Background

The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness. This guide reviews the HMIS data collection and reporting requirements for agencies receiving CoC funding (CoC grantees).

HMIS Project Set-up

Under the CoC Program, funds may be used to support eligible activities under Permanent Housing (PH) (including Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-Housing), Transitional Housing (TH), Supportive Services Only (SSO), and Homelessness Prevention (HP) projects.

When setting up a project, be sure to note that your project is CoC-funded in the Special Funding Source question on the Program Set-up form. With this information, 2-1-1 OC Staff will know how to set up your project to include all of the elements which your grant requires you to collect.
PH and TH projects may use CoC funds towards rental assistance costs in their projects. These will either be tenant-based (TBRA), sponsor-based (SBRA) or project-based (PBRA). You may set up these services in the Service Information section of your Program Set-up form. For background information on these services, check out the Rental Assistance or Leasing broadcasts, a note on program fees you may charge your clients, an overview of Leasing and Rental Assistance under the CoC Program, and definitions of each assistance type.

CoC funds may be used toward supportive services for CoC-funded PH, TH, and SSO projects. Examples of supportive services include child care services and employment assistance. For a full list of eligible supportive services costs, please review pages 8 and 9 of the CoC Interim Law document, under section “(27) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES”. Ensure that you include these services on your Program Set-up form if applicable.

HMIS Data Collection Requirements

CoC grantees are required to collect data in HMIS for all clients served by their CoC-funded projects.

There are 5 key stages of a client’s interaction with the CoC-funded project that require data collection

Record Creation – The point in the program where the client is first entered into HMIS. If a client does not already have an HMIS record, you must create one for them. Key identifiers for the participant are entered during this time, which allow HUD to identify the client. This data may only need to be collected once, or updated if there are any changes; for example, if the client marries, their Last Name may change. Data Elements collected during this stage are:
- Name (HUD Data Element 3.01)
- Social Security Number (HUD Data Element 3.02)
- Date of Birth (HUD Data Element 3.03)
- Race (HUD Data Element 3.04)
- Ethnicity (HUD Data Element 3.05)
- Gender (HUD Data Element 3.06)
- Veteran Status (HUD Data Element 3.07
Project Entry – This data is collected as of the date when the client enters the project. Data Elements collected during this provide an idea of family and individual characteristics over time, and include:
- Project Start Date (HUD Data Element 3.10)
- Relationship to Head of Household (HUD Data Element 3.15)
- Type of Residence Prior to Entry (HUD Data Element 3.917, Field 1). For Adults and Heads of Household only
- Length of Time on Street, in ES, or Safe Haven (HUD Data Element 3.917, Field 5). For Adults and Heads of Household only
- Disabling Condition (HUD Data Element 3.08)
- Disability Information
  - Physical and Developmental disability, Chronic Health Condition, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Substance Abuse (HUD Data Elements 4.05 – 4.10)
- Domestic Violence (HUD Data Element 4.11)
- Income and Sources (HUD Data Element 4.02)
- Non-Cash Benefits (HUD Data Element 4.03)
- Health Insurance (HUD Data Element 4.04)
- Housing Move-in Date (HUD Data Element 3.20) For PSH and RRH projects only.
Update – These fields are updated for an enrollment, only if the information changes, and are collected between the Project Start Date and Project Exit Date. Data Elements which may require an update are:
- Disability Information
  - Physical and Developmental disability, Chronic Health Condition, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Substance Abuse (HUD Data Elements 4.05 – 4.10)
- Income and Sources (HUD Data Element 4.02)
- Non-Cash Benefits (HUD Data Element 4.03)
- Health Insurance (HUD Data Element 4.04)
Annual Assessment – If a client is in your project for more than a year, you must also collect data for the Annual Assessment. This data should be collected within a range of 30 days before or 30 days after the anniversary of their Project Start Date. You must create an annual assessment and collect data for the client as of the date of the Annual Assessment, even if there have been no changes to the value for these data elements from past points of collection. Data Elements collected during this stage are:
- Income and Sources (HUD Data Element 4.02)
- Non-Cash Benefits (HUD Data Element 4.03)
- Health Insurance (HUD Data Element 4.04)
Project Exit – The point in which the client exits the project. The data elements collected on this date should always reflect the client’s circumstances as of the date they exit. Data Elements required during this stage are:
- Project Exit Date (HUD Data Element 3.11)
- Exit Destination (HUD Data Element 3.12)
- Disability Information
  - Physical and Developmental disability, Chronic Health Condition, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Substance Abuse (HUD Data Elements 4.05 – 4.10)
- Income and Sources (HUD Data Element 4.02)
- Non-Cash Benefits (HUD Data Element 4.03)

Remember to gather complete information for all of these data elements, including adding an annual assessment to complete the data elements collected there. Incomplete information will reflect poorly on your Annual Performance Report (APR).

