Encampment Response Strategy

The Allen Index

A prioritization tool used to determine which encampments require the most urgent response, based on risk to human life and community safety. Developed by the City of KCMO Division of Unhoused Solutions, aligned with ZeroKC, HUD, and USICH frameworks.

📋
Report
→
📊
Assessment
→
🎯
Priority Score
→
✅
Response Determination

Allen Index Categories

The categories scored before urgency is classified.

Before the slider translates a score into an urgency band, the Allen Index organizes site conditions into core assessment categories. These categories keep the review consistent from one encampment to the next.

Domain 01
Location Characteristics
  • Number of persons on site
  • Development district or jurisdictional concerns
  • Neighborhood complaints and public visibility
  • Nearby criminal activity or high-conflict surroundings
Domain 02
Vulnerability of Population
  • Elderly adults, infants, or children on site
  • Physical or behavioral health concerns
  • Prostitution, trafficking, or exploitation indicators
  • Violence, drug sales, or coercive activity on site
Domain 03
Environmental Health
  • Vermin, standing water, or hazardous materials
  • Biowaste, human waste, and loose sharps
  • Excessive solid waste and cleanup complexity
Domain 04
Community Safety
  • Camping in public parks, sidewalks, or rights-of-way
  • Open fires, traffic exposure, bridge or highway risks
  • Near schools, child-serving facilities, or hazardous access points
Allen Index
Total Score
  • All scored observations combine into a 0–100 priority score
  • The total score informs urgency, notice period, partner activation, and response pathway

Interactive Classifier

Then move the score to see the response urgency.

Use the slider to model how an Allen Index score translates into a response classification. The score supports prioritization and should be paired with outreach capacity, site conditions, legal requirements, and available housing resources.

0 OUT OF 100
Low Moderate High Critical
Select a score

No score selected

Move the slider from 0 to 100 to preview the likely response urgency classification.

Range—
Likely Response—
Timing—

Core Flow

One shared path from report to response.

The Allen Index is designed to support consistent decision-making: document the site, assess risk, prioritize the response, coordinate partners, connect people to resources, and close the site with follow-up.

📋
Report
→
📊
Assessment
→
🎯
Priority Score
→
✅
Response Determination