Procedural Information


Contents List


Application Process

  • Applications can be submitted by anyone in the community that serves individuals with mental illnesses (Care Coordinators, Health Homes, private psychiatrists/therapists, housing providers, ACT Teams, etc.) or by individuals in the community that have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
    • An applicant MUST be a resident of either Nassau or Suffolk County or be able to show that there is a connection to either County. If there is a request to change County, there MUST be approval by the County representative.
  • Agencies that have a license to access the SPA Portal (Application Dashboard) are required to submit applications electronically. These agencies are able to see the status of the application submitted on the Portal by their agency and, at any time, upload new information to the application. Once an application is submitted, no changes can be made. Any updates (level of care changes, contact information, housing status, etc.) must be provided to SPA support staff who can then update the applicant’s file. Agencies that do not have a license to access the SPA Portal must complete a paper application, downloaded from the SPA website, and submit it via fax, email or mail. Anyone who submits an application to SPA is required to follow up with SPA support staff to check on the status of the application on a quarterly basis.
    • Faxed and mailed applications will not be accepted by those agencies with a license to submit electronically.
    • Application Status Definitions:
      • In Progress: The application has been started, but has not been submitted.
      • Submitted: The application has been submitted and is waiting to be reviewed.
      • Received in Review: The application has been reviewed, but cannot be processed completely because of missing or incorrect mandatory information/document(s).
      • Verified: The application has been processed completely and has either been prioritized or is pending prioritization by the County representative because of pending further information.
      • Prescreen: The application has been sent to a housing provider for a determination of eligibility (Severe Mental Illness (SMI), Level of Care (LOC), Specialty Housing, etc) at the request of the County representative.
      • Matched: The application has been matched to a vacancy with a housing provider.
      • Acknowledged: The housing provider has received the application.
      • Intake Scheduled: The housing provider has scheduled an intake to meet with the applicant (when contact was made to set up the initial intake date).
      • Intake Occurred: The applicant has completed an intake with the housing provider (date intake actually occurred).
      • Accepted: The applicant has been accepted and is anticipating a move-in date
      • Not Accepted: The applicant has been not accepted.
        • When this occurs, the housing provider must upload a “Not Accepted” letter to the SPA Portal (and provide one to the referral if they do not have access to the Portal) explaining the reason(s) why the applicant has not been accepted, what the applicant would need in order to reside in their housing and give a recommendation for what level of care or supports the applicant may need.
        • Once the “Not Accepted” letter is uploaded to the Portal, SPA support staff will update the reasoning for the applicant not being accepted to the vacancy based on the letter submitted by the housing provider.
      • Withdrawn: The applicant is withdrawing from the intake or housing. There are a number of withdrawal reasons that can be chosen by the housing provider, but it is solely based on the applicant’s reasoning. The application may or may not be closed at this time. SPA support staff will speak to the referral source/applicant regarding the applicant’s agreement with SPA Housing. If an applicant withdrawals, a withdrawal form will need to be completed by the housing providers. It must be signed by the applicant, referral source or both and then uploaded to the “update status” portion of the application.
      • Not Available: The housing agency must return the application to SPA, possibly without an intake occurring (Procedure E4b1). There are a number of reasons for a vacancy to be “Not Available” that the housing provider can choose from. If a vacancy was inaccurately reported, it is the responsibility of the housing provider to contact the referral source to inform him/her of this and that the application will be returned to SPA.
      • Admitted: Applicant has moved into the housing provider’s facility. The application will be closed automatically.
      • Admitted Temporarily: Applicant has moved into Federation’s Service Planning Unit (SPU) or a SOCR (State Operated Community Residence). The applicant’s file can be matched to other vacancies while residing at either of these sites, as they are considered transitional housing sites.
      • Appeal: If the referral source/applicant disagrees with the decision made by the housing provider, he/she can submit an Appeal letter addressing the reasons given by the housing provider. The housing provider must respond to that appeal either upholding their decision or reconsider the applicant (Procedure E4b-d).
  • Referral sources must submit:
    • Psychiatric Evaluation – MANDATORY DOCUMENT – Must be dated within 2 years of assessment completion. Must have current diagnosis. Can ONLY be signed by a Psychiatrist (MD or DO) or Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (NPP).
    • Comprehensive Core History/Psychosocial – MANDATORY DOCUMENT – Must be dated within 2 years of assessment completion. Must have a comprehensive history of individual. Must be signed by a Mental Health professional involved in the treatment or care coordination of the individual.
    • Physical and PPD – Must be within 1 year of assessment completion. Can ONLY be signed by Medical Doctor (MD or DO) or Nurse Practitioner (NP).
    • Physician’s Authorization Form (PAF) – Must be dated within 1 year of assessment completion. Can ONLY be signed by Medical Doctor (MD or DO). Only necessary for Community Residence and Apartment Treatment Levels of Care.
    • Completed SPA application- If submitted via paper, the applicant must sign the Applicant Signature Page.
  • Notification of what is needed will be sent to the referral source via email automatically, if the application was submitted electronically. If it was submitted via paper, the Data Entry/Receptionist will contact the referral source to inform them of the missing and/or incorrect information/documents.
  • The referral source/applicant then has 60 days to submit the requested information or the file will be closed (if there has not been any contact within those 60 days).
  • If the County Representative is requesting further documentation for eligibility, the referral source has 60 days from the date requested to submit the requested information or the file will be closed.
  • Once an individual has been housed successfully, the application will be automatically closed.

