HMIS and Comparable Databases

Solid data enables a community to work confidently towards their goals as they measure outputs, outcomes, and impacts. A Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is the information system designated by a local Continuum of Care (CoC) to comply with the requirements of CoC Program interim rule 24 CFR 578. It is a locally-administered data system used to record and analyze client, service and housing data for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The 2017 HMIS Data Dictionary and 2017 HMIS Data Standards Manual are the documentation of requirements for the programming and use of all HMIS systems and comparable database systems, effective October 1, 2017.

The webinar provides information on VAWA confidentiality laws and how they relate to HMIS and comparable databases. It offers guidance on selecting a comparable database and creating survivor-centered methods of capturing key data. 

This resource describes the key differences between HMIS and a comparable database; provides an overview of HUD, FVPSA, and VAWA data requirements; outlines 2017 SAGE reporting requirements; and offers helpful tools for choosing a comparable database.

This webinar is intended for state coalitions and DV/SA service providers, CoCs, and HMIS leads. It provides an overview of the commonly asked questions from DV and SA state coalitions and jurisdictions who are interested in learning about comparable databases and HUD CoC reporting requirements and process in order to plan, implement, and manage a comparable database, based on best practices in Texas.

Privacy and confidentiality is paramount to safety for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Yet victim service agencies may need to share information in many ways: with community partners, within community coordinated response teams, through referrals to other service providers, or in community-wide data collection initiatives. This website provides guidance for agencies in understanding their obligations to confidentiality in accordance to federal laws, best practices to ensure survivor-centered services, when and how much information to keep, and how best to share information with others.

This guide presents a set of steps to implementing an HMIS—from planning through implementation. The Implementation Guide is designed in a step-by-step format beginning with an overview (Concepts and Components of HMIS), which defines an HMIS, describes the benefits in relation to functional options, and introduces privacy, security, and consumer involvement issues.

A comprehensive presentation that includes information about housing protections for survivors as well as protections for children and youth. Provides guidance toward best practices with these populations.

This document provides an overview of the most recent HUD Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Sage reporting requirements and how they will affect DV housing and emergency shelter programs which receive HUD ESG funds. Programs without a Comparable Database compatible with Sage reporting requirements can an extension and an alternative reporting option (this year only) from HUD to complete the 2017 ESG CAPER.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that recipient and subrecipients receiving HUD funding “shall collect data on the use of funds awarded and persons served with this assistance in HUD’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) or other comparable database.” HUD envisioned HMIS systems as a way for communities to create data-driven solutions to ending homelessness in communities. However, Victim Service Providers (VSP) are prohibited from entering client-level data into an HMIS and instead should use a comparable database. This resource outlines federal statues and provides a case study for VSPs when choosing a comparable database.

This resource was created as a tool to help communities assess whether a project should enter data into HMIS. It is intended to provide clarity around the requirements for Victim Service Providers inputting personally identifying information into HMIS.