Tompkins County officials update committee on Code Blue shelter use and coordinated entry process

Liddy Barger, a Continuum of Care representative, updated the Tompkins County Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee on March 5 about shelter usage and the coordinated entry system used to prioritize people for permanent supportive housing.

Barger told the committee that, as of Feb. 9, 2025, county data showed 16 people sheltered in hotels; 101 in THA (89 adults and 12 children); and 15 in Code Blue (11 adults and 4 children). She said the county was averaging about 35 people using the Code Blue shelter at the start and end of last week.

The report matters because coordinated entry acts as the community’s primary tool to identify people with the highest vulnerability for limited permanent supportive housing slots. "Coordinated entry is designed to identify people who have the highest level of vulnerability," Barger said, describing the screening as a way to create an equitable waiting list for supportive housing placements.

Committee members asked about whether outreach workers and advocates can access the Code Blue site. Barger said advocates can access people at the site between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and that while she has visited the site, continuum staff are not embedded there regularly. "People can come during those times if they're looking for people that they're working with," she said.

Barger described coordinated entry as a "no‑wrong‑door approach" and said the system has roughly 40 people on the coordinated entry list at any given time, with about 0–5 available housing referrals most months. She explained the practical referral process: when a permanent supportive housing project reports a vacancy, the coordinated entry lead overlays applicants' vulnerability scores with the project's eligibility criteria and provides a prioritized referral to the housing provider.

Committee members raised concerns and sought clarification about whether Code Blue participants generally seek permanent housing. "Most people who enter Code Blue... are likely to score high on some of those vulnerability assessments, which would put them at a higher likelihood of getting served with permanent supportive housing," Barger said, while acknowledging the process is complex and not an automatic path to housing.

Public commenters and committee members described coordinated entry as labor intensive but effective. A community member who attends Continuum of Care meetings said the system has helped clients obtain housing. Barger encouraged committee members and the public to join Continuum of Care committees and said she would circulate sign-up information so people could participate in focused work groups.

There was no formal committee action on these items; the session provided updates and an opportunity for committee questions. The committee chair and staff said they will circulate additional materials and follow up as needed.