Eligibility Process

  • SPA support staff will process applications within one to two business days. Once that is completed, and the application is ready for review by the appropriate County Representative(s), they will have two business days to make a decision on eligibility.
  • Prior to prioritization by the County Representative, an application can be sent to an agency (not for a particular vacancy) for prescreen for the purposes of determining SPA eligibility. The County Representative will ask that an agency review and complete an assessment of the individual for a number of reasons:
    • To determine which LOC is most appropriate
    • To determine if the individual will require MI/IDD housing or not
    • To determine if the individual will require MICA housing or not
    • To determine if the individual meets SMI criteria or not
    • The housing provider will need to update the status of the application in the SPA portal, uploading a letter to indicate their findings. The County Representative will then receive notification the prescreen has been completed, review the findings and make a determination for eligibility.
      e. It is expected that the prescreen will be completed within 15 business days, so not hold up the eligibility process for an applicant.
  • Once an application is submitted, it is the responsibility of the referral source/applicant to follow up periodically with SPA support staff regarding the status of the application (expired documents, open/closed, etc.) and the status of vacancies in the community. The application can be closed if there is no contact with the SPA office for an extended period of time.
    • The referral source/applicant must inform SPA support staff of any changes to the applicant’s housing status or needs (MICA, Family housing, etc).
    • The referral source/applicant must inform SPA support staff of any changes in service providers (Care Coordination, ACT Team, etc) and provide new contact information.

Vacancy Process

  • When a vacancy is reported to SPA by a housing provider, SPA support staff will attempt to identify an applicant based on the waitlist and the site reported. They will reach out to the referral source and/or applicant to see if the applicant is interested in that particular site.
    • If contact is made, the referral source and/or applicant will have one to two business days to decide if the applicant would like the application to be matched to that site. If they do not respond back to SPA support staff with a decision within those time period, another applicant will be identified for that site.
    • If no contact is made, but a message is left, the referral source and/or applicant will have two business to respond or another applicant will be identified for that site.
  • Once SPA support staff matches an application, the housing provider will contact the referral source/applicant to set up an intake. It is the responsibility of the referral source/applicant to follow up with the intake process by maintaining contact with the housing provider.
  • Applicants are screened by housing providers, they may participate in a site visit and/or overnight visits or may be asked to provide more documentation, if needed.
  • The housing provider will have 15 business days from the day the application was matched to complete an intake and make a determination on eligibility.
    • If accepted, it is expected that admission will be scheduled in a timely manner. Housing agencies should notify the referral source and applicant within two business days and a mutually agreed upon move in date will be chosen.
    • If the applicant is not accepted, the housing provider MUST upload a “Not Accepted” letter explaining the reason for the declination and provide a recommendation for housing. This letter must be provided to the referral source/applicant if they do not have access to the SPA portal. If the referral source/applicant does not agree with the decision, he/she may appeal the housing provider’s decision by submitting an Appeal Letter.
      • If the housing provider would like to return the application because of having prior history with their agency, without screening the applicant, the County SPA representative MUST be contacted first to discuss the reason as to why an intake should not occur. If the County SPA representative approves this, the application can be returned as “Not Accepted” and the letter MUST clearly document the applicant’s history and the reason(s) as to why the housing provider would not reconsider the applicant. If the County SPA representative is not contacted, and a “Not Accepted” letter is submitted without an intake occurring, the file can be rematched to the housing provider to complete an appropriate intake.
    • Referral sources/applicants will have two business days (electronically) to indicate they wish to appeal the housing provider’s decision. They will then have three business days to upload the Appeal Letter for the housing provider to review. If this process cannot be completed through SPA’s Portal, the referral source/applicant must still follow the same guidelines for appeal and contact SPA support staff who will select “Appeal” in the SPA Portal, thus notifying the housing provider. The Appeal letter must then be sent to SPA support staff to be uploaded to the SPA Portal.
    • The housing provider has 5 business days to respond to that Appeal and decide if they will uphold their not acceptance or if they will reconsider the applicant for their agency. The application will be held indefinitely for the bed until a housing provider submits their response.
    • If accepted, the housing provider will admit the applicant, thus closing the application.
    • If an application is closed because the applicant was admitted into a housing provider’s site, and the applicant wants to move to another agency, or if there is a need for another LOC and the Housing provider does not have site at the desired/needed LOC, a new application will need to be submitted.
    • Housing providers can make internal moves for applicants without a new application being submitted.

