HMIS 101: What Are The Benefits of Good Data?

Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data tells us how the community is doing at addressing and solving homelessness The data in HMIS is used to assess and prioritize individuals at risk of and/or are currently experiencing homelessness and to help ensure referrals being made to housing programs are accurate and successful. The information is HMIS is used to tell the story about how people experiencing homelessness use their system of care.

The data in HMIS validates the work of service providers, provides reliable information to HHS and Congress, supports funding request and program expansion, and reflects the impact of a project on linking clients to housing, services, and treatment.

Benefits for Clients

• Decrease in duplicative intakes and assessments
• Provides streamlined referrals
• Coordinated case management
• Better access to housing and services
• Optimize self-sufficiency
• Access to mainstream programs

Benefits for Providers

• Tool to track and report out on client outcomes
• Tool to coordinate services
• Provides consistency in data collection and reporting
• Reduces reporting burden and duplication of efforts
• Collected information can be used to make informed program design decisions

Benefits for the Community

• Provides information to better understand the scope and extent of homelessness
• Provides unduplicated client counts
• Helps to identify service gaps
• Provides information for system design decisions
• Provides information for making informed policy decisions
• Provides a platform for identifying and addressing community wide issues
• Promotes community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness