Steps to Becoming a Housing Resource Specialist (HRS)

Starting October 15, 2024, training for new Housing Resource Specialists will be paused until the end of the year.

*Exceptions will be made for special projects or circumstances. 

The Coordinated Entry (CE) Team at All Chicago will place a temporary pause on new training requests for Housing Resource Specialists, effective October 15 - December 31, 2024. Throughout the past year, 107 CoC staff have completed the Housing Resources Specialist training, and there are currently a total of 164 Housing Resource Specialists throughout the community who have access to complete Coordinated Entry assessments.

During the training request pause, the CE team will focus on completing the training process for the 67 additional CoC staff currently in progress to become Housing Resource Specialists. All training requests submitted and approved prior to October 15 will continue to move forward with the training process. Additionally, the CE team will also focus on the essential task of monitoring the data quality of CE assessments and providing additional training and technical assistance to Housing Resource Specialists.

Over the coming weeks, the CE team will share information about an updated training process for new Housing Resource Specialists to take effect in January 2025.

As a reminder, people can complete CE assessments at one of the Access Points listed on the CE webpage or with one of the many community-based Housing Resource Specialists throughout the city.

Please reach out to ces@chicagococ.org with any questions!

The Coordinated Entry team is excited to share that a new version of the Coordinated Entry Standard Housing Assessment for the Chicago CoC is now available in the HMIS!

In preparation for this, a new Housing Resource Specialist (formerly Skilled Assessor) training became available on April 1, 2024. Completing this training is mandatory for all Housing Resource Specialist to have Coordinated Entry 1474 access in HMIS.

The following article will outline the new HMIS data entry training to receive access to the Coordinated Entry (1474) project in the HMIS as a Housing Resource Specialist (HRS).

Depending on the user's existing HMIS access or completed training, they may start at the step that makes the most sense, but all the steps must be completed and in order. 

Step 1: For users new to the HRS role, and need CE 1474 access - Request access to Housing Resource Specialist (HRS) Training:

1. Submit Housing Resource Specialist Training request form.
2. Wait for the request approval. All Chicago Coordinated Entry (CE) team will contact you regarding approval.  

Step 2: For all HMIS users, current or new - An ATA/Supervisor must request the training through the HMIS Help Desk including the following information:

*All HMIS courses are unavailable in the LMS for self-enrollment and must be requested.

• 1. Forwarded approval email from All Chicago
  2. Name and Agency email
  3. Username on the Learning Management System (LMS)
     • Create an account if you haven’t done so already. If you have issues accessing your existing account, email helpdesk@allchicago.org
  4. What role will be needed on the HMIS (ex. Case Manager, ATA, or Skilled Assessor) or expected responsibilities (ex. Read-Only, reviewing referrals, reporting, etc)
  5. What projects will need to be accessed 

Step 3: For all new HMIS users - Complete the prerequisite HMIS course on the Learning Management System (LMS)

• Introduction to Homeless Management Information System
• This step must be completed before moving forward.
• Midway through this course is where you need to register for an HMIS training account. 

Step 4: Complete the Housing Resource Specialist Training course on the Learning Management System (LMS).

Step 5: Use the instructions and scenario included in the course to complete the fake client assignment in the HMIS Training site.

• If you do not already have access to the Coordinated Entry project (1474) in the training site, please reach out to the helpdesk@allchicago.org. 
• This assignment is reviewed and approved by the Coordinated Entry team at All Chicago, who would then alert the HMIS team of the training completion.

Step 6: Receive CE 1474 access in the Live HMIS

After passing the fake client assignment, the Coordinated Entry team will inform the HMIS team of the training completion. The user will then be provided access to the Coordinated Entry project (1474) in the live HMIS. 

If you have any questions about the training or access to the Coordinated Entry assessment, please contact the Coordinated Entry team at ces@chicagococ.org.