It's been a while! Please read for important updates.
Community of Origin Field
The option to add a Community of Origin section to enrollment screens was presented to the HMIS Working Group in March, and the group voted to add this to the HUD Entry Screen for the following project types: Emergency Shelter, Street Outreach, Services Only, and Coordinated Entry.
The question will read, "In which city, town, or neighborhood were you living in when you last had a regular nightly place to stay? This may have been a long time ago. Please complete at least the city field." There are fields for Prior City, Prior State, and Prior Zip Code.
You will see this new section added to the entry screens for these project types on August 1, 2022. Another reminder will be sent out closer to August.
Thanks to the members of the HMIS Working Group who participated in this decision and voted! We look forward to using this valuable information to analyze patterns of homelessness in Cambridge. Please let us know if you have any questions about this new field.
Exits to Housing with EHV (Emergency Housing Voucher)
Has a client exited your program to housing through an EHV? You'll notice there is no response indicating EHV in the options for the Destination field in the exit screen. If your client is housed through an EHV, please select "Rental by client, with HCV voucher (tenant or project based)."
If you ever are unsure of what to select for a destination response, please reach out to your supervisor or HMIS Lead staff for the correct response. Do not select "Other," as this counts as missing data and an unsuccessful exit.
Move-Ins to Housing with EHV
If you are working under a Rapid Rehousing program with a client who has moved in with an Emergency Housing Voucher, please remember to always enter the Housing Move-In Date in the enrollment screen. This is what indicates that a client has physically moved into a unit; without this date the client will continue to appear as homeless in HMIS.
A Note on HMIS Trainings
We’re experiencing an exciting time where agencies have new resources to hire additional staff to help serve clients and participate in HMIS. CoCs are mandated to use HMIS data to optimize systems of care and trained users provide the critical data needed to fulfill this requirement to help our system improve outcomes for clients. We wanted to say a bit about HMIS training for you and future HMIS trainees to keep in mind:
As federal requirements for HMIS data elements have evolved, so has the training curriculum. Initial HMIS training requires 6 to 8 hours of dedicated time including the 4-hour live training and additional time (2-4 hours) for the self-guided portion and exams. It’s important for agency administrator staff to know and consider the significant allotment of time and focus required when asking new or existing staff to sign up for training.
Please ensure that staff have dedicated time and a quiet workspace where they can focus on HMIS.
When staff sign up for training, we ask for specifics about their role and what program(s) they’ll be working under so training can be tailored to their work. If they do not know they should ask agency administrator staff, and if there are any questions about roles or programs, please reach out to your agency’s contract manager (Anthony, Mike or Liz) for clarification.
Thank you for your consideration of these training requirements.
In addition to Annual Assessments (required within 30 days before or after a client's enrollment anniversary), whenever your client has any change in income, non-cash benefits, or health insurance, you should record a Status Update Assessment. This is a great way to record that you have connected your client to mainstream benefits such as SNAP or MassHealth while working with them. Remember, if it's not in HMIS, it didn't happen!
Guidance on how to record Annual and Status Assessments in Clarity can be found here: How do I Conduct a Program Status/Annual Assessment?
Updated DD214 Form Category for CCAN Documentation Now in Client Files Tab
New File Upload Option
Do you have a burning question about Clarity or HMIS? Is there content you’d like to see in future newsletters or on our website? Reply to this email and let us know!
