Coordinated Access & Assessment

What is Coordinated Access and Assessment?

Coordinated Access and Assessment, or CAA, is the system that matches people experiencing homelessness to the housing and supports they need.

The purpose of CAA is to shift the challenge of finding the right services away from the person seeking help onto the network of agencies known as Calgary’s Homeless-Serving System of Care.

How does CAA work?

The CAA team is operated by the Distress Centre and based at SORCe, a resource hub in downtown Calgary.

With our help, the team trains caseworkers called Housing Strategists who connect individuals and families to information, resources and housing. There are more than 80 trained Housing Strategists across 21 agencies providing a continuum of services over a wide geographic area.

When a person experiencing homelessness approaches the CAA team or a Housing Strategist, their level of need is assessed using a set of standardized tools called the Needs and Services Questionnaire and the Housing Plan.

These tools determine what level of service is best suited to the person’s needs. Generally, Housing Strategists offer three levels of services, forming a comprehensive continuum of care:

1. Prevention and Shelter Diversion: these services, which form an important part of CAA’s work, divert people away from homelessness and serve as the starting point.
2. Referrals: this service connects people to community-based services rather than to emergency response services.
3. Assessments and Housing Plans: this service is for people who face barriers exiting homelessness.

When necessary, Housing Strategists will use a triage process to determine placements in a program. They are also trained to help people develop plans to exit homelessness independently.

Together, Calgary Homeless Foundation and the CAA team are continually improving the continuum of services to ensure the right intervention for the right person is available at the right time.

CAA and a Coordinated System of Care

CAA plays a crucial role in coordinating Calgary’s homeless-serving system of care – the network of agencies that assist people experiencing homelessness in the city.

CAA was first implemented in September 2013 to coordinate the intake of people into the system of care. As a result of this coordination:

• People are connected with prevention and diversion resources upfront, thereby reducing new entries into homelessness;
• People are supported and, if required, referred to programs designed to meet their needs, and
• Data is used to identify and address the changing needs of individuals experiencing homelessness, while informing strategies and resource allocation.

Most importantly, CAA’s coordinated approach means that people spend less time navigating the system of care.

Without CAA, people would have to match their needs to the correct services and know how and where to find them. They might try several different options and relive the trauma they’ve experienced telling their story to new caseworkers across different agencies, who may not know what supports have already been offered.

CAA lifts the responsibility from the person and places it on the network of agencies fighting against homelessness, so the person can focus on getting better. It reduces their stress and maintains their dignity by combining the entry points to these services into a single, coordinated system, where caseworkers can match people to the right services effectively and efficiently.