Strengthening Coordinated Entry in California: A Strategic Framework for State Leadership

Key Takeaways

• Mandated by HUD in 2009, Coordinated Entry systems have improved fairness and streamlined access to supportive housing, but there are persistent operational, capacity, and data challenges.
• With federal guidance increasingly uncertain, the State of California has the opportunity to take a more proactive role in reinforcing evidence-based practices and supporting consistent implementation at the local level.
• This brief identifies five recommendations the state should take to strengthen local pathways into supportive housing.

Since HUD mandated the creation of Coordinated Entry (CE) systems in 2009, communities across California and the nation have shown that well-designed CE systems can improve fairness, strengthen prioritization, and streamline access to supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. Yet the evolution of CE has also exposed operational, capacity, and data limitations. These challenges are most acute in regions with large site-based supportive housing portfolios and high levels of homelessness.

Cross-sector coalitions in Los Angeles and the Bay Area brought together housing providers, Continuum of Care (CoC) lead agencies, service partners, and public partners (e.g., public housing authorities, behavioral health departments, etc.) to address these challenges and improve CE system performance, particularly around referrals and vacancies in site-based supportive housing. While early efforts are appropriately focused on local system design, recent work in both regions makes clear that local action alone is not enough, especially with the state’s role as a supportive housing finance and regulatory partner.

With federal guidance increasingly uncertain, the state is well positioned to assume a more proactive role to support local efforts to implement and reform CE systems: reinforcing evidence-based practices, strengthening coordination with local jurisdictions and CoCs, and supporting consistent, effective CE implementation statewide. This brief outlines the trends shaping CE implementation to date, identifies persistent barriers, and presents a framework for strategic state action.

The brief also puts forward five recommendations:

• Uplift what's already working. Share Coordinated Entry best practices from high-performing CoCs so more communities can adopt standardized approaches.
• Help communities prepare stronger referrals. Use state resources and policymaking to support communities in creating the right eligibility verifications.
• Cut red tape. Identify and remove regulatory barriers that limit who can be referred to supportive housing and how much housing is available for referral.
• Coordinate on compliance. Work directly with local governments and CoCs as they carry out system-level process improvements.
• Strengthen local data. Improve data quality by offering technical assistance, sharing best practice examples, and simplifying reporting requirements.