What is a Continuum of Care (CoC)?
HUD developed the concept of the Continuum of Care in 1995 through its annual competition for homelessness assistance grants. The CoC was envisioned as a local network that plans and coordinates funding for services and housing to assist homeless individuals and families. 

ARCH is the CoC for eight parishes of Louisiana:  Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St.  Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion.

What is a Point In Time Census?
CoCs are tasked by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to track data on the homeless community in their area. These annual Point in Time counts provide an overview of the state of homelessness in a CoC, and offer the information necessary to redirect services, funding, and resources as necessary.

ARCH completes its Annual Point in Time count of people experiencing homelessness during the last week of January. A survey of vulnerability is also performed during this count to rate those at most risk of losing their life on the streets. This Vulnerability Index (VI) helps to identify those who are in the most urgent need of housing and medical services. 

The information that is collected locally is compiled with other national PIT counts and is reported to Congress. 

What is Coordinated Entry?
A coordinated entry system is defined as a centralized or coordinated process designed to coordinate program participant intake, assessment, and provision of referrals. 

ARCH adopted Coordinated Entry policies and procedures to govern the operation of this process in the Acadiana region. The ARCH coordinated entry system covers all eight parishes of the Homeless CoC, is easily accessed by individuals and families seeking housing or services, is well advertised, and includes a comprehensive and standardized assessment tool known as the Vulnerability Index - Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT).

Why Coordinated Entry?
ARCH’s primary goals for the coordinated entry process is that assistance be allocated as effectively as possible and that it be easily accessible no matter where or how people present.  Currently, Acadiana lacks the resources needed to meet all of the needs of people experiencing homelessness. This, combined with the lack of well-developed coordinated entry processes, can result in severe hardships for people experiencing homelessness. They often face long waiting times to receive assistance or are screened out of needed assistance. The ARCH coordinated entry process helps Acadiana prioritize assistance based on vulnerability and severity of service needs to ensure that people who need assistance the most can receive it in a timely manner. In addition, the coordinated entry process provides information about service needs and gaps to help ARCH plan future assistance and identify needed resources. 

What is Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)?
Since December 2000, ARCH has utilized a homeless management information system (HMIS) called ServicePoint™ to connect all of the homeless providers in the region so client information and referrals can be exchanged electronically. An HMIS is an electronic data collection system that stores demographic and service information about persons who access the homeless services system in a Continuum of Care (CoC). The data collected by the HMIS can be used to understand the size, characteristics, and needs of the homeless population at the local, state, and national levels. ServicePoint™, created by Bowman Systems, is an intranet based SQL Database which has many capabilities including client management, shelter bed management, Information and Referral, and flexible reporting.

ARCH belongs to the statewide Louisiana State Network Data Consortium, LSNDC. As part of this statewide network, ARCH follows the polices and directions set by the LSNDC.  For more information about this statewide network, visit their website at http://www.lsndc.org.

ARCH's current HMIS Administrator is Catholic Charities of Acadiana.  The HMIS team is tasked with administering and monitoring the ServicePoint implementation, training users and maintaining both data quality and adherence to Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) data standards.