HMIS

(Homeless Management Information System)

Intro

The Institute for Community Alliances (ICA) will operate all aspects of the Homeless Management Information System for the Balance of State – Iowa and serve as the HMIS Lead. ICA is responsible for:

  • Data and Technical Standards Compliance;

  • HMIS Policies and Procedures;

  • Contributing Homeless Organization Memorandum of Understanding;

  • Training and Technical Assistance;

  • Monitor System Participation/Data Quality Performance;

  • Performance Outcomes Reporting (CoC Wide/Individiual Program);

  • Longitudinal System Analysis;

  • Required Program Reports;

  • Point-In-Time;

  • Housing Inventory Report.

HMIS

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) as a local information technology system used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and persons at risk of homelessness.

This HMIS Policies & Procedures provides the policy guidelines and standards that govern the ongoing operations of the Institute for Community Alliances Homeless Management Information System Project (ICA HMIS). The Project Overview provides the main objectives, direction, and benefits of ICA HMIS. The Governing Principles establish the values that are the basis for all policy statements and subsequent decisions. Finally, the Operating Procedures provide specific policies and steps necessary to control the operational environment.

Annual Performance Report (APR)

HUD requires CoC homeless assistance grant recipients to submit their Annual Performance Report (APR) data through the Sage HMIS Reporting Repository every operating year. ​

The APR is used to track the progress and accomplishments of CoC-funded projects.  All CoC recipients must complete their APR 90 days from the end of their operating year. ​

System Performance Measures (SPM)

A critical aspect of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended, is a focus on viewing the local homeless response as a coordinated system of homeless assistance options as opposed to homeless assistance programs and funding sources that operate independently in a community. To facilitate this perspective the Act now requires communities to measure their performance as a coordinated system, in addition to analyzing performance by specific projects or project types.

The Act has established a set of selection criteria for HUD to use in awarding CoC funding in section 427 that require CoCs to report to HUD their system-level performance. The intent of these selection criteria are to encourage CoCs, in coordination with ESG Program recipients and all other homeless assistance community partners in the community, to regularly measure their progress in meeting the needs of people experiencing homelessness in their community and to report this progress to HUD.

Find information and videos here regarding the System Performance Measures.

Check out our current System Performance Measures.

  • The FY 2023 SPM submissions are due on March 13, 2024 at 6:00 PM EST. Meeting the data submission deadline for the SPM report is a factor considered in the annual CoC Program Competition.

  • The HMIS Lead, ICA, will be working on this submission and will be reaching out to CoC recipients regarding any data-quality related requests.

Longitudinal System Analysis (LSA)

The Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) report, produced from a CoC’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and submitted annually to HUD via the HDX 2.0, provides HUD and Continuums of Care (CoCs) with critical information about how people experiencing homelessness use their system of care.

The LSA reporting period is 10/1 to 9/30. All corrections and changes to client data regarding this time period should be made by the first week of November.

The 2023 Submission Schedule is provided below:

  • November 13, 2023- HDX 2.0 officially opens for LSA uploads and outreach from Review Teams begins.

  • November 20-24, 2023- Thanksgiving Break Period.

  • November 29, 2023- Successful Upload Interim Benchmark.

  • December 15, 2023- Initial Review of Warning Flags.

  • December 25, 2023-January 1, 2024- Winter/Holiday Break Period.

  • January 15, 2024- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Break

  • January 17, 2024- Final submission deadline.

    • All data errors should be eliminated from uploads to the extent possible and all warning should be addressed with comprehensive notes.

“There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.” – Jan Schakowsky

Data Quality Plan (DQP)

This Plan is intended to define an integrated plan to improve and maintain the level of data quality needed to accomplish community goals and objectives. Data quality is vitally important to the success of both the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and Iowa’s comparable domestic violence database, the Domestic Violence Information Management System (DVIMS), and the programs that utilize these databases.  

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) monitors the quality of HMIS data through programs such as the Housing Inventory Count (HIC), the HUD System Performance Measures (SPMs), and the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). If the quality of data is poor, HUD may refuse to grant funding or elect to trim future funding. Funding cuts could negatively affect Iowa programs.

HUD’s data standards can be found here: https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/3824/hmis-data-dictionary/

Data Quality Plan

ICA’s Learning Management System- Data Quality Plan Course

CoC Peer to Peer- Recorded Training Session

Data Quality Dashboard- This dashboard shows how individual projects compare to each other for each metric of interest, as well as how CoC-funded projects are performing as a collective.

Quarterly Data Quality Report Dates for CoC-funded projects

  • Quarter 1: January 1-March 31 (Due prior to April 15th) 

  • Quarter 2: April 1-June 30 (Due prior to July 15th)                                                

  • Quarter 3: July 1- September 30 (Due prior to October 15th) 

  • Quarter 4: October 1- December 31 (Due prior to January 15th) 

Data

Stay up to date with what is happening across the Iowa Balance of State Continuum of Care.

  • Iowa BoS Dashboard- This report is a resource from our HMIS Lead, Institute for Community Alliances, and shows the performance of homeless service providers in Iowa. This data is aggregated from client-level data entered into the Iowa Homeless Management Information System (I-Count).

  • Point in Time- The Point in Time Count (PIT) is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night. See the most updated Dashboard for the PIT Count in the Balance of State Continuum of Care.

  • Demographic Reports- This report provides demographic data on those experiencing homelessness within the 96-county service area. Check out this report provided through the HMIS Lead, Institute for Community Alliances, which allows you to select and deselect demographic qualities.

  • Data & Reports- Check out the Annual Snapshot of service and shelter use and the National Point in Time Explorer.

  • BoS Equity Dashboard- This dashboard shows equity and diversity data across the BoS CoC.

Contact

For more information on data or to utilize the HMIS system connect with staff at support@icalliances.org.

HMIS Staff are listed below along with a link to the HMIS Lead website.

  • Patrick Schacherer, HMIS Director

  • KarLee Kearns, HMIS Manager

  • Kasper Kittredge, Data Analyst

  • Kyndra Lobdell, HMIS System Administrator

  • Susan McCarragher, HMIS System Administrator

  • Institute for Community Alliances