Changing Role of HMIS Within the
Framework of HEARTH
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Overview
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History of HMIS
HMIS Proposed Rule
HMIS Notices
State Perspective- Utah
CoC Perspective- Mississippi United
to End Homelessness
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What is HMIS?
• A Homeless Management Information System
(HMIS) is a locally administered, electronic data
collection system that stores longitudinal personlevel information about persons who access the
homeless service system
• HMIS is HUD’s response to a Congressional Directive
to capture better data on homelessness
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Open vs. Closed System
• Open HMIS- Providers are able to search for a client
and see where they have received services
• Closed HMIS- Providers are only able to “see” their
own clients- cannot tell where they are receiving
other services
• Many systems have moved from closed to open or
are a hybrid
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Why HMIS is Important?
• National data on homelessness is critical for HUD
reporting and informs key policy decisions
• Every CoC is required to implement an HMIS and is
scored on this obligation as part of the annual CoC
Competition.
• Local HMIS data can be used to inform local
planning and drive the local decision making process
• HMIS can support individual case planning and
service coordination among providers entering data
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HMIS Proposed Rule
• Provides for the establishment of regulations for
HMIS
• Adds a new part to the CFR – 24 CFR Part 580
• Makes corresponding changes to HUD’s regulation for
ESG, SPC, and SHP
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HMIS Proposed Rule
• Responsibilities for HMIS Administration
• Responsibilities of the CoC
• Duties of the HMIS Lead
• Eligible Activities
• Carrying Out HMIS Activities
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HMIS Eligible Costs
• Need to look at funding source regulations to
determine what is eligible
• HMIS Lead Only eligible activities
• HMIS Lead and Contributing Homeless
Organization (CHO) eligible activities
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Eligible Costs – ESG recipients or
subrecipients
Eligible HMIS costs include:
(i)Purchasing or leasing computer hardware;
(ii) Purchasing software or software licenses;
(iii) Purchasing or leasing equipment, including
telephones, faxes, and furniture;
(iv) Obtaining technical support;
(v) Leasing office space;
(vi) Paying charges for electricity, gas, water, phone
service, and high-speed data transmission necessary
to operate or contribute data to the HMIS;
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Eligible Costs – ESG Recipients or Subrecipients
(vii) Paying salaries for operating HMIS, including:
(A) Completing data entry;
(B) Monitoring and reviewing data quality;
(C) Completing data analysis;
(D) Reporting to the HMIS Lead;
(E) Training staff on using the HMIS; and
(F) Implementing and complying with HMIS
requirements;
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Eligible Costs – ESG Recipients or Subrecipients
(viii) Paying costs of staff to travel to and attend HUDsponsored and HUD-approved training on HMIS and
programs authorized by Title IV of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act;
(ix) Paying staff travel costs to conduct intake; and
(x) Paying participation fees charged by the HMIS Lead,
as authorized by HUD, if the recipient or subrecipient
is not the HMIS Lead.
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Eligible Costs – HMIS Lead
Eligible Costs for HMIS Lead Agencies:
(i) Hosting and maintaining HMIS software or data.
(ii) Backing up, recovering, or repairing HMIS software or
data.
(iii) Upgrading, customizing, and enhancing the HMIS.
(iv) Integrating and warehousing data.
(v) Administering the HMIS system.
(vi) Reporting to providers, the CoC, and HUD.
(vii) Conducting training on using the HMIS system or a
comparable database, including traveling to the training.
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State ESG Recipients Who Are
HMIS Leads
• 576.202 (a) States:
“…If the recipient is a State, and has been
identified as the HMIS lead by the CoC, the
State may use funds to carry out HMIS
activities set forth in 576.107 (a)(2).”
• This is HMIS Lead costs NOT costs associated
with contributing data, or end-user costs.
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HMIS Rule- CoC Responsibilities
• CoC is responsible for making decision about HMIS
management and administration
• Required Duties:
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Designate HMIS Lead
Select HMIS software
Develop governance charter
Work with HMIS Lead to develop policies
and procedures
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HMIS Rule- HMIS Lead Responsibilities
• Ensure operation and participation by grantees and
subgrantees
• Conduct oversight of the HMIS
• Work with CoC to develop HMIS policies and
procedures
• Execute written Participation Agreement with each
Contributing Homeless Organization (CHO)
• Serve as applicant to HUD for grant funds to be used
for HMIS lead activities
• Monitor and enforce compliance
• Develop security and data quality plans and a privacy
policy
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HMIS and DV providers
• HMIS Rule specifies that “victim services providers
shall NOT directly enter or contribute data into an
HMIS if they are legally prohibited an HMIS.”
