36C26219R0025-006.pdf

ATTACHMENT E: Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is the term used to describe a class of database applications used to confidentially aggregate data on homeless populations served in the

United States. A Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a software application designed to record and store client-level information on the characteristics and service needs of homeless persons. An HMIS is 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. The U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other planners and policymakers at the federal, state and local levels use aggregate HMIS data to obtain better information about the extent and nature of homelessness over time. Specifically, an HMIS can be used to produce an unduplicated count of homeless persons, understand patterns of service use, and measure the effectiveness of homeless programs. Homeless Management Information Systems were first developed in the late 1990’s in response to a mandate by Congress requiring States to collect this data as a condition of receiving federal money from HUD to serve homeless populations. The impetus behind this mandate was to reduce and eventually solve homelessness, a problem which could never be solved if it was not understood and if progress toward that goal was not tracked.

Most HMIS applications also serve as outcome-based systems that facilitate timely, efficient, and effective access to needed services and supports for persons who are homeless. For instance, percentage of individuals who are housed is a metric used for evaluation. Other data fields focus on developing a picture of unduplicated counts, use of specific services and the effectiveness of the local homeless assistance systems. HMIS is helpful to HUD in evaluating success in different grantee jurisdictions and in reporting to Congress; HUD has begun a renewed emphasis on having its Continuum of Care grantees convert to HMIS.

Contractors shall be expected to enter data into a Homeless Management Information System

(HMIS) web-based software application and bed totals in the Homeless Inventory Count through their local HUD Continuum of Care. Additional information about local HUD Continuums of

Care and software can be found at:

https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/hmis/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_application http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeless http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_application http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web-based http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Homeless_assistance&action=edit&redlink=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Homeless_assistance&action=edit&redlink=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Service_delivery&action=edit&redlink=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policymaker http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mandate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Federal_money&action=edit&redlink=1 http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/hmis/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_metric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_field http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisdiction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_of_Care https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/hmis/