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As we begin the 2019 Fiscal Year, we would
like to thank everyone who has helped make this past year a success. ISDV has worked collaboratively with our
partners to bring interested PHAs onboard, train participating PHAs to
successfully pilot our software, and meet with all stakeholders involved to
ensure that we are not leaving any page unturned. Through hard work and dedication from
everyone involved, ISDV’s Field Team has continued to train participating PHAs
across the nation. Currently, we have well over 200 trained PHAs and we
continue to grow closer and closer to our goals.
Our teams have been working tirelessly to
ensure everyone is up-to-date through newsletters, quarterly conference calls,
and attending industry conferences. We
have also worked to continuously improve our Exam4Inspections software with
each release to create a more streamlined and simplified user experience. Through the remainder of this demonstration,
our goal will remain to work towards safer housing conditions that are decent,
safe, and sanitary. With your continued
support and feedback, we are confident that we will be able to reach this goal
to improve housing conditions across the nation through the HCV program.
The UPCS-V team would like to give a big thank you to all of our program participants. As of September 2018, over 55,000 inspections have been conducted using UPCS-V. Your work continues to fuel this program and its core mission to provide housing that is decent, safe, and sanitary.
The ISDV team is transitioning to a dynamic Data Visualization platform, which is directly connected to SalesForce where UPCS-V inspection data is archived. One of the new and exciting features this dashboard embodies is interactive maps that depict the amount of inspections done by zip code, region, and state. The electronic nature of this platform has made it easier for ISDV to retrieve up-to-date data for analysis. ISDV can easily transform inspection data into valuable reports. Below you can see an example of an interactive map that breaks down inspections by zip code among all participating PHAs actively performing inspections with the Exam4Inspections software. We will transition to an environment that will permit PHAs to access this data to help you discover how best to manage resources, minimize risk, improve quality, and reduce costs.
 The interactive map uses a gradient color scale from light green to dark green indicating the states with the least amount of inspections to the states with the most amount of inspections, respectively.
ISDV’s Field Team is working diligently to reach the goal of 250 trained PHAs to ensure adequate representation across all regions and PHA sizes. Representation across all groups and sizes is imperative to the success of this demonstration. With over 200 trained PHAs, the Field Team is currently focusing their efforts on training PHAs that have readily available devices that support the Exam4Inspections software needed to pilot the demonstration. Efforts are being made to collect devices from PHAs that have gone inactive, so our Field Team can continue to train the remainder of participating PHAs.
In addition, a Characteristics Study was completed to assess the amount of trained vs.
untrained PHAs across PHA size categories and regions to validate adequate
representation across all groups.
This study concluded:
- Regions 1 and 8
have the least amount of trained PHAs
- More participation is needed from very small and small PHAs
Once the Field Team has enough devices to supply PHAs,
they will resume training these groups to ensure they are adequately
represented in the demonstration. Also upcoming, we will be hosting future focus groups to talk about the future of training. Stay tuned!
Visit our website for more updates on the training team.
On Friday, September 21st, ISDV hosted the second IT
Summit of 2018 in Washington, D.C. We had a very productive and
exciting dialogue, with participants representing a wide array of our stakeholders from inspection services to IT software developers. Among those topics
discussed were the following:
- 3rd Party Vendor Certification
- Protocol
- Decision Trees
- VEDGA (Voucher Electronic Data Gathering App)
You
can find the presentation from the information-rich summit here.
In the near future, ISDV will also be hosting focus group sessions on third party vendor software certification. For more information, please feel free to reach out to ISDV@hud.gov. We thoroughly appreciate all stakeholder and
industry feedback and believe that we can only be successful with your
continued feedback and support.
UPCS-V Exam4Inspections Software
Thank
you for your continued support and suggestions as we work to make UPCS-V a
better product. Between June and August 2018, we released 3
configuration updates and most recently released v2.5.3. These updates provided navigation enhancements to the
UPCS-V inspection report to streamline the inspection process for inspectors.
A list of feature highlights from these releases can be seen in the table below.
v2.5.3 software update launched Remote Verification as a capability of the UPCS-V inspection process. Remote Verification allows inspectors to resolve non-LTE deficiencies without requiring an in-person reinspection. This feature has been integrated into our SalesForce application, but remains optional to PHAs if they choose to incorporate this method into their inspection process.
A Remote Verification can fall into one of the following categories:
- Verifiable Third-Party Documentation
- Visual Evidence
- Self-Certification of Repairs
This allows PHAs to have sufficient documentation that the deficiency has been resolved without physically having to reinspect the deficiency. To learn more about Remote Verification, please see the Remote Verification Fact Sheet.
Save the date! Our next UPCS-V Quarterly
Conference Call is scheduled to take place November 1st!
This is a great opportunity to see the progress we have made with UPCS-V, but
more importantly, it is your chance to provide us with valuable feedback! Email
us at ISDV@hud.gov
for more information or if you have any suggestions on topics to
discuss.
Other events:
- MRI Software International Users Conference – October 14th-17th (Atlanta, GA)
-
Emphasys
User Connect 2018 – November
4th-8th (Orlando,
FL)
Did you know most landlords do not
accept families who participate in our Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program? HUD
is currently launching a nationwide Landlord Outreach campaign with hopes that
it will lead to increased landlord participation in the HCV program and provide
the families we serve with real choice. The office of Policy Development and
Research and the Urban Institute are working to present a recent study that
examines landlord treatment of voucher recipients across the country so they
can hear directly from landlords and property managers. This outreach campaign
will provide HUD with insight and direction on ways to increase their
participation in the HCV Program.
 Head over to Twitter and make sure you are following us @HUDREAC. Stay informed on UPCS-V Protocol, upcoming events, and see what our incredible ISDV staff is up to!
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How are we doing?
Please email us your feedback, especially from PHAs that are already participating in the demonstration pilot. We are continuously trying to improve UPCS-V with your support!
Contact ISDV:
Mail: HUD/REAC/ISDV | 550 12th Street SW, Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20410
Email: isdv@hud.gov | Web: http://ow.ly/tRxn309G8UU | Twitter: @HUDREAC
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