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Data Elements: 4.14 Bed-Night Date
Data Element
A Bed-Night Date record indicates that the client has used a bed in a night-by-night (NbN) shelter on that date. All household members should have a bed night recorded, not just the Head of Household for each night they utilized a night-by-night shelter bed. This requirement is for all NbN type emergency shelters that participate in HMIS (Homeless Management Information Systems), regardless of funding source.
There must be a record of a bed night on the ‘Project Start Date’ into a night-by-night shelter; any additional bed night dates must be after the ‘Project Start Date’ and before the ‘Project Exit Date’.
Data Element Type
4.14 Bed-Night Date is a Common Program Specific Data Element.
Collection Point
4.14 Bed-Night Date is collected when the client occupies the bed.
Why It Matters
Bed Night information is used to determine bed coverage. Bed coverage is the percentage of the homeless services system that is being captured by HMIS. High bed coverage for all project types is an emphasis of the HUD (Housing and Urban Development) TA (Technical Assistance) Data Strategy, as having information about project utilization and the clients being served is necessary to understand the community and do strategic system planning. Without data in HMIS, system-wide strategic planning to better serve clients is impossible.
Data Quality
The Data Accuracy - Calendar for NbN ES Report lists clients who were in shelter during the month and what nights they were there. The report displays shelter stays and entry exits for the first 31 days of the reporting period and flags potential issues such as Entry/Exit only, Multiple Entry/Exits for same day, Shelter stays only.
How to correct: Enter value, if known on Project Start Assessment, Interim Assessment, Shelter Stay and/or Project Exit Assessments.