Texas Homeless Network

education, resources, and advocacy

Coordinated Entry

As outlined in the CoC Program Interim Rule, each Continuum of Care is responsible for establishing and operating a centralized or coordinated assessment system that will provide a comprehensive assessment of the needs of individuals and families for housing and services. This system is called Coordinated Entry (CE) in the TX BoS CoC.

CE is a powerful piece of a Housing Crisis Response System that ensures that people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness can readily find and navigate crisis intervention assistance. It is designed to ensure that households are prioritized for and matched with the right intervention as quickly as possible. It aims to standardize the access, assessment, and referral process across all providers in communities.

Request for Public Comment on Coordinated Entry Written Standards:

The TX BoS CoC is seeking public comment on proposed changes to the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry Written Standards. A public comment period allows for stakeholders to review proposed policy, procedure, and statutory compliance implementation and provide feedback based on experience and expertise.

The document with proposed changes can be found here: Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry Written Standards

The document with a summary of proposed changes can be found here: Request for Public Comment PDF

A recording of the public webinar explaining proposed changes can be found here: Public Webinar for Public Comment on Coordinated Entry Written Standards

There are 3 rounds of public comment:
1. Monday, January 6, 2020 to Friday, January 17, 2020
2. Monday, January 27, 2020 to Friday, February 7, 2020
3. Monday, February 17, 2020 to Friday, February 28, 2020

Any persons who live or work in the CoC’s geographic area and have an interest in preventing and ending homelessness can submit a comment in 3 different ways:
1. Google Form: https://forms.gle/PUkaTdKA3QoJuULeA
2. Email CE@THN.org (Subject line: “Public Comment for CE Written Standards”)
3. Schedule a phone call with the Systems Change team here: https://calendly.com/linda-at-thn/30min

Coordinated Entry in the TX BoS CoC

  • TX BoS CoC CE Written Standards, Version 1.1: View or Download PDF
    • This document outlines the planning and implementation of Coordinated Entry in the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care.
  • TX BoS CoC Systems Change Toolkit: View Toolkit on Google Drive
    • This Google Drive includes various materials for prospective and current Coordinated Entry regions in leading system change efforts.

In the TX BoS CoC, there are 17 designated CE regions. Counties not covered by these designated regions are known colloquially as part of the 18th region in the TX BoS CoC.

CE Regions and Coverage Areas
  • Abilene: Taylor County
  • Bastrop: Austin, Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette, and Lee Counties
  • Beaumont/Orange Chambers, Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange Counties
  • Brazoria: Brazoria County
  • Cameron: Cameron County
  • Corpus Christi: Nueces County
  • Denton: Denton County
  • Galveston: Galveston County
  • Hidalgo: Hidalgo County
  • Killeen: Bell, Coryell, Lampasas, and Hamilton Counties
  • Laredo: Laredo County
  • Longview: Gregg, Harrisson, Marion, Panola, Rusk, and Upshur Counties
  • Lubbock: Lubbock County
  • Mount Pleasant: Camp, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Morris, Red River, Titus, and Wood Counties
  • Odessa: Odessa
  • Texarkana: Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Gregg, Harrison, Hopkins, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Smith, Titus, and Upshur
  • Victoria: Aransas, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca, Refugio, and Victoria
Coordinated Entry Planning Entity (CEPE)

The local CEPE is the body responsible for implementing CE in a community. This requires the entity to serve as support for the entire initiative and coordinate participating organizations and agencies. Each CEPE nominates one representative to serve on the Coordinated Entry Steering Committee (CESC) for the TX BoS CoC.

As a member of my region’s CEPE, I would like to know…

The Coordinated Entry Steering Committee (CESC) is composed of elected representatives from each Coordinated Entry Planning Entity (CEPE) within the TX BoS CoC. This committee provides direct support and guidance to the CoC Board on the CoC’s systems change efforts and influence the direction of the CE process in the TX BoS CoC. 

Committee members are nominated annually by the regional CEPEs. Representatives may serve consecutive terms as long as the CEPE has voted and a majority is in favor of that nominee continuing to serve in that role. These representatives serve dual roles as the CESC Representative at the CoC level and the Chair for their regional CEPE.

Roles and Responsibilities of CEPE Chairs and CESC Representatives: View or Download PDF

Current CEPE Chairs/CESC Representatives in the TX BoS CoC (2019-2020)
  • Abilene: John Meier, WCTRF-SSVF
  • Bastrop: Deanna Lowrey-Green, Combined Community Action
  • Beaumont/Orange: Debra S. Huffman, Neighborhood Development Corp
  • Brazoria: Gloria Luna, United Way of Brazoria County
  • Cameron: Paul Castaneda, Endeavors
  • Corpus Christi: Mona Vasquez, Endeavors-Corpus Christi
  • Denton: Elena Lusk, United Way of Denton County
  • Galveston: Melanie Thornton-Lewis, The Salvation Army of Galveston County
  • Hidalgo: Danny Coca, Hidalgo County
  • Killeen: Christy Plemons, The Salvation Army of Temple
  • Laredo: Judith Mena, Bethany House of Laredo
  • Longview: Jay Morgan, East Texas Veterans Resource Center (Community Healthcore)
  • Lubbock: Katherine Hennecke, Open Door
  • Mount Pleasant: Vineta Byrd, SAFE-T Crisis Center
  • Odessa: Erika Thomas, Odessa Links
  • Texarkana: Alaina Marcum, Mission Texarkana
  • Victoria: Tiffany Ross, Community Action Committee of Victoria, Texas
2019 CESC Meeting Materials
Resources from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Resources from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Resources from OrgCode (Assessment Tools Used in the TX BoS CoC)
Click here to access CE Regional Google Drive

Entry Points in the TX BoS CoC

Entry Point Map Texas Balance of State CoC
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