When a client comes to an agency for shelter services, the first thing that should be completed is the diversion assessment. This assessment is critical in helping to ensure the client is able to avoid entering the homeless services system.

There are two workflows set up for Diversion. There is the Shelter Intake Staff (Screener) that works within the shelter's HMIS project and a Diversion Specialist that works in the All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project.

Shelter Intake Staff (Screener)

This section begins with enrolling the client into a Shelter project. Please see our helpdesk articles on Creating a Client Record and Searching for Clients in HMIS, if the client ID is unknown.

When a client comes into a shelter, an intake (Entry Assessment) should be completed as normal. Upon completing your agency's intake, a Screener will then complete the HMIS DIVERSION Pre-Screener (2022). This Pre-screener will assist in determining whether the client qualifies for Diversion and warrants a referral.

Go to your client's entry assessment by clicking on the pencil next to the entry, then hit Save and Continue.

There will be a list of assessments to choose from. While it will default to the HUD or CoC assessment, staff should click the HMIS DIVERSION Pre-screener (2022).

This assessment will ask for the Screener's contact information (mandatory) as well as 5 questions to determine eligibility. Please work with your client to answer these questions and then hit Save & Exit at the bottom.

If the client is qualified for Diversion, the next step is to create a referral.

Creating Referrals

If the client qualifies for Diversion, the Screener will create a referral.

Go to your client's profile and select Service Transactions and then Add Referrals

Scroll down to Service Code Quicklist and elect Homeless Diversion Programs (BH-0500.3100), then Add Terms.

If Homeless Diversion Programs (BH-0500.3100) is not available in the Service Code Quicklist, please submit a ticket to Helpdesk@allchicago.org.

Scroll further to Referral Provider Quicklist and select All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781), then hit Add Provider.

If All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781) is not available in the Referral Provider Quicklist, please submit a ticket to Helpdesk@allchicago.org.

At this point, scroll all the way to the bottom and check the box titled Homeless Diversion Programs (under Referrals) and then Save ALL. This will generate the Need for the Diversion Specialist to update at a later time. This is the last step for the shelter intake staff (Screener) to complete.

Diversion Specialists

Diversion Specialists work within All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781). They will be receiving a referral and enrolling the client into this project. Diversion Specialists must ALWAYS be in EDA mode under All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781).

EDA Mode

Users can enter EDA mode by going to the upper right-hand corner and selecting Enter Data Mode As. Enter 1781 in the Provider ID field and hit Submit. Hit the green plus sign to go into EDA mode under 1781.

Receiving Referrals

Diversion Specialists are able to view incoming referrals to the All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781) via Count Reports. Please see below how to add Count Reports to the home dashboard. Please see the screenshot below of how the Incoming Referrals Count Report parameters should look.

When a referral comes in, it will show on the Counts Report for Incoming Referrals.

Click on the blue number in your Incoming Counts report to view clients that have been referred to Diversion. This will pull up the clients that have a referral.

Click the Client ID to be taken to the client profile. If you scroll to the right, you can see the Referral Outcome. If it's blank, then it has not yet been addressed.

On the client profile, click on Service Transactions and select View Entire Service History

There may be more than one service transaction listed. Go to the Referral associated with All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781) and click on the pencil next to it.

Scroll down to Referral Outcome and choose Accepted. This will show that the referral from the provider is being reviewed (Not The Final Outcome)

Scroll down further to Need Status and Outcome. It will be defaulted to Identified and will need to be updated. Select the appropriate Need Status from the options below:

Shelter Diversion - Accepted - The referral has been met with and enrolled.

Shelter Diversion - In Process - The referral is received.

Shelter Diversion - Not Able to connect - The referral is not able to be contacted.

Shelter Diversion - Not Eligible - The referral is not eligible or appropriate for diversion.

Shelter Diversion - Client Declined - Client denied assistance.

Hit Save and Exit.

Enrolling a Client in Diversion

If a client has been accepted for Diversion then an ROI and Enrollment must be created.