• Victim service providers that are recipients of funds
that require participation in HMIS must use a
comparable database.
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HMIS and Legal Services
• HMIS Rule specifies that “legal service providers may
choose not to use HMIS if it is necessary to protect
attorney-client privilege.”
• Legal service providers that are recipients of funds
that require participation in HMIS must also use a
comparable database, if they do not use the CoCs
HMIS.
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HMIS Notices
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Data Standards
Governance Standards
Security Standards
Software/Technical Standards
Data Quality Standards
Privacy Standards
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History of HMIS Data & Technical
Standards
HMIS Data Standards were developed by focus groups of
community stakeholders, researchers, technology experts
and consumers
Data and Technical Standards were initially published in July
2004
Sections 2 and 3 of the original standard were replaced in March
2010 while the remaining sections of the 2004 standard
remain in effect
Focused on standards, not development of a system
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History of HMIS Data Standards
What the HMIS Standards Don’t Do:
• Set a specific software to be used
• Limit a CoC or HMIS from requiring the collection
additional data elements
• Limit a CoC or HMIS from requiring additional
client privacy and system security protections
• Limit a CoC or HMIS from adding additional
functionality (beyond HUD purposes)
• Stay static (they are updated periodically)
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HMIS Data Standards
There are 3 data element categories outlined in the March 2010
Revised HMIS Data Standards
• Program Descriptor Data Elements (PDDE)
• Universal Data Elements (UDE)
• Program-Specific Data Elements (PSDE)
The Data Standards define specific, allowable responses for each
data element
Not all the data in the Data Standard are required to be
collected by every program
Each program will collect at least a subset of data
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HMIS Compliance
• Before HEARTH:
• Monitored HMIS via SHP
• HMIS-dedicated SHP grants (budget only)
• Now, under HEARTH:
• Monitor HMIS via HMIS Rule and HMIS
Notices
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Questions?
Karen DeBlasio
Desk Officer/HMIS Subject Matter Expert
Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS)
U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
202-402-4773
Karen. M.DeBlasio@hud.gov
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State Perspective
TAMERA KOHLER
Director, State Community Services Office
Utah Housing and Community Development Division
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History of Utah HMIS
UTAH was an early adopter of HMIS creating a vision
and mission approved at a statewide summit in 2003.
In 2004 the first agency began inputting data into a
statewide system that served 3 Continuums of Care.
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History of Utah HMIS (cont’d)
2009 brought significant change to Utah’s HMIS
• State of Utah became the Lead Agency for HMIS to
better support the increasing needs of a statewide
system.
• HPRP and the new HEARTH Act requirements created
a need to assess our software and system platform.
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The Process of Changing Software
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HMIS Steering Committee
RFP Process
Understanding Need & Capacity
Attention to Reporting & Compliance
Timelines
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New HMIS Model
JULY 01, 2011 we went live Statewide with new system
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Open sharing model
Robust privacy and security model
One universal client record statewide
Data Quality focused
Report focused- APR, AHAR, PIT, HIC
VA and ESG programs as well as other funded
programs added.
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Benefits of Change
• Acceptable AHAR reports for all 3 CoC’s from the new HMIS
system (within first 3 months).
• Ability to map and track 125 programs, multiple funding sources,
60 organizations and 125 active users in the system.
• Agencies are able to create their own data reports from the
system.
• Sheltered PIT/HIC from new HMIS system.
• Ability to easily produce unduplicated counts statewide.
• Ability to add new programs and reporting requirements quickly
and easily.
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Where to Focus
Attention to DATA QUALITY is EVERYTHING!
All reports run on the data that is inputted,
If you want ease in reporting,
To be competitive in the grant process,
Focus, Focus, Focus on Data Quality.
“Under HEARTH, there will be an even greater emphasis on data and the
use of HMIS. CoCs should assess their data tools, counting
methodologies, and HMIS and determine if changes and/or
improvements need to be made.”
Ann Marie Oliva
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PIT, HIC, AHAR & APR
• The State of Utah’s HMIS team produces the PIT, HIC &
AHAR for all 3 continuum and supports the APR’s for HUD
CoC programs.
• HMIS creates an Unmet Need report from the PIT & HIC
for strategic planning of housing capacity and need.
Under HEARTH, performance and compliance will be a
significant part of the competitive selection process.
