Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a class of

database application A database application is a computer program whose primary purpose is retrieving information from a computerized database. From here, information can be inserted, modified or deleted which is subsequently conveyed back into the database. Early ...

s used to confidentially aggregate data on

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

populations served in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Such

software application Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

s record and store client-level information on the characteristics and service needs of homeless persons. An HMIS is typically a

web-based A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serve ...

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 Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

and

service delivery Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

system. The

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

(HUD) and other planners and

policymaker Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

s 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 1990s in response to a mandate by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

requiring States to collect this data as a condition of receiving

federal money Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

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. HUD mandated that each Continuum of Care (CoC) for the Homeless must implement an HMIS, but they did not require the use of a particular application, they do, however, provide specifications which all HMIS software must meet for collection and reporting of data. Some CoCs utilize locally developed or 'homegrown' software, but the majority adopted one of a number of commercially available HMIS applications. In July 2004, HUD published the HMIS Data and Technical Standards in the Federal Register, with the intent of standardizing collection of client and program-level data on homeless service usage among programs within a community and across all communities. In March 2010, HUD published a revision of the HMIS Data Standards, updated to incorporate data collection required for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP), which was funded under the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

; to align with intended changes to program-level reporting requirements; and to address feedback from CoCs requesting clarification and modification of some of the previous data elements. 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 in permanent housing at the time they exit a program is a

metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathem ...

used for evaluation. Other

data field In computer science, data that has several parts, known as a '' record,'' can be divided into fields (data fields). Relational databases arrange data as sets of database records, so called rows. Each record consists of several ''fields''; the fie ...

s focus on developing a picture of unduplicated counts, use of specific services and the effectiveness of the local homeless assistance systems. HUD, apparently finding HMIS to be helpful in evaluating success in different grantee

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

s, and in reporting to Congress, has begun a renewed emphasis on having its Continuum of Care grantees convert to HMIS. 2010–2011 awards will be affected by metrics under HMIS and so some jurisdictions are moving quickly to bring their

service provider A service provider (SP) is an organization that provides services, such as consulting, legal, real estate, communications, storage, and processing services, to other organizations. Although a service provider can be a sub-unit of the organization t ...

s into compliance.

References

{{reflist

External links

US Department of Housing and Urban Development HMIS page

HMIS in use in Oklahoma City, Ok.
Government databases in the United States Homelessness in the United States United States Department of Housing and Urban Development