To create both ROIs, follow the instructions located here.

Diversion Specialists must ALWAYS be in EDA mode under All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781).

To enroll a client, go to the Client Profile and select Add Entry/Exit

If there are multiple members of the household that need to be included, select them by checking the box next to the name. The Provider should be All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781) and the Type should be HUD.

The enrollment will default to the HUD CoC and ESG Entry Diversion Assessment (2022). It's a modified version of a standard assessment. All information provided by the referred FROM provider's entry assessment should show in this assessment. Review for any missing information. If the information seems to be missing, contact the Screener to make them aware.

Move onto the Diversion Assessment (2022)

This assessment will ask for the Diversion specialist's name and contact information, whether an ROI was completed, and some questions regarding income and living situation. It also contains the Coordinated Entry Event and an action plan.

To complete the Coordinated Entry Event, select Add.

The Date of Event should match the Enrollment date and the event should be "Problem Solving/Diversion/Rapid Resolution intervention or service result".

Once completed, click Save

The next question is referring to the Federal Poverty Level. This is required for Rapid Exit funding. It is separate from Area Median Income (which can be found in the entry assessment).

Next are questions regarding the current situation and eviction. If these questions were answered in a previous assessment (possibly by another provider) for the client, they may already show. Please confirm the answers with the client.

There is an Action Plan. These are essentially the services that may be offered to a client. These should also be accompanied by an actual Service Transaction. For information on Service Transactions, click here. Answer the following questions appropriately.

Finally, add any next steps for the client as well as the client's Contact Information and hit Save.

Next, click on the DFSS and IDHS Supplemental Assessment located in the Select an Assessment section.

Once the assessment is completed, click Save & Exit.

Exiting a Client From Diversion

When a client is ready to be exited go to the client profile and hit the Entry/Exit Tab then click the pencil on the line with All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781) under Exit Date.

Select Diversion: Client was diverted (if the client was successfully diverted) for the Reason for leaving and choose the most appropriate destination.

If the client was not successfully diverted, select Needs could not be met, and choose the most appropriate destination.

Hit Save & Continue to proceed to the Exit Assessment.

(Needs could not be met)

There will be 3 assessments to complete. In the defaulted HUD CoC, the ESG Exit Diversion (2022), and DFSS and IDHS assessments, most of the information on the exit will already be filled out, but an update to the Current Living Situation is required. Review the page and answer anything left blank.

Complete the Current Living Situation (CLS) assessment

If the CLS has changed, click on the pencil next to the previous entry and add an end date

If the client CLS does not change, the End date should remain blank.

or if the client CLS does not change

Once updated, click Save and Add Another

Next, a new CLS will need to be created.

The Start Date will be the date of the assessment. The Information date may be the same but is essentially the date the information on CLS was made known. Select the Current Living Situation (this should match the exit destination), then click look up next to Living Situation Verified by.

In the lookup, type in 1781 to pull up the Diversion project. Hit search, the green plus sign, and then exit.

Answer whether the client will have to leave their current living situation within 14 days. If yes, answer the questions below, otherwise hit save.

After verifying the answers in the HUD CoC & ESG Exit Diversion (2022), scroll up and click on
Diversion Exit (2022).

Answer the questions in this assessment. If there are already answers listed, update any that are no longer true with what is accurate as of this exit.

Complete the Coordinated Entry Event

Click on the CEE that was added during the Entry

The end date will be the exit date. The Date of the Event will be the date the client was diverted. This may be the enrollment date or a date between the enrollment and exit.

For Event, Select Problem Solving/Diversion/Rapid Resolution intervention or service

Answer the question Problem Solving/Diversion/Rapid Resolution intervention or service result - Client housed/re-housed in a safe alternative then hit Save at the bottom of the page.

After clicking Save, the screen will return back to the Diversion Exit assessment. From here you will complete any remaining questions.

Once completed or if nothing else has changed in the assessment, scroll to the bottom and click Save.

After verifying the answers in the Diversion Exit (2022), scroll up and click on
DFSS and IDHS Supplemental Assessment.

