New Resources & Schedule for the 2018 Longitudinal Systems Analysis Report (formerly AHAR)

Beginning on October 31, 2018 communities can upload their official Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) data for use in the 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress via the new Homelessness Data Exchange, Version 2.0 (HDX 2.0). All Continuums of Care (CoCs) may participate in the LSA, regardless of their Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) bed coverage rate. While HMIS bed coverage will continue to be an important factor, usability will be judged principally on data quality and completeness.
In preparation, those assigned as primary contacts for CoCs should login to review and edit the list of people who have access to their community’s data via the HDX 2.0. If you are the CoC Primary Contact, use the instructions below to make any needed updates to the users in your CoC.
  1. Login to your account on the HDX 2.0 following the instructions in the user guide.
     
  2. Once logged into the site, you will see a link in the top right-hand side of the screen that reads “Hello, [your name].” Hover over this link. You will see a dropdown menu appear. From that dropdown menu, select “Administration.”
     
  3. Click on “Manage My Users” in the left menu panel. This will take you to a page where you will see all of the users currently assigned to your CoC, as well as whether they have “read,” “write,” or “submit” access for HIC, PIT, LSA and SYS PM uploads.
     
  4. If you would like to adjust the level of access for a particular user in the list, simply select the appropriate checkmarks for that user across their designated row. Once you are satisfied with the updates, click the blue “Save” button located on the top right-hand side of the user information table.
     
  5. If you would like to add a user to your CoC, click on the blue “+Add User” button located on the top right-hand side of the user information table.
     
  6. You will be taken to a screen with a list of registered users on the HDX 2.0. Select the user(s) in the list that you would like to add to your CoC, and then click the blue “Add Selected User(s) to CoC” button located on the top right-hand side on the user information table.
     
  7. Check to make sure the user you selected on the previous screen is now listed on the “Manage My Users” page.
     
  8. You may now update that user’s level of access, as needed, by following the instructions in Step #4 of this list.
CoCs that have not participated in the past, but wish to submit data this year, should make sure they have appropriate HDX 2.0 accounts established and may wish to reach out to the research team via the Ask A Question (AAQ) portal for additional assistance.
The LSA will use data from your HMIS. Data quality should continue to be addressed by your CoC following any Data Quality Monitoring Plans already in place. Resources for ongoing data quality can be found on the HMIS Guides and Tools page on the HUD Exchange. CoCs are encouraged to begin assessing their data quality before the HDX 2.0 system opens for official LSA submissions, and are reminded that every continuum project must be set up in HMIS, even if it does not participate in HMIS by entering client-level data. More information about setting up projects correctly in HMIS can be found in a new training:
To help communities better understand the differences between past AHAR data submissions and the new LSA data submission cycle, HUD has released two new resources:
  • From AHAR to LSA: Understanding the FY18 Changes: This brief document includes an easy to follow table that highlights the key changes between the LSA and the former AHAR process.
  • Overview of the LSA Submission Process: The goal of this document is to make the new data collection and cleaning process as clear as possible for CoCs so they can be adequately prepared for the 2018 data submission cycle. It covers key milestone of the process, available support to CoCs throughout the process, and the overall submission and cleaning timeline.
While the “Overview of the LSA Submission Process” document linked above describes the LSA data submission cycle’s timeline in further detail, including what each of these milestones entails, an anticipated summary of the 2018 LSA submission cycle’s schedule is below:
  • October 31, 2018: HDX 2.0 opens for official LSA submissions
  • November 9, 2018: Test LSA upload deadline
  • November 30, 2018: Official LSA submission deadline
  • Late December: Outreach to CoCs from Review Team Data Liaisons begins
  • Late January: Deadline to resolve data quality flags with your assigned Data Liaison and mark your data complete; must confirm data within 3 business days of completion
  • Late February: Data usability determinations are communicated to CoCs
As the LSA data collection and cleaning kick-off date approaches, additional community resources and guidance will be announced through the HUD Exchange mailing list and linked to from the LSA Tools and Guidance homepage.
If you have questions pertaining to the LSA or HDX 2.0, please submit your questions through the AAQ portal on the HUD Exchange website. Select “HDX: Homelessness Data Exchange” from the “My question is related to” dropdown list on Step 2 of the AAQ question submission process.
         
Visit the HUD Exchange at https://www.hudexchange.info