Case Study: Adams County, Colo.
Adams County encompasses the northeast suburban area of Denver, Colo. The county’s proximity to a large metropolitan area leads to highly transient populations, especially individuals experiencing homelessness. Many of these individuals are familiar faces to county workers and service providers—high-needs residents with complex behavioral health conditions who frequently cycle through jails, homeless shelters, emergency departments and other crisis services. Recognizing that increases in both housing demand and homelessness have no boundaries, Adams County is crafting a regional approach to its housing and homelessness response.
The Adams County Department of Community Safety & Well-Being (CSWB) leverages affordable and open-source technologies to build and use a robust data warehouse for tracking people experiencing homelessness and analyzing the department’s program outcomes. The intention is to identify familiar faces within Adams County and neighboring counties and assess whether existing programs are effectively meeting the needs of vulnerable residents.