[MARHMIS] RE: Vulnerability Index Tools for Coordinated Assessment/ Centralized Intake

Hi Matt,

Yes, it’s being integrated in its full version (calculating scores, full text). One feature we are highly anticipating is the ability to automate the score prioritization via the waitlist. Household data can then be cross-referenced with program eligibility criteria based on the scored program type to provide referral recommendations.

We have been using a separate database to track SPDAT scores, but it is cumbersome for staff to use two separate databases and limits our reporting capabilities, so HMIS integration is a priority for us moving forward.

Emma

From: marhmis@googlegroups.com [mailto:marhmis@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Matthew Berg
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 9:22 AM
To: marhmis@googlegroups.com
Subject: [MARHMIS] RE: Vulnerability Index Tools for Coordinated Assessment/ Centralized Intake

Hi Emma,

I found this informative as well.

I’m very interested in knowing whether your SPDAT does or will interface with your HMIS software.  There’s some talk around SPDAT here, but also concerns about a separate software package that may not integrate with our HMIS that also contains screening matrix information.

Matthew Berg
Director of Information Technology
Office of Supportive Housing
City of Philadelphia


From: marhmis@googlegroups.com [mailto:marhmis@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Weathington, David A.
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2014 4:39 PM
To: 'marhmis@googlegroups.com'
Subject: [MARHMIS] RE: Vulnerability Index Tools for Coordinated Assessment/ Centralized Intake

Thank you, Emma for your response.

From: marhmis@googlegroups.com [mailto:marhmis@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Weisser, Emma
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2014 1:28 PM
To: marhmis@googlegroups.com
Subject: [MARHMIS] RE: Vulnerability Index Tools for Coordinated Assessment/ Centralized Intake

Hi David,

Your Way Home Montgomery County launched its centralized intake process in January 2014. We just completed a lot of six-month reporting, so we have a good amount of data and lessons learned to share. To answer your questions:

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>What kind of tool is your community using (Vendor developed and/or Community developed)?
<![if !supportLists]>1.       <![endif]>We are using the SPDAT (Service Prioritization and Decision Assistance Tool) to prioritize for housing services. We have had some successes and some challenges as a result of its implementation that I’d be happy to go over in more detail.
<![if !supportLists]>2.       <![endif]>We have found that we need to add questions regarding housing status on top of this assessment, but we don’t include it in the score. Originally we had recorded data on the housing status using the HUD categories but we’ve found that it isn’t detailed enough for future services planning. So, we are moving to an assessment that asks questions regarding specific locations, as well as questions around immediate safety, child welfare, or overcrowding, or how long the person could stay if needed.

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How many questions are used for assessment? (Is longer or short better; How detailed)
<![if !supportLists]>1.       <![endif]>We had been using the full version of the SPDAT, which is 60 questions and takes about 1- 1.5 hours to complete. This was done via an in-person assessment after the family arrived in shelter. We are now switching over to conducting the SPDAT pre-screen (a shortened version) over the phone or in-person at the shelter, which takes about 15 minutes.
<![if !supportLists]>2.       <![endif]>We use a street outreach component along with the Call Center to verify street homelessness. We’ve also found that the Call Center data usually has to be verified again, since it is all based on self-report, so we are going with a shortened assessment at the call center to merely direct the call to the shelter or Housing Resource Center that can then assess the client in more detail. Our Call Center assessment is going to be very focused on determining how long a person can safely stay at their current residence.

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How is the tool delivered? (Outreach Team, Call Center, Housing Provider)
<![if !supportLists]>1.       <![endif]>Call Center, in conjunction with on-the-ground support from the outreach team and our Housing Resource Centers (community locations that do the full SPDAT and provide RRH).

