LIVESupporting Coordinated Entry System (CES) Staff in LA County
The Coordinated Entry System (CES) Educational Coordinators support our most vulnerable families & Transitional Age Youth (TAY) who come to homeless Access Points across LA County to seek support for housing. Our CES staff connect/reconnect preschool & school aged children to their Homeless Liaison in the school districts/charters across LA County while also helping our TAY (ages 18-24) to connect to education opportunities, trade schools, apprentice program, or other programs to help TAY create sustainable incomes to ensure stable housing.
What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?
Affordable housing and homelessness
In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)
In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?
Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)
What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?
Homelessness in LA County, particularly among school aged children continues to climb. In LA County, based on the McKinney-Vento Assistance Act, there are over 65,000 identified children who meet the eligibility of being homeless in the county. Many of these children and youth struggle to maintain connection to school or may have not been enrolled in schools for months, and sometimes several years due to their homelessness. Our CES Education Coordinators connect with these families as they enter into our housing systems at the Service Planning Access Points to verify in a child/youth is enrolled. Based on a needs assessment, staff then determines the next steps to support the educational needs of the child/youth. For our older youth, our CES Education Coordinators assist students with everything from completing applications, navigating the FAFSA, visiting local college campus or technical schools, with the focus on helping young people to break cycles of homelessness.
Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.
Our request is for funds to hire staff to support our eight CES Educational Coordinators due to their very high case load. This staff will help the CES Education Coordinators as they complete their needs assessments and create educational plans for students they connect with at the Homeless Access Points throughout LA County. This staff can help to make phone calls, provide resources, collect basic information, provide basic items, help to complete case paperwork, and connect with parents and TAY to help them navigate housing and support systems.
Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.
The hiring of additional staff for our program will help our staff to be able to expand their numbers while also giving staff more time to be able to navigate resources and supports for families and TAY. Our current staff is overwhelmed due to the growing numbers of families, children, youth and TAY that are coming into the Homeless Access Points across the county. Our Education Counselors have been asking for additional staff and support for a significant amount of time because they recognize the power of the work that they do and they want to be able to continue to make the most change possible.
Approximately how many people will be impacted by this project, program, or initiative?
Direct Impact: 400
Indirect Impact: 6,000