In anticipation of the upcoming 2014 Housing Inventory Count (HIC) and Point-in-Time (PIT) count of homeless persons, HUD has published the Notice for Housing Inventory Count (HIC) and Point-in-Time (PIT) Data Collection for Continuums of Care (CoC). The Notice informs CoCs of information that must be collected in order to successfully complete the 2014 HIC and PIT count. 

Changes to the 2014 HIC:

• To better align program components with the CoC Program interim rule, permanent housing (PH) has been added as a program component. Permanent supportive housing (PSH) and rapid re-housing (RRH) will be distinct categories under the permanent housing component.
   
• For purposes of the HIC, CoCs must only count RRH beds and units for which rental assistance from any source is being provided on the night of the count. 
   
• CoCs that have one of the 23 Rapid Re-housing Demonstration (RRHD) projects, funded in the FY 2008 CoC Competition, must identify the Project Type as DEM.
   
• CoCs must identify the number of beds within projects that are dedicated to veterans and youth. For dedicated youth beds, CoCs must indicate the age group that the beds are dedicated to serve (i.e., only children under 18, only persons 18 to 24, or persons up to 24). CoCs will not need to identify whether projects target veterans, per Target Population B, since identifying the number of beds dedicated to veterans serves the same purpose and provides more precise information about project targeting.
   
• The term “provider program” has been changed to “project” throughout the Notice.

Changes to the 2014 PIT:

All CoCs must continue to complete a PIT count that is based on actual counts and/or statistically reliable data. To further support collection and reporting of complete and accurate data:

• HUD provides additional guidance about counting standards and methodologies in A Guide to Counting Sheltered Homeless People and A Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless People. CoCs should refer to that guidance and any updates HUD publishes for further guidance on counting guidance and methodologies. 
   
• CoCs must report race, ethnicity, and gender data for all persons counted.
   
• CoCs must report population data for veteran households. Because CoCs are reporting the population data for veteran households the veteran subpopulation requirements have been removed.
   
• The term “disability” has been added to Appendix B and the subpopulation categories for “chronic substance abuse” and “severely mentally ill” have been revised.
   
• The sum total number of persons reported in emergency shelter, Safe Havens, and transitional housing projects in the PIT fields of the HIC must match the sum total of sheltered persons reported in the PIT count.
   
• CoCs that have RRHD projects must not include persons in those projects in the PIT count.

HUD encourages CoCs to engage their homeless assistance partners, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Runaway and Homeless Youth providers, Local Education Liaisons, and critical local agencies and service providers, to assist with achieving the most accurate count of homeless persons in their areas. HUD commends you for your great work and is grateful to be a partner with you in this critical effort.

Webinar: Preparing for Your 2014 Housing Inventory and Point-in-Time Counts
HUD will host a webinar on the 2014 HIC and PIT Count on Thursday, December 12, 2013, from 3-4 p.m. ET. The webinar will highlight new requirements and data collection guidance for the 2014 HIC and PIT Counts. Information on how to register for this webinar will be issued the week of December 2nd. 

Additional Tools
To assist communities in conducting their counts HUD plans to release several tools in the coming weeks. HUD will be providing sample surveys that CoCs may use. The samples were prepared by professional survey staff in conjunction with homeless experts. HUD will also release a mobile PIT application that incorporates the sample surveys in a convenient mobile app. While HUD believes all of these tools will be useful to communities, HUD is not requiring that CoCs use them – rather they are intended to be tools that the CoCs can review and evaluate whether they want to use them in the 2014 or future counts. Finally, HUD will also be providing updated guidance on counting methodologies to replace A Guide to Counting Sheltered Homeless People and A Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless People. 

Questions about the HIC, PIT, or unmet need?
If you have questions about entering HIC or PIT data that are not covered in this Notice, please submit them at the Ask a Question page on HUD’s OneCPD Resource Exchange. On Step 2, select the HDX Reporting System in the “My question is related to” dropdown.