For more information on the Data Elements listed above, checkout the HUD Data Standards Manual or Data Dictionary.

Reporting Requirements

HUD requires Continuum of Care (CoC) recipients (including recipients of funds under the CoC Program, Supportive Housing Program (SHP), Shelter Plus Care (S+C), and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program) to submit Annual Performance Reports (APR) within 90 days from the end of their grant operating year. CoC recipients submit their APRs in the Sage HMIS Reporting Repository. HUD uses the APR to track progress and performance of HUD-funded grants.

All users must create an account and be authorized to use the Sage system. Go to ww.sagehmis.info and click “Create an Account” link under New User. Fill out the information, and ensure you register with your work email. It is important to have access to this email at work, where Sage will send your emails. Your work email will be your username. Select Recipient for Position, then search for the agency with which you are associated. Click Add Association, and click Request Account. The County of Orange, as the CoC Lead, will approve your account to allow you to access Sage. This process may take up to 72 hours, so make sure to set up and request your account early.

You must upload a CSV file to the Sage Repository for each of your grants, within 90 days after the end of the grant period. Follow the instructions in the “How Do I Run a CSV Export (APR or ESG CAPER)?” article to retrieve your CSV for upload to Sage. Watch the “Submitting your APR in Sage” Part 1 and Part 2 and the Using Sage to Complete Your APR trainings for an overview of how to submit and complete your APRs with the Repository. For further guidance on how to use Sage, check out the CoC APR Guidebook. If you have any questions regarding Sage, you should submit an “Ask a Question” to HUD. If you have questions regarding data errors caused by HMIS data, please contact the Help Desk.

Data completeness and timeliness are ranked in the APR. Therefore it is important to attempt to complete all data entry within 3 calendar days of the date the information was collected, and to have complete data for the data elements mentioned in the HMIS Data Collection Requirements section of this document. Aside from that, ensure that clients have an Annual Assessment added within 30 days of their anniversary to ensure you have complete data for the APR, and remember that not all family members will inherit their Head of Household’s Chronic Homeless status.

NOFA Rankings

The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) establishes the funding criteria for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. Every year, HUD announces the amount of funds available for each CoC for that Fiscal Year. The Orange County CoC proposes the awards of CoC funding to projects based off of the NOFA rankings. As of 7/2019, the Orange County CoC has not yet announced the criteria for the rankings, but has regularly communicated that Project Performance Reports may be used for the NOFA ranking, which would determine a project’s CoC funding award amount. Thus, it is important to have full data for the fields which are used to calculate the Project Performance Reports:

Project Start Date (HUD Data Element 3.10)
Project Exit Date (HUD Data Element 3.11)
Date of Birth
Approximate Date Homelessness Started (HUD Data Element 3.917B, Field 3)
Relationship to Head of Household
Housing Move-in Date (HUD Data Element 3.20)
Income at Entry (HUD Data Element 4.2)
Income at Exit or Last Update (HUD Data Element 4.2, update)
Type of Residence Prior to Entry (HUD Data Element 3.917B, Field 1)
Length of Stay Less than 90 Days (HUD Data Element 3.917B, Field 2)
Length of Stay Less Than 7 Days (HUD Data Element 3.917B, Field 2)
On the night before - stayed on the streets, ES or Safe Haven (HUD Data Element 3.917B, Field 2C)
Exit Destination (HUD Data Element 3.12)
Funding Source (CoC, Garden Grove ESG, Anaheim ESG, etc)
Domestic Violence Victim/Survivor (HUD Data Element 4.11, Field 2)
Domestic Violence, When Experience Occurred (HUD Data Element 4.11, Field 2A)
Domestic Violence, Currently Fleeing (HUD Data Element 4.11, Field 2B)

These fields are used to calculate performance measures for each project type, towards the goal of meeting thresholds set by the community. The definitions and calculation methods for PSH/OPH, RRH, TH, and HP measures are available on the first tab of each Report. You may also review the measures applicable to each project type, with the thresholds, which can be thought of as performance targets/ goals for each project type.

Contents

Background

HMIS Project Set-up

HMIS Data Collection Requirements

Reporting Requirements

NOFA Rankings

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