Continuum of Care News

Question Status: Answered Thank you for submitting a question via the HUD Exchange. The response to your question is listed below. Question Related To: Continuum of Care Program Question ID: 141088 Question Subject:  Priority for HUD CoC PSH Projects Question Text: We currently have an agency in our CoC with 2 HUD CoC PSH projects that serve a specific target population of CH (chronically homeless) persons with a long term mental health disability and/or a long term substance abuse disability.  This agency made this a mandatory requirement for entry into their 2 HUD CoC PSH projects many years ago when these same projects were funded under the former HUD Shelter Plus Care Program.  This is a government behaviorial mental health agency.  For this AAQ case, I will call them Agency A  We recently discovered that when there are vacancies at Agency A, and they are not able to locate any persons that meet t...

Question Status: Answered Question Related To: Sage Question ID: 127574 Question Subject: APR is uploading in Sage and creating a mistake through the download in the APR that is not there until the APR is load and created Question Text: I am trying to complete the APR for a project that has 14 females and 1 transgender Male to Female.  I have the transgender client as Female (male to female) and this shows up correctly when I pull the APR but when the CSV files in loaded into SAGE and creates the APR, it changes it to Male (Female to Male). The local HMIS Admin tried to fix this and the same thing happened.  Our APR is due now, please assist asap. Response: The vendor must have their code inverted.  In the data dictionary, Trans Female - Male to Femail is shown first as #2 and Tans Mail Female to Male is next as # 3.  However, on the APR report form, it is the other way around Male first then Female and I'm guessing they ...

​​Question Status: Answered Question Related To: Continuum of Care Program Question ID: 125773 Question Subject: Emergency housing question Question Text: I have an issue that we have never dealt with in the past and wanted to reach out for guidance. One of our tenants woke up yesterday to the ceiling falling in in their kitchen.  Long story short, there was an issue with the HVAC in the attic and water had been pooling for quite some time.  The landlord has put the family in a hotel for a few days but the damage is extensive and it will likely take more than 2 weeks to fix all the issues.  The landlord has stated they are unable to keep the family in the hotel and that as the house is uninhabitable the lease is automatically terminated.  We are working with the landlord now to see what other options we have but we will likely not be able to get them back into the unit.  The landlord also found some other issues in the house and has said...

Listed below is a copy of the text from a memorandum from MDH (formerly DHMH) that was shared with us by a non-profit.  The memorandum describes the procedures required to obtain free MD birth certificates for homeless persons.   For eligible homeless persons, there is no longer a fee for this service as per HB 280 . The intent of this Memorandum is to bring clarity on the issuance of birth certificates to homeless individuals. As you know, §4-217 (a)(6)(ii)1.2.3.4., of the Annotated Code of Maryland provides that DHMH accept as proof of homelessness, a signed written statement from a homeless services provider located in the State of Maryland that: - Affirms the individual is homeless; and - Includes the mailing address to which the copy of the birth certificate requested may be sent; and - A homeless individual may receive one copy of his/her birth certificate without a fee in a single transaction. In addition, the homeless individual must provide a valid photo ID...

   If this is your first visit to DHCD, please arrive at least 15-20 minutes early to allow yourself time for parking and transport to the office. ADDRESS : 7800 Harkins Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20787    PARKING : Must park at New Carrollton Metro lot.  Shuttle is available to take you to DHCD building, or you may walk.  See  map .  Arrive at least 15-20 minutes early to allow time for parking and transport to DHCD office.      *** Please note that only credit card payments are accepted when exiting the lot    View green parking entrance on  map .    If walking from lot, view red walking route on  map .    If taking shuttle from lot, view pink shuttle bus location on  map . The shuttle bus will say "DHCD" on the side If you do not see a shuttle bus w/in 10 mins, call the security desk at 301-429-7401

Question Related To : Continuum of Care Program Question ID : 95763 Question Subject : Homeless Prevention Requirement for Coordinated Entry Question Text : Can you confirm that homeless prevention services only need to be a part of our Coordinated Entry if they are funded by ESG?  Basically, we need clarification that non-ESG funded homeless prevention services are not required to be part of Coordinated Entry.  We realize it is most likely strongly encouraged to include all homeless prevention projects, but we may not have that component ready for our non-ESG homeless prevention projects by the 1/23/18 deadline.  Listed below is section II.B.8 from the Coordinated Entry Notice.  I can clearly see where it states the ESG HP requirement, but the speaker on the HUD Webinar on 3/20 did not clearly say ESG when referring to homeless prevention. Homelessness prevention services. Persons must be able to access homelessness prevention services funded with ESG Pro...

