and secure the most appropriate response to each household’s immediate and long-term housing needs. Areas of focus that will help inform particular ongoing challenges in Rhode Island’s CES and HMIS include but are not limited to: • Access and implementation in geographical outlying areas of the state . • Meeting the needs of persons with the highest acuity. • Evaluation of the current accessibility, assessment and prioritization process, including how they account for the different needs, vulnerabilities, and risk factors for DV survivors. • Recommendations for non-CES pathways or referral coordination for priority populations from across state sectors, (including but not limited to departments of health, child welfare, and corrections). • Are we missing anyone? • Are we using “the right” assessment tools? • Evaluation of the RICoC’s Rhode Island Statewide CES Policies and Procedures manual and the workflows of the CES leads as well as implementation strategies. • Evaluation of the RICOC’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Policies and Procedures manual. • Evaluating recidivism within the homeless system to inform areas that need additional support/rethinking/ retraining. • Evaluating racial, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity disparities within CES and reporting on opportunities to advance equity. • Evaluating data quality related to CES and HMIS including but not limited to geographic origin, unsheltered count, and shelter and housing utilization and making recommendations about what metrics as systems leads, we should be tracking to ensure accuracy of data and key system functions and timeliness expectations. • Provider compliance with HMIS. • What opportunities are available sharing and integration into larger systems ? • Evaluation of diversion/housing problem solving and implementation strategies.
