Guidance on the Local Use of HMIS
Provide Guidance on the Local Use of HMIS Data
A community’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) contains a wealth of information that can be valuable in community and program level performance measurement, system planning and analysis, and ultimately funding decisions. USICH and its federal partner agencies should provide guidance to communities on how to use the data in HMIS to evaluate their local system and the effectiveness of individual programs. Specific benchmarks on when a program is considered effective would be particularly helpful. USICH should also provide recommendations for how to make the data in HMIS more accessible to community leaders, providers, and the general public while still protecting the privacy rights of homeless persons. The public availability of this data should have multiple positive impacts, including more transparency in local planning processes and improved data quality as those who input the data see its applicability in their daily work.
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Anonymous commented
HMIS and public schools need to find a way to integrate data on families and children/youth BEFORE we can address ending family and youth homelessness. If the data systems are not integrated, we may never know how effective our efforts are. Simply adding a few questions to the HMIS intake form - regarding information on the children of preschool age and school age - and sharing that with public school homeless liaisons could bring together both systems to coordinate services to those families and children/youth.