Here are some resources I'm sharing with everyone.  I'll try my best to keep everything updated. Coordinated Entry Docs + Regs Folder   (online shared folder with docs, regs, checklist, etc.) HUD Coordinated Entry webinar video from 3/20/17 (note that this takes you to the registration page where you enter your info, and then it starts to play the video).  HUD TA informed us they will have the slides released shortly as of 4/28. HUD AAQ #95763: Homeless Prevention Requirement for Coordinated Entry   RE: MARHMIS question - survivors of DV and Coord Assessment

​​ *If this is your first visit to United Way's office (new location as of 2017), please try to arrive 25 mins early* ​​ Office Address : 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 340, Baltimore, MD 21230  ​​ Parking Lot + Tunnel : map ​​ Parking + Building Access Directions : please carefully read below 1. Drive to the BLUE LOT and pull up to the left side Visitors lane (the other lane is for card holders only). Use the intercom to inform security you have a meeting with United Way.  2. Walk to the the tunnel entrance (see  map  - located at the end of a long sidewalk and has signage on the outside of the building).   3. Use the intercom at the tunnel entrance (inform security again you have a meeting with United Way).  4. Once in the long tunnel walkway, proceed through the cafeteria, then turn right and go to the front entrance where the security desk is located. Inform security again you have a meeting with United Way. You will then be directed ...

Question Related To : Homeless Management Information Systems Question ID : 90167 Question Subject : HMIS Data Entry for PSH Resident from Another PSH Project Question Text : If a client moves directly from PSH Project A to PSH Project B, where the agencies are different, but the CoC is the same, would the correct response to the "Residence Prior to Project Entry" be "Permanent Housing for Formerly Homeless Persons (HUD)?"  I assume PSH Provider B would also have to document why this client entered from a non-homeless situation, as well.  Thank you. Response : Thanks for your question, Jason. You are correct--if a client goes from any PSH project to a new one, 3.917 Type of Residence should be recorded as 'Permanent housing for formerly homeless persons (such as: a CoC project; HUD legacy programs; or HOPWA PH).' As part of PSH Provider B's recordkeeping requirements, they should document why the person entered from PSH.

Question Response for CoC Question ID 87377 - HUD Exchange Ask A Question Question Related To:  Continuum of Care Program Question ID:  87377 Question Subject: Equal Access + Fair Housing + Housing First Question Text: Fair Housing + Equal Access QUESTION #1 : If a CoC has a Coordinated Entry system where a call center screens all homeless services calls to place them into the appropriate project and program (ES, TH, RRH, PSH, Shelter Diversion, etc.) where some of the projects may only serve certain population/household types, but the CoC has plenty of projects to serve the needs of all population/household types, is this considered to be in compliance with Fair Housing in regards to non-discriminatory practices?  DETAIL : For example, a CoC may have seven ES projects where one of the projects may serve only single adult males, but the other six projects fulfill the needs of all other population/household types.  This pertains t...

Question Related To: Homeless Management Information Systems Question ID: 83110 Question Subject: TANF Income Question Text: We have several providers that are wary about entering TANF income into HMIS due to the fact that it is temporary, and then will show a loss of income, which may negatively affect performance measures for some programs.  What do you suggest for best practices? Response: The time limits for assistance for TANF vary by state, and in some cases have been cut as short as 12 months for various political and budgetary reasons. However, since the limits of the program generally range from 24 to 60 months in most states, and may be longer than that, depending on the composition of the family and state funding, HUD considers these resources to be cash benefits that should be recorded in HMIS. If the family is expected to continue receiving the benefit (that is, they are not being terminated during the month of entry into the project), the project must re...

