Balance of State HMIS CE Workflow Training

This Coordinated Entry process is dictated by the WI Balance of State CoC (BoS). The Balance of State CoC has trainings required for staff that cover what Coordinated Entry is and how to administer their assessment to refer households to the prioritization lists. The Balance of State CoC's trainings should be completed before taking the HMIS CE Workflow Training below.

If you have not already completed these trainings, please contact Holly Sieren to get started (holly.sieren@wibos.org).

Big Picture Understanding - HMIS and Coordinated Entry

The first thing to understand is that HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) and Coordinated Entry are two different things.

HMIS is the database where client data are entered.
Coordinated Entry is the process of assessing and referring a client to a housing option that best fits their household needs.

HMIS is used for all programs providing services to people experiencing homelessness. Its primary job is to capture client data for those in shelter, street outreach, transitional housing, rapid re-housing and permanent housing, along with some prevention programs.

HMIS is also a tool used by the Balance of State’s Coordinated Entry program. Clients who are referred to the HMIS Coordinated Entry list will have an enrollment created in HMIS for the Balance of State Coordinated Entry program. This is separate from your agency’s shelter, housing or prevention programs.

Please note - the Balance of State also uses a non-HMIS system for referring to Coordinated Entry. ICA only provides training for those agencies and users who already have access to HMIS and will be adding households to and taking households from the HMIS prioritization lists. For information on the non-HMIS system, please contact Holly Sieren (holly.sieren@wibos.org).

BoS CE HMIS Workflow Training

You can watch these videos as many times as you need to! Keep this page saved to your browser for future reference
To get credit for completing the training, be sure to complete the Training Completion Form that appears on the final slide of each section of the training.
The table of contents for each presentation can be found here: HMIS CE Table of Contents by Slide
Please email your HMIS System Administrator (jennifer.allen@icalliances.org, stephanie.vanhulst@icalliances.org, or katie.spaeth@icalliances.org) once you have completed the training to receive access to the Balance of State CE program in HMIS.

Coordinated Entry Part 1: Adding Households to the Coordinated Entry System

Coordinated Entry in HMIS Part 1 by Stephanie Van Hulst

Training Date: December 8, 2023
Length of training: 80 minutes

Coordinated Entry Part 2: Filling Program Openings and Accepting Prioritized Referrals

Coordinated Entry in HMIS Part 2 by Stephanie Van Hulst

Training Date: December 13, 2023
Length of Training: 80 minutes

Follow Ups Do's and Dont's

If you complete a follow up with a client and you ARE able to get in touch with them:
1. Complete a Status Update
  1. Update their Residence
  2. Update their Months Homeless
2. Complete a Current Living Situation
3. Complete a CE Note
  1. Write one or two sentences about your conversation in their follow up related to their housing situation
If you are attempting to complete a follow up with the client but ARE NOT able to get in touch with them:
1. Complete a CE note
  1. Write one or two sentences about your attempt to call or email and whether or not you left a message

ICA BoS Coordinated Entry Resources

BoS Coordinated Entry HMIS Priority List Reports

Wisconsin Balance of State Coordinated Entry HMIS Guide