Update any information on this assessment that has changed. Once completed click Save & Exit.

Follow-ups

To create a 30, 60, or 90-day follow-up, go to the client profile and click on the Entry/Exit tab. On the line with the enrollment to the right of the exit date and Interim is the Follow Up button.

Click on Follow Ups, Add Follow-up Review and choose the appropriate follow-up type (Follow up: 30-Day, Follow up: 60-Day, or Follow up: 90-Day). Then hit Save & Continue.

There are 4 questions to answer. Answer these questions appropriately and hit Save & Exit, then exit once more.

Upon return to the Entry/Exit tab, a number will appear over the Follow Ups button to indicate how many Follow-Ups have been created.

Counts Reports

There are essentially 4 types of counts reports to use in the Diversion Workflow to assist with monitoring referrals: 2 that monitor Outgoing Referrals and 2 that monitor Incoming Referrals. To add a Counts report to your Home Page in ServicePoint, go to your Homepage and hit the triangle next to Customize Home Page Dashboard, then select Add Counts Report.

Outgoing Referrals

Click on the pencil next to the Counts Report. This will allow you to create 4 separate reports (one for each quadrant). Select the quadrant, hit the drop-down for report name, and choose Outgoing Referrals Or Outstanding Outgoing Referrals. Outgoing will show all, regardless of the outcome. Outstanding Outgoing Referrals lists all outstanding referrals made BY the specified providers during the specified date range. An outstanding referral is one that has not had a service provided and the need status is not 'Closed' and the need outcome is not 'Fully Met', and the referral outcome is not 'Accepted', 'Declined', or 'Canceled'.

Next, select the Date range, the Provider (this should be your Agency), and then OK.

Incoming Referrals (Must be created in EDA Mode)

Click on the pencil next to the Counts Report. This will allow you to create 4 separate reports (one for each quadrant). Select the quadrant, hit the drop-down for report name, and choose Incoming Referrals Or Outstanding Incoming Referrals. Incoming will show all, regardless of the outcome. Outstanding Incoming Referrals lists all outstanding referrals made TO the specified providers during the specified date range. An outstanding referral is one that has not had a service provided, the need status is not 'Closed', the need outcome is not 'Fully Met', and the referral outcome is not 'Accepted', 'Declined', or 'Canceled'.

Next, select the Date range, the Provider (this should be All Chicago - Shelter Diversion Project (1781)), and then OK.

Reporting

There is a report available to providers via BuissnessObjects that can be generated to see Diversion data related to the clients that were referred to 1781 from that specific provider. This section will walk through the report parameters that will need to be set when generating the report. Please click the links for instructions on Accessing SAP BusinessObjects or Running and Scheduling Reports in SAP BusinessObjects.

The Diversion report available to providers is titled Shelter Diversion - External - (the current version is 2022-05-23). This report can be located by following the folder structure below.

Public Folders/chicago_live_folder/Chicago CoC Reports (Secure)/Diversion/

Click on the report name to begin generating the report.

The next screen will be the Report Parameters (Prompts)

This report has one prompt that will need to be completed, which is Enter Agency:

Here, you will select the Agency ID, this will be the project listed with only the agency name.

It is important that the Agency ID is selected for the report to operate as intended. Choosing an individual project within your agency will result in the report generating blank or inaccurately.

Once the Agency ID is selected click Run

Shelter Diversion Training

To begin, you will need to set up your own account in the HMIS Online Learning Portal (TalentLMS).

When you click that link, you will see the following login fields, click "Sign up" below:

Complete the registration details and you will be greeted with this screen:

The course catalog will present you with various courses you can take. The very first one you will want to add to your screen is going to be "Introduction to Homeless Management Information System". From this screen, you will click "Get This Course".

From there, you will want to search for either All Chicago - Diversion - Specialist or All Chicago - Diversion - Intake staff. The course that will need to be taken will depend on your role in the Diversion process. Please reach out to your ATA or email diversion@allchicago.org for questions regarding choosing a course.