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How is your community prioritizing client referrals to Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Housing, Supportive Service Providers, etc.?
<![if !supportLists]>1.       <![endif]>Shelter- we had used the SPDAT to prioritize for shelter, but have found that that isn’t ideal. We are now working on revising our shelter prioritization by just using location/ safety, and not using the SPDAT score for prioritization until they are in shelter or at a diversion site.
<![if !supportLists]>2.       <![endif]>RRH and PSH are prioritized based on severity of score within the component. We don’t have any PSH openings, though, so that throws a chink in the works as we try to get more beds for that population. Right now we are re-housing that population and then switching funding over to a Behavioral Health/ Adult and Aging or other long-term source as they become available.

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How is your community using the data collected through the triage tool to make funding decisions or community interaction?
<![if !supportLists]>1.       <![endif]>The great thing about the SPDAT is that is provides a really nice visual for what your population looks like, from a vulnerability standpoint. The reports attached are:
<![if !supportLists]>1.       <![endif]>SPDAT scores of families and individuals from the first 6 months of coordinated entry. The colors correlate to acuity and housing intervention: Red is No assistance, Blue is appropriate for Rapid Re-Housing, the Green for PSH. This was part of a longer report that hasn’t been publically released yet; I’ll share when it is.
<![if !supportLists]>2.       <![endif]>All of our SPDAT data so far; specifically, a breakdown of component scores (wellness, socialization, risks, trauma). This is going to be used to inform which supportive services we need to beef up but wasn’t our first priority for addressing.
<![if !supportLists]>2.       <![endif]>The other big takeaway is that our data showed that 85% of families and 40% of individuals were coming from doubled-up situations, so we are currently working on developing and funding diversion and prevention services specifically for that population. Coupled with the SPDAT data showing that most households are medium acuity, we are able to evidence the need for prevention and/or diversion funding, especially to our philanthropic partners, who really appreciated having this kind of information broken down by acuity.
<![if !supportLists]>3.       <![endif]>The tool has been helpful as a communication device with providers, as well. Anecdotally we were hearing one story from providers, but when we looked at the overall SPDAT data, we were able to show that something else was going on. This actually led to really good conversations around the kind of support services needed and the common problems the providers were facing, and provided a common language for us to use with providers that encompassed some very complex situations. It also helped us pinpoint issues that had otherwise been difficult to define.

The SPDAT is definitely a new way of providing services, and you have to implement it within the larger context of the “SPDAT philosophy,” otherwise it will just cause other problems (lesson learned number 1). We do have some questions about the “evidence” that supports that it is more accurate than other models, since OrgCode hasn’t released that report to the public yet. Over the next six months we are probably going to continue to revise our use of it and the centralized intake/ prioritization process as a whole.

Hope that helps.
Emma


Emma Weisser
Clarity Program Manager
County of Montgomery Department of Housing and Community Development
PO Box 311
Norristown, PA 19404
610-278-3827



From: marhmis@googlegroups.com [mailto:marhmis@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Weathington, David A.
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2014 11:18 AM
To: 'marhmis@googlegroups.com'
Subject: [MARHMIS] Vulnerability Index Tools for Coordinated Assessment/ Centralized Intake

Good Morning All,

Here in Chester County, Pennsylvania we have been operating under a Coordinated Assessment model for a little over a year and are interested in putting together a vulnerability tool to use in our system. We have been reviewing several vulnerability indexes throughout the nation and were wondering who in the MARHMIS community is using a vulnerability index or self sufficiency assessment tool and how the continuum is using the data to refer individuals and families to services and housing in the community.

Below you will find bullet points of what we would like to find out about the tools your community is using currently.

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>What kind of tool is your community using (Vendor developed and/or Community developed)?
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How many questions are used for assessment? (Is longer or short better; How detailed)
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How is the tool delivered? (Outreach Team, Call Center, Housing Provider)
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How is your community prioritizing client referrals to Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Housing, Supportive Service Providers, etc.?
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>How is your community using the data collected through the triage tool to make funding decisions or community interaction?

If anyone has anything else they would like to share about their community we would greatly appreciate any information.

Thank you in advance,

David A. Weathington
CCCIMS Program Coordinator
Chester County Department of Community Development
601 Westtown Road, Suite 365
West Chester,PA 19380
610-344-5411
dweathington@chesco.org
­

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
-Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela