HMIS stands for Homeless Management Information System. It is a locally administered information data system that allows homeless services projects to confidentially record and store client-level data on the provision of housing and services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.[i]

An HMIS is designated by a local Continuum of Care (CoC) to comply with the requirements of CoC Program interim rule 24 CFR 578, and the selected software solution must comply with HUDs data collection, management, and reporting standards. The HMIS software solution in the State of Alaska is Community Services (formerly ServicePoint).

HMIS is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) as its comprehensive data response to the congressional mandate to report annually on national homelessness.

It is used by all projects that target services to persons experiencing homelessness within SNAPS and the office of HIV-AIDS Housing. It is also used by other Federal Partners from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and their respective programs to measure project performance and participate in benchmarking of the national effort to end homelessness.

The Alaska HMIS encompasses geographic areas ranging from a single community to the entire state of Alaska. It brings homeless assistance providers within a continuum together and creates a more coordinated and effective homelessness response system.

  

Why HMIS?

An HMIS can be used to produce an unduplicated count of persons experiencing homelessness, understand patterns of service use, and measure the effectiveness of homeless services programs. This information can then be used by providers to improve their services to clients and to inform community planning and funding decisions.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other planners and policymakers use aggregate HMIS data to better inform homeless policy and decision-making at the federal, state, and local levels. HMIS provides HUD with national-level aggregate data on the extent and nature of homelessness over time, while allowing for those data to be collected and maintained at the local level.

Facilitate service delivery

• Used as a case management tool to assess client needs and services for improved client care.
• Connects clients to housing, housing services, and shelter care.
• Coordinated Entry (referrals are primarily made in HMIS and priority lists are maintained in HMIS).

   

Assess community-wide and statewide responses to homelessness

Data can be analyzed to identify trends, such as:

• Changes in the number and characteristics of persons experiencing homelessness.
• The length of time spent experiencing homelessness in a community.
• Returns to homelessness after exiting a program.

     

Report to funders

Program-level reporting via HMIS is required by several federal and state funders. HMIS must be used to generate many federal reports, but organizations can also elect to use HMIS for data entry on local or state programs and then have HMIS generate the reports required by funders.

         

What is HMIS used for?

Person Centered Approach to Data Collection

Communities must also employ a person-centered approach with a clear foundational understanding of racial trauma and trauma informed practices, cultural humility, and a person first, data informed perspective when setting the approach for data collection.

    

  

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