December 2025 Monthly Update
Hey All! Welcome to December. We’re glad you’re here.
December will be a busy month with the IA BoS CoC Local Competition and wrapping up the calendar year. Take a few minutes to get caught up before starting your week!
Giving Tuesday is December 2nd. Learn more about getting involved in 2026 with Iowa Balance of State CoC!
What’s New?
FY 2025 Grant Competition
The FY 25 IA BoS CoC Local Competition opened on 11/28/2025. All submissions are due by December 12, 2025 at 12 pm. No late submissions will be accepted!
Please note: ensure you are using the correct application form for your grant. All renewal projects will use the renewal application. Any new applications or grants transitioning will utilize the new project application.
If you have any questions regarding the local competition, please reach out to Jess Bleile or Courtney Guntly.
See below for transition grant guidance from Homeward as well as the IA BoS CoC Local Competition page.
Mailing List Change
Starting in January 2026, we will transition to a quarterly newsletter instead of monthly. Newsletters will be shared in January, April, July, & October. Any information between those months will be shared through our other mailing lists. We encourage you to update/review your preferences for the mailing list to ensure you get updates from the IA BoS CoC.
Interested in joining an IA Bos CoC Task Group?
Attend a Task Group Meeting: Meetings are virtual and open to the public. Attending meetings gives you the opportunity to learn about the work being done across the CoC. Learn more about the specific task groups by visiting the CoC's Task Group Page.
Attend meetings to learn about the group: To add any of the Board or Task Group meetings to your calendar, visit the CoC's Event Page.
If you enjoy a specific group, you can join as a voting member! After attending meetings, if you are interested in a specific group, you are welcome to join as a voting member for a CoC Task Group!
Becoming a Voting Member: To become a voting member of one of the Task Groups, reach out the CoC staff for more information.
Questions or additional information: For any other information or questions, contact CoC staff.
End the year by tying a bow 🎁on your monitoring, documentation, and reporting. Don’t forget to plan for next year’s compliance success!
Here’s how to set up for a strong start:
Review This Year’s Findings and Wins
Look back at your monitoring notes, CAPs (Corrective Action Plans) if any, and internal reviews.
What recommendations, concerns, or findings were identified in 2025?
Which practices worked well and should be continued?
Which compliance areas caused stress or confusion for staff?
Use this reflection to guide your priorities; every “oops” is an opportunity for improvement. The compliance team is here to support you every step of the way.
Set SMART Compliance Goals- Develop Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely goals. Examples:
Conduct quarterly internal monitoring of five random client files per program.
Provide one all-staff refresher training on allowable costs by June.
SMART goals turn good intentions into trackable progress.
Build a Compliance Calendar
Map out key HUD and CoC deadlines. APR submissions, drawdowns, match documentation, and HMIS data clean-up cycles. Add internal checkpoints one month before each major due date to stay proactive rather than reactive.
Strengthen Internal Controls- Identify any process gaps.
Do two staff review every financial transaction before reimbursement?
Are policies current and signed?
Does cross-training cover staff turnover?
Strong internal controls are your best defense against findings.
Celebrate Compliance Wins
Make it fun! Recognize staff who met documentation goals, reduced findings, or streamlined reporting. Compliance culture grows when it’s celebrated, not feared.
Pro Tip:
Schedule a “Compliance Kickoff” in January, a short team meeting to share the year’s goals, assign responsibilities, and toast to a clean, well-documented future!
Please contact the monitoring team with any monitoring questions or concerns.
Rachel Falahpour - Compliance Manager rachel.falahpour@icalliances.org
Sara DeLuna - Grantee Support Specialist - sara.deluna@icalliances.org
Upcoming Events
Provide Feedback for IA BoS CoC
Catch up on Socials
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn!