CoC’s should use these reports in their competitive
process on a local level.
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Using Reports as a Check & Balance
These 4 reports are the core
elements of an AHAR:
PIT
HIC
APR’s
Data Quality
Data
Quality
These report outcomes
should support one another.
PIT
AHAR
HIC
APR
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Funding Based on HMIS Data
• The AHAR is a great report to share with those entities that make
funding decisions on homeless housing programs.
• Post PIT, HIC & AHAR on your websites, make these available to
other departments or reference this report in your annual State
Homeless Report.
• Because there is no client level data included, these reports can and
should be shared.
• At SCSO we use the PIT, HIC & AHAR during strategic planning of our
10 year plan to end chronic homelessness.
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HEARTH New HMIS Role
This is an exciting, challenging and important time for HMIS:
Under HEARTH, performance and compliance will be a significant
part of the competitive selection process. There will be an even
greater emphasis on data and the use of HMIS in supporting
these measurements.
• Be prepared to provide new and more in-depth performance
measurement reports and to support the needs of CoC
leadership for analysis of your homeless system and programs.
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The Last Word
And remember:
All reports run on the data that is collected,
If you want ease in reporting,
To be competitive in the grant process,
Focus, Focus, Focus on Data Quality.
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Questions?
Tamera Kohler
Director, State Community Services Office
State of Utah
801.526.9329
tkohler@utah.gov
Thank you!
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Continuum of Care Perspective
Ledger Parker
Program Director
MS United to End Homelessness
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MUTEH HMIS Structure
• MUTEH covers 71 counties
in MS
• Large rural coverage area
• Began using HMIS in 2008
• MUTEH generates the
AHAR, HIC, and PIT
• Many privately funded
faith-based shelters
• HMIS currently tracks 27
programs and 87 users
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MUTEH HMIS
preparation for the HEARTH Act
The HEARTH Act allowed MUTEH to reevaluate
our current HMIS implementation and make
necessary changes
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MUTEH HMIS Barriers
• Non implementing faithbased agencies
• HMIS participating
agencies not participating
in HMIS
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Users log in sporadically
Poor data quality
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Not current
Not complete
Program leaders were
concerned with HMIS only
at APR
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The AHAR Measurement
MUTEH decided that the AHAR requirements would
serve as the baseline for MUTEH’s HMIS expectations
under the HEARTH Act
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MUTEH’s HEARTH-Inspired Solutions
• Trainings must be
convenient, frequent,
and required
• HMIS must give feedback
to agencies through
regular reporting
• Technical Assistance
must be provided to
address problem areas
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MUTEH Training Changes
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HMIS policies were updated to require users to attend
trainings biannually (twice per year)
Training sessions are held regionally and are hosted by
different participating agencies
Webinars are used as often as possible to host trainings
HMIS tracks how often each user attends training
• Used to monitor agencies’ utilization of HMIS
• Reported back to program directors
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A Quick
Description of MUTEH Reports
• We use the KISS principle
• Realized complex reports were not having effect (or
being read at all)
• Keeping reports simple allowed for clear direction
to be given
• We make reports widely available
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Distributed at meetings, emailed to membership,
and posted at muteh.org
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A Quick
Description of MUTEH Reports
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Aesthetics are considered
important
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Data is more interesting
when it looks nice
Reports can be designed in
such a way to emphasize
certain data
Program staff seem to be
more concerned with their
appearance when the report
is clear and designed well
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A Quick
Description of MUTEH Reports
HMIS reporting should offer feedback on
agencies’ performance in HMIS, however it
should report well beyond HMIS utilization. Our
reporting must eventually use HMIS data to steer
homeless systems to meet the performance
measurements outlined by HEARTH.
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Monthly and Quarterly
Progress Reports
• Focus on:
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Data Quality
Program Unit Utilization
Staff Usage
Length of Stay
Program Outcomes
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MUTEH Technical Assistance
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Ask agency staff to have
quarterly conference calls with
HMIS staff (online meeting)
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HMIS staff review MPR/QPR with
staff
Discuss new features
Troubleshoot problem areas
HMIS Staff use multiple web
applications to be available to
agencies (join.me, google chat,
HMIS helpdesk, online meeting, etc)
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In Closing
“The goal is to transform data into information, and
information into insight”
- Carly Fiorina (Former President of HP)
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Questions?
Ledger Parker
Program Director
MS United to End Homelessness
601.960.0557
lparker@muteh.org
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