Question Related To : Continuum of Care Program Question ID : 81439 Question Subject : Serving CoC PSH Clients from Outside CoC Question Text : Does HUD have any docs that state it is ok to serve formerly homeless clients from outside our CoC?  Occassionally, we may serve some homeless clients that originally came from another CoC prior to porject entry, and we wanted to ensure we have documentation that allows this.  The only reference I could find online was related to TBRA, but we were not sure if it applied to CoC funded PSH projects, as well. Response : Thank you for your question. HUD does not impose residency requirements as an eligibility standard in its Homeless Assistance Grants Program. Therefore, so long as the individual meets the definition of homeless in section 578.3 of the CoC Program interim rule and meets any additional eligibility requirements of your project, HUD would permit you to serve this individual even though he or she currently resides...

POST UPDATED: 4/26/16 I wanted to share this updated info because some CoCs wanted to know if they could monitor client case files at DV shelters if they had client consent.   P​lease see below regarding special instances where DV clients may consent to sharing info.  It seems to be reserved for only legal or statutory (child abuse) related matters.  Listed at the bottom are updated federal docs related to VAWA 2013 (Violence Against Women Act), FVPSA (​Family Violence Prevention and Services Act), and OVW (Office on Violence Against Women). ​VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) 2013: ​ ‘‘(4) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information submitted to a public housing agency or owner or manager under this subsection, including the fact that an individual is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking shall be maintained in confidence by the public housing agency or owner or manager and may not be entered into any shared S. 47—53 database or di...

Question Related To : Homeless Management Information Systems Question ID : 63403 Question Subject : HMIS Data Entry: CoC Rental Assistance in Non-Cash Benefits? Question Text: For the purposes of HMIS data entry for a CoC funded PSH project, should the amount the client receives (landlord receives as rent) as a housing subsidy from that same PSH provider be entered into the Non-Cash Benefits section into HMIS?  If so, should this be recorded at the Entry Date or the first Interim Review Date? Response: The non-cash benefits data element is intended to collect information about non-cash mainstream benefits.  The rental assistance referred to in this data element only includes rental assistance provided to participating clients from non-CoC funded resources (i.e. Section 8, public housing).  Since all of your participants are receiving rental assistance from your CoC funded project, you would not record "rental assistance" under the non-cash benefits...

Question Related To: Homeless Management Information Systems Question ID: 58898 Question Subject:  HMIS Client Consent Question Text:  We are looking for advice on how we remain in compliance with HUD HMIS Data Standards and CFR 42 Part 2.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Response:  Thank you for your question.  We apologize for the delay in responding.  HUD and HHS staff and TA providers met in September and discussed this issue.  It appeared that there was some misunderstanding in how consent to share data was obtained regarding sensitive rules in CFR 42 Part 2.  We cleared this up and agreed that as long as a client consents to have their information shared, it is ok to share the data.  Keep in mind that you do not need consent to collect or enter data (based on HUD rules).  We are continuing to work with everyone to provide further guidance, but you should not change your data entry practices at...

Team HMIS is Jason Burns (HMIS Systems Admin) and Samantha Bochinski (HMIS Ops Mgr).  We provide data administration, analysis, trainings, and technical support for human services agencies (homeless, prevention, health, veterans, etc.).  Due to limited funding and staffing in our line of work, we try our best to maximize our productivity with smart technology while maintaining the human element of personalized service.  We strive to produce meaningful data, while also creating time-saving workflows and resources to ensure our agencies are able to properly serve their clients.  This is molded after the Lifehacker "How I Work" blogs, and will outline some of the basic tools we use on a daily basis to efficiently assist our programs.  All of the software listed here is free, and synced real-time across Team HMIS staff devices (PC's, phones, tablets, etc.). ​ ​ Location: Towson, Maryland 3 words that best describe your work: Accountab...