Risk & Scoring

Risk Assessment & 100-Point Scoring

This page merges the risk assessment and scoring material into one place: scale, domains, scored categories, and how the final priority score informs response type and urgency.

Scored Categories

What the Allen Index actually scores.

The Allen Index is not just a single risk number. It is a structured assessment that separates site observations into categories, then combines those observations into a total 0–100 score. The categories below should be reviewed before interpreting the final urgency band.

Domain 01
Location Characteristics
  • Number of persons on site and apparent duration of habitation
  • Development district, jurisdiction, public property, or private property concerns
  • Neighborhood complaints, recurring 311 reports, and visibility to the general public
  • Degree of nearby criminal activity, conflict, or site-related service calls
Domain 02
Vulnerability of Population
  • Older adults, infants, children, pregnant people, or people with visible disability concerns
  • Physical health, behavioral health, wounds, or urgent care indicators
  • Signs of exploitation, trafficking, prostitution, coercion, or unsafe power dynamics
  • Physical violence among members, drug sales, threats, or intimidation on site
Domain 03
Environmental Health
  • Presence of vermin, standing water, spoiled food, or other sanitation risks
  • Hazardous materials, biowaste, human waste, and loose sharps or used needles
  • Excessive solid waste, bulky debris, structural instability, and cleanup complexity
Domain 04
Community Safety
  • Camping in parks, sidewalks, public rights-of-way, or heavily used community spaces
  • Open fires, heating sources, traffic exposure, bridge or highway ramp proximity
  • Near facilities for children or people with heightened safety concerns
  • Hazardous access, steep slopes, water-adjacent sites, blocked pathways, or emergency access barriers
Allen Index
Total Score
  • Combines observed risks into a 0–100 prioritization score
  • Translates site conditions into Low, Moderate, High, or Critical urgency
  • Supports a consistent response recommendation while still allowing professional judgment

Interactive Classifier

Move the score to test the urgency classification.

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—

Scoring Framework

Risk Assessment Scale

Each encampment is scored on a 100-point scale based on the likelihood of bodily harm or premature fatality. The score helps determine urgency of response, level of coordination, and how quickly partners should be activated.

Low
Moderate
High
Critical
Low
1–25
Moderate
26–50
High
51–75
Critical
76–100

Interpreting the Score

The score guides response urgency, but it does not replace field judgment.

The Allen Index creates a shared language for deciding which encampments need the most urgent attention. It should be used alongside outreach knowledge, weather conditions, imminent safety threats, available beds or units, cleanup capacity, and legal notice requirements.

Low: 1–25
  • Continue documentation and routine monitoring
  • Maintain outreach contact and reassess if conditions change
  • Use light-touch coordination unless new hazards emerge
Moderate: 26–50
  • Schedule coordinated outreach follow-up
  • Identify service needs and update the by-name list
  • Begin partner coordination if the site is growing or becoming more visible
High: 51–75
  • Prepare an expedited response plan
  • Coordinate outreach, safety, sanitation, and housing resources
  • Assess whether a decommissioning notice or planned closure pathway is appropriate
Critical: 76–100
  • Activate urgent review for acute life, health, or public safety risk
  • Coordinate leadership, first responders, outreach, and cleanup partners quickly
  • Determine whether immediate action, sweep, or priority decommissioning is required

Workflow

How a site moves from observation to response.

01
Observe & Document
  • Confirm location and site boundaries
  • Document visible structures, people, hazards, and access issues
  • Record complaints, reports, and known partner history
02
Score the Domains
  • Review each scored category consistently
  • Separate human vulnerability from environmental or community safety factors
  • Update the total score when new information is verified
03
Classify & Coordinate
  • Translate the total into an urgency band
  • Match the band to the appropriate response pathway
  • Coordinate outreach, housing resources, enforcement, and closure planning

Use With Care

The final determination should account for context.

Important: A high score should elevate urgency, but the response should still be housing-focused and coordinated. The tool is strongest when it creates consistency without flattening the real conditions people are living in.
Final prioritization considers:Outreach capacity, shelter or housing options, site access, weather, imminent danger, cleanup needs, legal requirements, and partner readiness.
Response determination:Scores help determine whether the site needs monitoring, coordinated outreach, decommissioning, clearance and closure with support, or immediate action.
Reassessment:Scores should be revisited when site size changes, new hazards appear, health risks intensify, or community safety conditions shift.