1. HOUSING CONNECTIONS TRAINING 01 Initiate & Enter New Application
Welcome to
HOUSING CONNECTIONS TRAINING
01 Initiate & Enter New Application
BC Housing June 2008

2. Agenda New Procedure for Entering an Application
Initiate New Application
Duplicate Match
Application Data Entry
New Application List
Checklist
Applications Logged by a Housing Provider
NOTE: Purpose is to make users familiar/introduce new Housing Connections screens. It is not to teach users how to use H/C.
Assumption is that all users present already know how to use Housing Connections.

3. New Procedure for Entering an Application
Initiate New
Application
Data Entry
File status: New
Send App to BC Housing
BC Housing Declare Complete
Active Application
(Live, Cancelled, etc)

4. Initiate New Application
From the Quick Menu, select Initiate New App:

5. Initiate New Application
Enter the basic household and contact information. Select Forward to proceed to data entry and assign an application number.
Select whether it is a Housing Application or a Supplemental Form.
If you are entering a Supplemental-only, you must do a manual search using Application Search. Applications can match to Supplementals, but not the other way around.
At least one type of contact information (phone number, address, etc) must be entered. “Will Call” is a valid type of contact information.

6. Page 2a Application & Household Information
Data entry begins on Page 2a. The application is in New status and an application number has been assigned.
Panels are numbered to match the pages of the Application Form.
File number has now been assigned. Housing Providers can stop here and forward the application to BC Housing or continue entering information.

7. Page 2a Application & Household Information
Enter citizenship information and add any additional household members.
Citizenship status is mandatory.

8. Page 2a Application & Household Information
Status and Citizenship Documentation options will change depending on whether or not the household member was born in Canada.
If Born in Canada, no verification doc required
If not born, verification doc is required for app to go live.

9. Page 2a Application & Household Information
Use Forward or click on a tab to continue.
Citizenship status is mandatory.

10. Page 2b Contact Information
Enter contacts on Page 2b. Contacts can include residential/mailing addresses, phone numbers, and addresses.
Lookup function opens Canada Post postal code finder (same as current functionality).
Once data entry is complete, there will be a Contacts panel containing only the phone numbers and addresses.
The residential and mailing addresses will appear on the Housing panel.
Invalid addresses will display in RED. Validate Address is available for specific users.

11. Page 3 Additional Household Information
Page 3 includes additional household information, such as:
Citizenship/Sponsorship details
Part-time household members
Expected household changes
Aboriginal declaration.
Aboriginal declaration now has facility for selecting specific type (optional). Multi-select in case more than one HH member declares.
For statistical purposes… we are not concerned with who exactly is declaring.

12. Page 4 Landlord and Residency History
Page 4 contains landlord history and previous subsidized housing history.
Able to specify how much money is owing to a housing provider.
Previous tenancies in Housing Connections will automatically be displayed on the Residency History panel.
Landlord Information panel has been renamed to Residency History.
Residency History captures not only private landlord information but also past tenancies in H/C and other subsidized housing not in H/C.
Due to how the Start Date is used in Housing Connections, the first address in the application must be split into two entries.
In this example, the residency at 1925 St Andrews began June 1, However, the system automatically sets the “Current Address” start date as the start date of the application. Therefore a manual entry must be made to record the housing history from June to May 21, The app date is the only date that we can confirm the applicant was where they say they were.
Although the system appears to accept any “From Date” in the first entry, the date reverts back to the file creation date (regardless of whether the application date has been manually overridden) when the file goes live. There is no warning to the user about this.

13. Page 4 Landlord and Residency History – Address Validation
Sometimes the system does not recognize the address and/or postal code. Verify the postal code using the Lookup link. If the address is correct, use the Declare Valid button.

14. Page 5 Income and Assets
On page 5, enter income, asset, and full-time student status information, including verification documents.
This panel now shows totals for income and assets.
INCOME AND DISABILITY
A person is eligible for disabled ONLY IF THEY HAVE DISABILITY INCOME. It is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure you put down EXACTLY the type of income that the person has. For example, if they have “income assistance,” is it employable, PWD, PPMB… ? This will affect what housing they are eligible for.
Also remember that Supplementals and Disability Confirmation Forms DO NOT make a person eligible for disability housing. It only increases their category.

15. Page 6 Current Accommodation Information
On Page 6, enter current accommodations, rent, NET/gave notice to move.
NET Reason Detail and Points eligibility will change depending on what NET period/reason is selected.
If you select enter both a NET date and a Reason to Move date, a validation error will appear.

16. Page 7 Health & Mobility, Special Requirements
On Page 7, enter details about health and mobility issues, as well as any special requirements for accommodations.
The more special requirements an applicant has, the more restricted their housing choices will be, which will decrease their chances of being housed.

17. Page 8 Home Support, Housing Options and Pets
Page 8 includes details about any home support, as well as questions about housing options and pets.
Pet types have been expanded: Dog Cat Bird Reptile Rodent Fish Other
Home support is required field.

18. Page 9/10 Signatures and Housing Preferences
Mandatory signatures, SINs (currently optional), and Preference codes (buildings, cities, and/or neighbourhoods) are on the Page 9/10 panel.
Type in the preference field and H/C will automatically search/find. You can enter a building code, or you can enter any part of the city or neighbourhood name.
To enter a building name, type * followed by any part of the building name.
Click the red X to delete the preference.
Signatures are mandatory for going LIVE.

19. Comments
In addition to regular comments, comments added during data entry/maintenance will be displayed.
Click header (Date-Time, User, Type etc) to sort the comments

20. New Application List
You can search for new applications using the New App List. From the Quick Menu, select New App List:
If you want to find a new application, you can either use Application Search, or New App List from the Quick Menu.
Only new applications entered by your society can be viewed.

21. New Application List
A list of all applications in “New” status will be displayed with Received Status. Select the last name to navigate to an application.
If an application has been received by BC Housing, there will be a checkbox under NP App Received, and the application will be assigned to a Housing Assistant.

22. New Application List
You can also filter by application number, name/partial name, etc. Click Search to display the results.
If an application has been received by BC Housing, there will be a checkbox under NP App Received, and the application will be assigned to a Housing Assistant.
For application numbers, cannot use wildcard search.

23. Checklist Main panel
The Checklist is a quick overview of signatures, verification documents, any extra documentation, and supplementals. Checklist items are linked.
The Checklist is the “jump off” point for verification.
This is one of the new panels for Housing Connections and will also show in the data maintenance stage. Items on the Checklist have been expanded from the May version.

24. Checklist Data Entry Complete
Once data entry is complete, send the application to BC Housing.
You will navigate to Checklist on maintenance side.
** INSERT CHECKLIST SCREENSHOT

25. Checklist Application Live
Set priority group if required, then set status & reason to Live and select Update. The tabs will now have text labels.
The Checklist is the “jump off” point for verification.
This is one of the new panels for Housing Connections and will also show in the data maintenance stage. Items on the Checklist have been expanded from the May version.
If you click “Forward” instead of “Update”, you will be navigated to the Household panel and the file will not change status.
If the file is not ready to be made live, select Held or Cancelled, etc.

26. Questions?