Boulder County First in Metro Region to Achieve Quality Data for All Singles
Members of Boulder County Homeless Solutions for Boulder County celebrate the win with the State’s Quality Data Cup
Boulder County is the first of Metro Denver’s nine sub-regions to achieve Quality Data for all singles, a necessary milestone for reaching a functional end to Veteran homelessness (and eventually all homelessness). Quality Data means we can account for every single adult experiencing homelessness by name, in real-time. This Quality By-Name List (BNL) helps us understand the scope of homelessness in Boulder County, describes the inflow and outflow on an ongoing basis, gives us accurate information to reduce homelessness, and helps us measure our progress towards ending it. Boulder achieved the perfect Scorecard needed to reach Quality Data for all singles at the end of June 2022 and was officially certified the following July. Community Solutions certified the data over a 3-month reporting period, assuring that Boulder has maintained 100% data reliability through July 2022.
“This is an incredible milestone for our region and proof that quality data is possible.”
When a community has the data to make informed decisions, homelessness becomes a solvable problem. With quality data, Boulder can now track changes in the composition and dynamics of those experiencing homelessness needed to identify gaps, test changes, and prioritize resources. It means Boulder can start working towards Functional Zero for Veterans before moving on to all single adults. Functional Zero is a measurable end to homelessness where it becomes rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Veteran Case Conferencing, which began in July, is an important part of this process. Case Conferencing offers a routine, centralized meeting space to support resource coordination and problem-solving among the various community partners serving people experiencing homelessness. Boulder is also excited for the Veteran’s Community Project to complete its tiny home project, which will act as a shelter for unhoused Veterans in the community. They hope to achieve functional zero for Veterans in their sub-region by January 31,2023 before moving onto other subpopulations (youth, families, chronically homeless).
“Reaching this milestone means that we know who is experiencing homelessness in our community and can leverage our partnerships, resources, and regional expertise to ensure that homelessness is rare and brief. We look forward to reaching the next milestone: Functional Zero.”
Built for Zero was developed by Community Solutions, which supports over 100 communities across the country working to measurably and equitably end homelessness using a data-driven approach. The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative officially launched the Built for Zero framework for Regional Coordination across the nine sub-regions in March 2021. Local ownership has been at the core of our regional approach. When we align around a common aim - functional zero for Veterans - it becomes more about supporting each community’s needs rather than telling them what to do. We have been very supportive of securely sharing data between systems and collaborating across Continuums of Care, Veterans Affairs agencies, and county lines.
“A major factor in the success of Boulder has been the collaboration within the sub-region. As I started working within Boulder County last year, I quickly realized there was a lot of great work already happening. My goal as Improvement Advisor was to figure out how to embed the Built for Zero Framework into what was already happening, so it didn’t feel like a separate initiative.”
We want to sincerely thank everyone in Boulder who worked so hard to make this possible, including but not limited to: Heidi Grove (Homeless Solutions for Boulder County, Boulder Sub-Regional Lead), Boulder County Outreach Collaborative, Homeless service providers in Boulder County, members of the Boulder Homeless Coordination Team, Veterans Affairs, Veterans Community Project, Sofia Vigil (Improvement Advisor), Homeless Solutions for Boulder County Executive Board, the direct service staff, and our elected partners.