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The Basics and History of HMIS- How Did We Get Here?

Learn about the history, purpose, and uses of HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) in this informative article. Discover the efforts made in the early 1990s to capture standardized information on homeless clients and the development of the first national homeless electronic data collection effort. Gain insights into the ongoing interest in electronic collection and uses of homeless service data, as well as the challenges faced at the local level. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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The Basics and History of HMIS- How Did We Get Here?

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  1. The Basics and History of HMIS- How Did We Get Here? Julie Hovden, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Michelle Hayes, National HMIS TA Initiative, Abt Associates, Inc. Kay Perry, Spartanburg County Community & Economic Development Department

  2. Overview • Learning Objectives • What is HMIS? • History of HMIS • HMIS Data and Technical Standards • Annual Report to Congress and Annual Homeless Assessment Report • Technical Assistance • Future Direction September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  3. Learning Objectives • Participants will increase knowledge of history and utility of HMIS • Participants will increase their knowledge of the importance of HMIS to HUD, CoC, and local grantees • Participants will increase understanding of technical assistance resources that can directly impact increasing participation at the local level September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  4. What is HMIS? • A software application designed to record and store client-level information on the characteristics and service needs of homeless persons. • Typically a web-based software application that homeless assistance providers use to coordinate care, manage their operations, and better serve their clients. • HMIS implementations can encompass geographic areas ranging from a single county to an entire state. • An HMIS knits together homeless assistance providers within a community and creates a more coordinated and effective housing and service delivery system. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  5. Efforts in early 1990s to Capture Standardized Information on Homeless Clients • With the availability of affordable technology came local community efforts to capture homeless service and client information electronically in the early ‘90s • Early implementers: • Mid America Assistance Coalition- Kansas City • Columbus,OH • St. Louis, MO • Spokane, WA September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  6. First National Homeless Electronic Data Collection Effort: ANCHoR • Spearheaded by Dr. Dennis Culhane, UPenn with software developers PRWT • The first HMIS prototype: ANCHoR (Automated National Client-level Homeless-services Recording) System • Development of ANCHoR was jointly supported by HUD/HHS/UPenn and a grant by the Fannie Mae Foundation • Test sites: Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Chattanooga, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Diego September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  7. Ongoing Interest in the Potential of Electronic Collection and Uses of Homeless Service Data • National Homeless Services Data and Analysis Group convened by HHS in 1998-1999 • Publications using Homeless Admin Data • UPenn 98:Using Homeless Admin Data to Gauge Service Use Dynamics • UMass 99: Using Homeless Services Data to Document Impacts of Welfare Reform • UPenn 99: Analyzing Shelter Stays and Shelter Stay Patterns Using Admin Data • Prevalence Study Meeting May 1999 - UPenn • First attempt to generate national data from sample communities • First Homeless Service Tracking System Implementation Guide: UMass October 1999 September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  8. A Few Bumps (Some Might Say a Sinking Ship) at the Local Level… • Ongoing challenges with implementation of ANCHoR • Technical • Programmatic Support • Sustainability • HUD and HHS were supportive of a collaborative approach to find the most viable HMIS solutions available that could replace ANCHoR for existing communities and give new communities informed options. • Joint RFP through the birth of NHSDC September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  9. HUD/HHS Supported First Systematic Review of Existing Software • Nov. 1999 – Boston, MA • 13 communities in implementation or planning phases with ANCHoR (3 absent) • 3 software vendors (5 absent) • Main objective – to reach consensus for joint action on the selection of a product that could effectively address the information management needs of the group • The group formed as NHSDC- National Human Services Data Consortium and distributed an RFP to 33 vendors; 14 responded; 6 in depth review • The term HMIS is coined in 2000 September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  10. Congress Tasks HUD to Improve Homeless Data Collection Efforts Recognizing the importance of the effort, in 2001, Congress directed HUD on the need for data and analysis on the extent of homelessness and the effectiveness of the McKinney-Vento Act Programs including: • Developing unduplicated counts of clients served at the local level; • Analyzing patterns of use of people entering and exiting the homeless assistance system; and • Evaluating the effectiveness of these systems. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  11. HUD Response to Congressional Direction • Makes HMIS eligible activity under 2001 SuperNOFA • Implements First National HMIS TA Project • Develop an approach to capture meaningful data in an Annual Homeless Assessment Report • Begin to assess the most viable approaches to obtain homeless client-level reporting in the Annual Progress Report (APR) • http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/hmis/strategy/ September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  12. HMIS Grants as Eligible Activity • In 2002, HMIS activities became eligible under SHP to help facilitate the implementation and operation of CoC-wide HMIS. • There are no limits on size of new or expanded HMIS grants. • Cost-effectiveness review: the scope and reasonableness of the proposed activities are compared to other communities. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  13. HMIS Grants • Dedicated Grant – the cost of the HMIS implementation is its own component in the SuperNOFA project exhibit. • Shared Grant - the cost of the HMIS Implementation is shared with another program. For example, if a transitional housing facility shares the cost of the HMIS implementation with other providers. • Expansion Grant– additional funds to an existing grant by proposing a new expansion project within the implementation. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  14. Eligible HMIS Costs • Three major eligible HMIS costs: • Purchasing HMIS software; • Leasing of purchasing computer equipment for providers and the central server; and • Staffing associated with operating the HMIS, including training providers, day-to-day administration of the HMIS, analyzing HMIS data and preparing reports. • SHP HMIS funds can be used in non-HUD funded agencies to purchase computers. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  15. Ineligible HMIS Costs • Ineligible costs: • HMIS planning which includes all cost incurred prior to implementation; • HMIS Development of entirely new software systems; and • SHP funds may not be used to replace state and local government funding of an existing HMIS. