What does a baseline reading measure?

The person's first score across the 12 domains of the Self-Sufficiency Matrix, each from 1 (crisis) to 5 (thriving). Every later reading is compared back to it.

In the Readings panel of the person's Pathway: Take baseline reading, score each domain, save. The Dashboard's Baseline assessment needed section lists people who are assigned and still in the Intake phase, with an overdue marker past your organization's threshold.

What happens if a reading is deleted?

Progress is recalculated against the next-earlier reading, and nothing is deleted without confirmation.

What is a baseline reading?

For: Everyone

A baseline reading is the first score taken across twelve life domains: housing, employment, health, language, legal and the rest. Every later reading is measured against it. Without a baseline, a participant has nothing for a funder report to measure progress from.

The Dashboard’s “Baseline assessment needed” section lists clients who are assigned, still in the Intake phase and awaiting their kickoff reading (in practice, people routed with Defer to Caseworker), with an overdue marker past the org’s threshold (default 7 days). Click through to Pathway. Someone routed with Enroll & assign is already In Progress, so they do not appear there: their caseworker finds them under “Recently assigned to you” and takes the baseline in Pathway the same way.

The kickoff (baseline) is the client’s first reading across the 12 self-sufficiency domains of the SSM (Self-Sufficiency Matrix), scored 1 (crisis) to 5 (thriving), most of them crosswalked to SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Outcome Measures. It drives the recommended service lines and every later reading is compared back to it.

In Pathway’s Readings panel: Take baseline reading, score each domain, save. Then run Recommended services and apply: low-scoring domains suggest service lines. When an org admin applies, the client is also enrolled in the right program and grant where configured. When a caseworker applies, the lines go to an org admin for activation review and nobody is enrolled by that step, because enrollment is an org admin’s action. Progress readings later use the same panel; deleting a reading recalculates progress against the next-earlier one.

Questions people ask

What does a baseline reading measure?: The person's first score across the 12 domains of the Self-Sufficiency Matrix, each from 1 (crisis) to 5 (thriving). Every later reading is compared back to it.
Where do I take one?: In the Readings panel of the person's Pathway: Take baseline reading, score each domain, save. The Dashboard's Baseline assessment needed section lists people who are assigned and still in the Intake phase, with an overdue marker past your organization's threshold.
What happens if a reading is deleted?: Progress is recalculated against the next-earlier reading, and nothing is deleted without confirmation.

Last reviewed September 17, 2026.

What is a baseline reading?

Questions people ask

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