Data and Dashboards
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Snapshots of Service and Shelter Use
Iowa Homelessness County Level Data Book
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County Point in Time
Coordinated Entry Regions
ERA Portal
IA BoS CoC Data Quality Plan Dashboard
National Point in Time Explorer
CoC System Performance Measures
BoS YHDP Dashboard
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Stella Performance & Stella Modeling Webinar
SAGE HMIS Reporting Repository Overview
Most recent Housing Inventory Reports
Most recent Point in Time Reports
System Performance Measure Reports
AHAR Reports
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Annual Reports
AHAR Reports
Housing Inventory Reports
Point in Time Reports
System Performance Measures
Professional Development Opportunities
HMIS Trainings
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As preparations for federal reports (LSA, PIT/HIC, SPMs) have begun, the Iowa HMIS Team is excited to announce a newly updated course in the Learning Management System (LMS), Common Updates/Error Corrections. This course will be especially useful for folks who receive the quarterly EVA reports.
You can self-enroll in the course by logging into the LMS and clicking the link here: https://www.icatraining.org/course/view.php?id=380
The course includes videos and helper documents to provide support on making updates and corrections. Topics include:
How to correct Head of Household errors
How to delete entries/exits
How the Households section works
HUD Section Trainings
Overlapping Enrollments & Move-in Dates
and more!
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Coordinated Entry Q & A Session: Join the Coordinated Entry for the last virtual monthly Coordinated Entry Q&A session on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 1:00 pm.
Please be prepared to engage with us and bring any questions or comments. Click here to join the teams meeting. For any questions regarding Coordinated Entry in the future, please contact iowace@icalliances.org.
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This training fulfills the need for users who will benefit from learning the system with a more hands-on approach, while still using the online training videos as additional tools. If you are the person at your agency that requests new user training and think that you have staff that would benefit from an in-person training experience, please fill out the form below.
Please note that online training is still available as an option if this does not fit your staff’s needs. If it is decided that in-person training is the best option, each student only needs to attend one session. Each attendee will need their own laptop. The classes fill up at 10 attendees each.
Current In-Person Training:
The 2nd Thursday- every month - 612 Locust St. Des Moines, Iowa
The 3rd Thursday- every month- Shelter House, Iowa City (10 am-2 pm) 429 Southgate Ave, Iowa City
To request in-person training for your organization/area, please click here or email support@icalliances.org.
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Don't forget, the rollout of the Matching for Appropriate Placement (MAP) Assessment Tool will be on January 1, 2026.
Online Trainings and Conferences
National Alliance to End Homelessness: Who Experiences Homelessness?
Homeless and Housing Resource Center: Trauma Informed Outreach
Iowa Balance of State Continuum of Care: Modern Day Conflict Resolution
Resource Library
Coming Soon!
Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) Training Opportunities:
From Tension to Trust
Iowa City Senior Center- Dec 8 from 1pm to 5pm CST
Navigating Emotionally Charged Interactions with Confidence and Compassion- As providers, you’re likely to encounter emotionally charged moments with young people, caregivers, or community members. Trauma responses impact how your clients’ brains develop and how they engage. This training offers practical tools and strategies for de-escalating tense situations and approaching difficult conversations with clarity, empathy, and confidence. Learn how to maintain your composure, build trust under pressure, and stay grounded in your role as a steady, supportive presence.
This training is presented by Dr. LaDrina Wilson, CEO and founder of IMAN Consulting.- Register Here: 12/8 Training Registration
Healing Iowa
Polk County River Place- Dec 15 from 10am to 2pm CST
Discovering the Impact of Trauma and Building Strategies Towards Healing Offered By Iowa ACEs 360- This interactive 4-hour training will introduce participants to the ways trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences impact brain, biology, behavior, worldview, and self-concept with a specific focus on adolescent development and youth experiencing homelessness. We will discuss how secondary traumatic stress may impact providers and learn about and practice trauma-informed skills and strategies that promote youth and provider healing and wellbeing.
Register Here: 12/15 Training Registration
Structure and Clear Limits Workshop
Burlington Public Library - Dec 22 from 10am to 2pm CST
Community Youth Concepts bring a workshop to help aid in creating safe spaces where young people feel seen, valued, and ready to grow. This workshop engages youth and adults in exploring how structure and clear limits create the foundation for brave, engaging, and empowering youth spaces. Together, we’ll look at how to balance being warm and caring while setting high expectations – a key element of positive youth development.
Register Here: 12/22 Training Registration