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  16. HMIS: Who is Responsible? • Continuum of Care (CoC) is responsible for HMIS Implementation, including planning, software selection, setting up and managing the database according to HUD Standards. • The HMIS administering agency of the SHP HMIS project grant are agents of the CoC, manage HMIS operations on behalf of the CoC and provide HMIS administration functions at the direction of the CoC September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  17. Extensive National Technical Assistance • Using experienced HMIS professionals, HUD deployed extensive TA resources and provided: • Introduction to HMIS Training • HMIS Implementation Guide • HMIS Software Selection Guide • Targeted One-on-One Technical Assistance • Participation in Regional, Statewide, and Local Conferences September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  18. Annual Homeless Assessment Report • Convene a panel of national experts on HMIS research issues • Develop HMIS Data and Technical Standards • Produce a Report Setting Forth the Proposed Format and Content for the Annual Homeless Assessment Report • Produce an Annual Homeless Assessment Report Using HMIS Sample Data September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  19. HMIS Data and Technical Standards:What You May Not Know • Recommendation for development of data standards came from the early implementing communities to enable comparisons across communities • The final Data Standards took 3 years to develop with a public comment period and involved: • CoC Providers • Experienced HMIS Professionals • Experienced Homeless Researchers • Federal Gov’t Agencies and OMB • Homeless Advocacy and Sub-Population Providers • Privacy Experts September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  20. Data Standards Require Participation of all McKinney-Vento Funded Programs “Given the benefits of an HMIS for providing accurate estimates of the homeless population and its needs and improving housing and service provision at the local level, all recipients of HUD McKinney-Vento Act program funds are expected to participate in HMIS” (FR 4848-N-02 p 45901) September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  21. How far have we come? • Since 2002, HUD has reported to Congress annually on the progress of implementation of HMIS throughout the country • Annual reports are available at: www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/hmis/strategy/ September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  22. HMIS Status has Increased Dramatically September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  23. Regional Collaboration September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  24. Bed Coverage Projections September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  25. HMIS as one of HUD’s GPRA Goals • GPRA- Government Performance Results Act • HUD has formally established four outcome measures to operationalize the GPRA homeless goal: • Stabilize clients in permanent housing; • Successfully move clients from transitional housing to permanent housing; • Increase the employment rate of clients; and • Increase HMIS Participation. September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  26. Congress Continues to Support HMIS: Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 • “The Committee remains strongly supportive of the Department's ongoing efforts on data collection and analysis within the homeless programs, especially its efforts to collect a nationally representative sample of homeless data. HUD should continue its collaborative efforts with local jurisdictions to collect an array of data on homelessness in order to analyze patterns of use of assistance, including how many people enter and exit the homeless assistance system. The Committee directs HUD to continue its role in leading the Federal Government's efforts on this data collection and analysis activity.” September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  27. What can we expect in the future? • HUD Appropriations Committee Language 2006 and 2007 • Continued Emphasis on Participation, Level of Data Quality, and Unduplicated Counts in SuperNOFA • CoC Level Maps and Housing Inventory Chart (HIC) Data on HUD’s Site • Annual Homeless Assessment Report • Use of HMIS in Disaster Recovery Efforts and Local Community Disaster Planning September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  28. HUD Appropriation Committee 2006 “In order to improve efforts in addressing homelessness, it is critical for providers and government officials to have reliable data. To address this matter, the Committee began an effort in 2001 that charged the Department to collect homeless data through the implementation of a new Homeless Management Information System [HMIS]. The implementation of this new system would allow the Department to obtain meaningful data on the Nation's homeless population and develop annual reports through an Annual Homeless Assessment Report [AHAR]. While this initiative has been delayed through a variety of factors, including participation resistance from some CoC communities, HUD recently reported that a majority of communities are now implementing or operating an HMIS… September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  29. HUD Appropriation Committee 2006 con’t … The Department has encouraged the participation of HMIS through financing and incentives through the annual, competitive CoC Notice of Funding Availability [NOFA] process. Nevertheless, the Committee strongly urges the Department to ensure full participation by all CoCs in the HMIS effort and consider future CoC funding to be contingent upon participation in HMIS and AHAR. Due to the Committee's continued interest in the Department's data collection and analysis efforts, the Committee again directs HUD to report on its progress by no later than March 10, 2006.” -Senate Report 109-109 September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  30. HUD Appropriation Committee 2007 “The Committee also continues to support an effort begun in 2001 that charged the Department with collecting homeless data through the implementation of a new Homeless Management Information System [HMIS]. The Department has recently begun collecting data on the Nation's homeless population and developing annual reports through an Annual Homeless Assessment Report [AHAR] through the HMIS. Further, the Committee supports the Department's efforts to ensure participation of HMIS through financing and other incentives… September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  31. HUD Appropriation Committee 2007 con’t … Nevertheless, the Committee continues to believe that the Department must ensure full participation by all grantees in the HMIS effort and ensure that grantees and interested stakeholders fully understand the importance of this effort and that adequate protections are in place for homeless people. Due to the Committee's continued interest in the Department's data collection and analysis efforts, the Committee again directs HUD to report on its progress by no later than March 23, 2007.” -Senate Report 109-293 September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  32. CoC Maps September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  33. CoC HIC Data September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  34. Ongoing HMIS and AHAR Technical Assistance • www.HMIS.Info • HMIS Ask the Expert and Request Technical Assistance • New Search Functionality • Coming - Community Pages • HMIS newsletter September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  35. Questions? September 18-19, 2006 - Denver, Colorado Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

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