A Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a local information technology system used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk of homelessness. Each Continuum of Care (CoC) is responsible for selecting an HMIS software solution that complies with HUD's data collection, management, and reporting standards.
HUD and Federal partners are committed to assisting communities in ending homelessness for individuals and families. Collecting complete and accurate data about homelessness in your communities is a core element to achieving the goal.
The strategy sets out three overarching goals for itself and its communities:
- Communities use their data to optimize systems of care by making ongoing system performance improvements and determining optimal resource allocation;
- Communities operate data systems that allow for accurate, comprehensive, and timely data collection, usage and reporting; and
- Federal government coordinates to receive and use data to make informed decisions in coordination with other data sets, across and within agencies.
To end homelessness, communities must be able to analyze data at both the system and project levels and to evaluate their efforts by subpopulation, across project types, and in other ways. Not only must communities continue increasing HMIS bed coverage and improving data quality, but they also should be using data to gain a more holistic picture of the communities’ progress toward ending homelessness. To assist with this effort, HUD has produced a number of products and tools to help communities to improve data quality and engage in the system and project-level analysis.
The HEARTH Act, enacted into law on May 20, 2009, requires all communities to have an HMIS with the capacity to collect unduplicated counts of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. With the enactment of the HEARTH Act, HMIS participation became a statutory requirement for recipients and sub-recipients of the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds. *More Information Can Be Found At https://www.hudexchange.info/