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Request for Proposals

Coordinated Entry System Evaluation

We’re looking for firms to evaluate Western New York’s Coordinated Entry System and strengthen how people experiencing homelessness connect to housing.

Proposal Deadline: August 31, 2026

Budget: Up to $16,000

Project Completion: Preferred by January 30, 2027
(final completion no later than July 31, 2027)

Questions or Need Help: [email protected]

Download Full RFP PDF

About the Project

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is the Continuum of Care (CoC) Lead Agency for Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.

Our region receives approximately $24 million in Continuum of Care funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

In 2017, our community implemented a Coordinated Entry System, ensuring that people experiencing homelessness are prioritized for housing based on vulnerability and homelessness history rather than a first-come, first-served model.

Purpose of the RFP

HUD requires Continuums of Care to evaluate their Coordinated Entry System annually, with a focus on the quality and effectiveness of the entire Coordinated Entry experience, including the intake, assessment, and referral process for both participating projects and participants.

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is seeking proposals from qualified organizations or individual consultants to conduct a qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of our Coordinated Entry System.

Scopes of Services

The selected consultant will be expected to:

Review current Coordinated Entry policies and procedures and their implementation to identify gaps in the current system and barriers to housing stability for families and individuals.

Design and conduct interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys to gather feedback on the Coordinated Entry access process and evaluate the homeless response system’s overall accessibility from stakeholders, including people experiencing homelessness and service providers.

Create an observation evaluation form and conduct observations at Coordinated Entry sites to determine fidelity to the Continuum of Care’s policies, procedures, and training.

Review Coordinated Entry best practices from other communities and provide recommendations for improvement.

Utilize aggregate data from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to measure outcomes for the Coordinated Entry System.

Develop supporting materials and strategies to address identified findings and recommended solutions.

Evaluation Requirements

To ensure a comprehensive assessment of the Coordinated Entry System, the selected evaluator will be expected to engage with a broad range of stakeholders and observe Coordinated Entry activities throughout the region.

The evaluation should include observations of:

  • At least two (2) Coordinated Entry Access Hub locations
  • At least two (2) Street Outreach teams
  • At least six (6) Emergency Shelters

Observations should assess fidelity to the Continuum of Care’s Coordinated Entry policies, procedures, and training.

The selected evaluator will conduct interviews with a minimum of:

  • Five (5) shelter providers
  • Fifteen (15) housing providers

The evaluation must also include interviews or focus groups with at least twenty (20) housing participants. Participants are defined as households—including unaccompanied children and youth—who are currently experiencing homelessness or who have been connected to housing through the Coordinated Entry process within the past 12 months.

We are seeking an organization/individual consultant that could use a qualitative and/or a quantitative approach to evaluate our Coordinated Entry system. Ideal proposal should include the below scope of services.

1. Review current Coordinated Entry Policy and Procedures and its implementation to identify gaps in the current system and where barriers may exist to housing stability for families and individuals.
2. Design and conduct interviews/focus groups/surveys to solicit feedback on the Access Point process and evaluation of the homeless system’s overall accessibility from stakeholders, including people experiencing homelessness and service providers.
3. Create an observation evaluation form for evaluators to observe the assessment process at different coordinated entry sites to determine fidelity to the CoC’s policies and procedures and to the training provided.
4. Review other community best practices and make recommendations.
5. Utilize aggregate data from the Homeless Information Management System(HMIS) to measure the outcomes for the Coordinated Entry system
6. Develop supporting materials/strategies to address identified suggested solutions

HUD coordinated entry requirements: https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/coordinated-entry/#core-guidance-and-resources

Strategies for evaluating and monitoring coordinated entry:
https://www.btghawaii.org/media/uploads/strategies-for-evaluating-and-monitoring-coordinated-entry.pdf

Coordinated entry self assessment:
https://www.in.gov/ihcda/files/ce-self-assessment-tool.pdf

HUD coordinated entry management and data guide (Chapter 4):
https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/coordinated-entry-management-and-data-guide.pdf

Information related to our regional Coordinated entry:
https://wnyhomeless.org/continuum-of-care/coordinated-entry/

Proposal Instructions

As part of your proposal, applications should include the following:

Describe your proposed approach to completing the Coordinated Entry evaluation, including methods, tools, and activities you will use.

Describe your experience conducting evaluations of homeless response systems, Coordinated Entry systems, or other human service programs. Include relevant staff qualifications and identify who will conduct the evaluation.

Describe the evaluation tools and data collections methods you propose to use (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations), including how findings will be analyzed and reported.

Provide a timeline for completing all phases of the project, including, development of evaluation tools, data collection, analysis, and final reporting.

Provide a detailed cost break down, including;
a. An hourly rate for consultant fee.
b. Any participant incentives, listed separately

Describe the anticipated outcomes of the evaluation and the deliverables that will be provided.

Contact information (address, email and phone number)

Provide at least three references for similar projects completed within the past 7 years, Include a brief description of each project, the contract amount, and the client organizations.

Timeframe

The Preferred time frame is for the evaluation to be completed by January 30th, 2027.

However, HAWNY will consider proposals with a completion date no later than July 31, 2027. The selected contractor will be required to submit monthly progress reports throughout the contract period.

Proposal Submission

DOWNLOAD THE RFP PDF HERE

All proposals must be received no later than August 31, 2026.

Please contact and/or submit your proposal electronically to:
Kexin Ma, Executive Director, [email protected]

PLEASE NOTE: Submission of a proposal does not guarantee funding. HAWNY reserves the right to reject proposals and recirculate the RFP.

Questions and Pre-Proposal Consultation

Prospective applicants may submit questions or request pre-proposal consultation regarding the RFP.

To schedule a consultation or submit questions, please contact Kexin Ma by email at [email protected].

Questions should be submitted no later than August 15, 2026. Responses to questions that clarify the RFP may be shared with all prospective applicants to ensure a fair and transparent process.