Coordinated entry is an approach to ending homelessness that requires comprehensive coordination of all housing and service resources in a community to better match people experiencing homelessness to appropriate permanent housing placements. This report is about the implementation of a Coordinated Entry System (CES) in the Los Angeles area starting in 2013, targeting service-rich permanent supportive housing (PSH) to high-needs individuals and targeting other housing resources to individuals identified with lower needs. So far the implementation of CES has focused on setting up the structure of the system and protocols for outreach and needs assessment. Recruiting providers of PSH and other housing into the system is still in progress as of mid-2015.

Abt Global conducted this review of LA’s CES as part of a multi-year evaluation of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Chronic Homelessness Initiative. The report documents the process of implementing CES in LA and describes lessons learned that could be directly applicable to other community implementations of coordinated entry systems.

Read more about the Chronic Homelessness Initiative.