SPA’s Waitlist

  • Applicant’s on the SPA waitlist are identified for a vacancy based on the date the application was submitted and the applicant’s prioritization on the waitlist. Once a vacancy has been reported to SPA, SPA support staff review the applications to see if an applicant meets program criteria for that vacancy.
  • SPA support staff do not make clinical decisions regarding applicants. SPA support staff matches a vacancy based on the preferences and requests of the referral source or applicant and bed availability at the time.
  • SPA support staff do not have caseloads. At no time should any SPA support staff be assisting an applicant in any manner other than questions relevant to the application or SPA process.

Transfer Application Ownership Function

  • Agencies that submit applications electronically have the ability to transfer the application’s ownership to another agency in the community that has access to the SPA Portal. This is usually done when an applicant is no longer utilizing the services of a particular agency or if the applicant has been discharged from a hospital and the file was not submitted by the applicant’s service provider. It permits agencies working with the applicant to review the application and upload any needed updates.
    • In the Application Dashboard, select the applicant’s name. At the top of the screen, select the “Transfer” tab and enter “12345”, then click “Okay”.
    • Choose the agency where the application will be transferred and enter any comments, if necessary.
  • The agency Super User will receive notification, via email, that an application has been transferred to their agency. He/She will need to log into the Application Dashboard, find the applicant’s name (notification will provide an application ID number) with the status “Application Received”.
  • The agency can then “Accept” or “Reject” the application.
    • If accepted, the application is no longer seen on the original referral sources Application Dashboard.
    • If rejected, the application will return to the original referral sources Application Dashboard.
    • It is advised to contact the agency where the application is being transferred prior to doing so. If this does not occur, and the Super User does not respond to the Transfer request, the application will return to the original referral sources Application Dashboard

Closing of an Application

  • If an application has been in “Received in Review” status for 60 business days, without any contact from the referral source or applicant and/or submission of further information requested by SPA, the application will be closed by SPA Support Staff.
  • If there is contact within those 60 business days, the application will remain open, in “Received in Review” status from the new date of contact. However, it may be closed after 60 business days from that date of contact if the appropriate information/documents are not submitted.
  • Once an individual has been housed successfully, the application will be automatically closed. This excludes Federation’s Service Planning Unit (SPU) (Suffolk County) and the State Operated Community Residences (SOCR) (Nassau and Suffolk Counties).
  • Other reasons an application can be closed are: Client not found, client withdrew, client is deceased or other placement has been found.
  • SPA staff will do outreach for applications submitted by agencies where the applicant is NOT currently housed with a housing provider via phone and/or email where there has been no contact for one year. For applications submitted by housing providers for applicants currently residing in their facilities, outreach will begin when there has been no contact for six months. This contact will be for the sole purpose of locating an applicant and inquiring if the person is still interested in SPA housing. It is the responsibility of the referral source/applicant to contact SPA on a quarterly basis to inquire about the status of the application and update SPA on any changes in the applicants housing status.
    • If the referral source/applicant is contacted, but does not provide the information needed to SPA within a week, the application will be closed.
    • If the referral source/applicant is not contacted, and an email can be sent or message left, SPA will wait one week for a response. If there is no contact from the referral source/applicant at the end of a weeks’ time, the application will be closed.
    • If information is provided to the referral source/applicant regarding missing or updated evaluations being needed, SPA will permit a 3 month period for the information to be submitted to SPA for review. SPA will NOT do any follow up during that time period and inform the referral source/applicant that it is his/her responsibility to follow up with SPA quarterly to ensure the application will remain open, given the missing or updated evaluations are being submitted, otherwise it will be closed.
    • If an applicant moves internally into the level of care requested on the application, the application will be closed as “Housed Successfully”.
      • Applicants with outdated mandatory evaluations CANNOT be considered for vacancies.

County Transfers

  • Applicants who wish to transfer counties, may do so by submitting a formal request to the SPA county liaison.
    • A letter must be submitted by the applicant or referral source (must be signed by applicant), explaining the reasoning for the request to reside in the county, along with documenting what ties the individual has to said county.
    • The SPA county liaison will review all applications submitted (active and/or closed). If there is no active application, one should be submitted for the county being requested.
    • If the transfer is approved by the SPA county liaison, it is documented in the applicant’s file and notify SPA staff, that the transfer is acceptable. If applicable, SPA then follows the “create duplicate” process with the referral source or client so it can be submitted to the requested county.

Manage User Function

  • Agencies that have access to the SPA Portal, will be asked to designate a “Super User”. This person will have the ability to create accounts for other staff, within their agency, to access the application and submit them under his/her own username.
    • All agency users will be able to view any and all application submitted by their agency, to follow up on status or upload any outdated documents.
    • The “Super User” will be able to update passwords and deactivate accounts for employees that are no longer with their agency.
      • It is recommended that more than one person be designated as a “Super User” so there is always someone to assist staff, within their own agency, with accessing the SPA Portal.
      • SPA support staff have access to all agencies accounts through the Manage User function.