New YHDP Dashboard
 The new dashboard for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project (YHDP) is live. This visualization will help YHDP program managers quickly evaluate program performance. The Youth for Youth board helped develop all of the performance metrics. Youth for Youth is a group of youth with lived experience of homelessness. The new visualization is live on the Housing Assistance Unit Tableau page.
Quarterly Dashboards
Point-in-Time Count rescheduled
Due to increasing COVID-19 cases, the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count for the WA-501 – Washington Balance of State Continuum of Care (CoC) counties has been delayed to Thursday, Feb. 24.
This moves the entire count, including the sheltered PIT count, unsheltered PIT count, and Housing Inventory Count (HIC), to the same date. This only changes when the count happens, not when data is due. Commerce will still submit PIT data to HUD via the HUD Homelessness Data Exchange (HDX) in the same timeframe. HUD hasn’t announced when the HIC and PIT are due, but it is usually at the end of April.
For instructions on data entry after the PIT count is complete, check out the upcoming PIT training video, which will be available on the HMIS website soon. When it is available, it will be on the HMIS “Calendar” tab under the HMIS Training Requirements heading.
Interested in what reports can help improve data quality for the PIT? Check out the Reports Corner section on this newsletter for information about the new Data Quality Reports Resource Info Sheet.
 Interested in what reports can help improve you data quality for the PIT? Check out the Reports Corner section of this newsletter for information about the new Data Quality Reports Resource Info Sheet.
FYI – Process change to remove a client’s program exit in HMIS
To reactivate an inactive client from the Programs page, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the “Reopen Client Program” button, which appears under the “Save & Close” and “Cancel” buttons.
This is a change from the previous method, which will now flag an error when you try to save.
Reports Corner
Every quarter we will examine a report or two to help you take ownership of your data.
Data Quality Reports Resource Info Sheet
The Data Quality Reports Resource Info Sheet describes reports used to monitor data quality and make improvements as needed. Reports covered in this resource include the HMIS Data Quality Report, the Housing Census Report, the Program Roster Report and the Program Details Report. It also includes information about the Homeless System Performance Measures, PIT count, HIC and LSA.
Fun with HMIS form templates
Did you know there is a helpful resource for sample client forms? Providers can learn more about 2022 template forms in this HMIS article.
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Want to be a spreadsheet wizard? We will explore the power of spreadsheets, from the basics to the advanced.
Beginner Tip: Learn about the simple formulas – and how to do them fast — in this HMIS article.
Join the Housing Assistance Unit
The Housing Assistance Unit’s HMIS Team is hiring! We are looking for an analyst who is passionate about ending youth and young adult (YYA) homelessness. If your favorite pastime is staring at spreadsheets, analyzing data and working with amazing teams to help end YYA homelessness, then this position is for you! You will be the key liaison between the teams in Commerce and external stakeholders in YYA data reporting. You will provide HMIS technical assistance and data coaching to programs serving the YYA sub-population, as well as working with stakeholders in creating reports, dashboards and other visualizations that will inform the progress of driving down and ending youth and young adult homelessness.
Apply here: COM 2: Youth and Young Adults Reports Analyst
Housing Assistance Unit’s Performance Team is hiring! We are looking for someone who is data driven and passionate about improving services to young people. As a performance specialist you will develop performance requirements for youth-centered systems and programs in collaboration with the Office of Homeless Youth. You will identify the best ways to measure, track, monitor and communicate a homeless system’s progress in effectively serving young people. You will provide assistance to homeless systems and programs to help them deliver culturally informed and effective services.
Apply here: COM 4: Youth and Young Adults Performance Specialist
These job postings close on March 6, so please share with your networks or apply today. It is important that applicants carefully examine the required qualifications and ensure that their responses to the supplemental questions reflect that they meet the required qualifications.
Splitting households
Running into technical issues and not sure who to call? Don’t worry, the HMIS team has your back.
One of our readers writes:
Dear HMIS team,
Managing a household is never easy, and I seem to struggle with it in HMIS, too. It seems once I get everything set up correctly, the clients have changes in their household. How exactly do you separate a household?
Truly yours,
Household Hitches in Hoquiam
Dear Household Hitches in Hoquiam,
Breakups are hard, but following these steps will ensure a smooth transition for your clients! We recommend doing this on a computer with a mouse.
Step 1: Exit the Program
For each person who is leaving the program, from their “Programs” tab, edit the program and “Exit” the program.
Step 2: Leave the Household
Navigate to the “Profile” tab of the Head of Household. On the right side of the screen next to Household Members, select “Manage.” Hover over the name of the client that is leaving the Household and select “Edit.” Toggle on the “Exited Household” feature, enter the date and select “Save.” Do this for each member leaving. Important note: If the person removed was the head of household, you will need to reassign the role to another member that is staying.
Step 3: Create the new Household
Select “Search” and find the client that you removed from the Household. From the “Profile” tab of the new head of household, add any other household members, if needed. To do this, go to the “Profile” tab and select “Manage” from the right side of the screen, next to “Household Members.”
Step 4: Enroll into Program
From the new head of household’s “Programs” tab, add the program and include other household members, if needed.
Note: If the client did not return to homelessness, the Exit Date of the original program should match the Entry Date on the new program for most housing programs. For most emergency shelter programs, the Entry Date for the new program should be one day after the Exit Date of the old program.
There are multiple steps in splitting a household, but if you follow the steps above in order, the clients will have their programs set up correctly. Let us know if any more questions come up, we are here to help!
Best wishes,
HMIS team
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