Background

The HMIS Data Standards have been established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other federal partners to allow for standardized data collection on homeless clients from Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the county. The collection of these data elements are required to meet HMIS participation and reporting requirements from HUD and other federal partners. Periodically, new data elements are introduced to address gaps with current data collection.

The data elements included in this article have been added or edited under the FY2022 HMIS Data Standards, and will be implemented in HMIS as of October 1st, 2021. The data elements included in this article are required for all clients served in projects that participate in HMIS. Please review each data element for specific information regarding data collection requirements. For additional information on these data elements please review the FY2022 HMIS Data Standards Manual.

HMIS Data Standards Updates 

The following data elements have been updated: 

• Date of Birth
• Race
• Ethnicity 
• Gender 
• Income and Sources - for clients turning 18
• Non-Cash Benefits - for clients turning 18

When enrolling a client who already has a record in HMIS, verify that the client information is complete and accurate. If it's not, work with the client to correct the record. Staff observations should never be used to collect information. Every client must be asked for their self-reported information. 

3.03 Date of Birth

• Project Type Applicability: All Programs - All Components
• Data Collected About: All clients 
  • To calculate the age of persons served at time of project start or at any point during project enrollment and to support the unique identification of each person served.
• Collection Point: Record Creation
• Screens in HMIS: Client's Profile
• Update: "Client doesn't know," "Client refused," and "Data not collected" are explanations for missing DOB data. None of these three options are valid in conjunction with a valid or approximated date entered in 'Date of Birth.'

3.04 Race

• Project Type Applicability: All Programs - All Components
• Data Collected About: All clients
  • To indicate clients' self-identification of one or more of five different racial categories.
• Collection Point: Record Creation
• Screens in HMIS: Client's Profile
• Responses for "Race":
  • American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous
  • Asian or Asian American
  • Black, African American, or African
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
  • White
  • Client doesn't know
  • Client refused
  • Data not collected

3.05 Ethnicity 

• Project Type Applicability: All Programs - All Components
• Data Collected About: All clients
  • To indicate clients who do and do not identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino. 
• Collection Point: Record Creation
• Screens in HMIS: Client's Profile
• Responses for "Ethnicity":
  • Non-Hispanic/Non-Latin(a)(o)(x)
  • Hispanic/Latin(a)(o)(x)
  • Client doesn't know
  • Client refused
  • Data not collected

3.06 Gender

• Project Type Applicability: All Programs - All Components
• Data Collected About: All clients
  • To indicate client’s self-identification of one or more of the gender categories. 
• Collection Point: Record Creation
• Screens in HMIS: Client's Profile
• Update: Modified response options and changed collection logic – multiple response selections are permitted for this element.
• Responses for "Gender":
  • Female
  • Male
  • A gender that is not singularly ‘Female’ or ‘Male’ (e.g., non-binary, genderfluid, agender, culturally specific gender)
  • Transgender
  • Questioning
  • Client doesn't know
  • Client refused
  • Data not collected

4.02 Income and Sources

• Project Type Applicability: All Programs - All Components
• Data Collected About: Head of Household and Adult(s)
  • To determine whether households are accessing all income sources for which they are eligible at the time of project start and to allow for analyzing changes in the composition of income between project start and exit.
• Collection Point: Project Start, Update, Annual Assessment, Project Exit
• Screens in HMIS: Enrollment Screen, Assessments Screen for the Enrollment, Exit Screen
• Updates are required for persons aging into adulthood. A user will be able to edit the ‘Income and Sources’ record at project start as well as enter an update as of the participant’s 18th birthday.

4.03 Non-Cash Benefits 

• Project Type Applicability: All Programs - All Components
• Data Collected About: Head of Household and Adult(s)
  • To determine whether households are accessing all mainstream program benefits for which they are eligible at the time of project start and to allow for analyzing changes in the composition of non-cash benefits between project start and exit.
• Collection Point: Project Start, Update, Annual Assessment, Project Exit
• Screens in HMIS: Enrollment Screen, Assessments Screen for the Enrollment, Exit Screen
• Updates are required for persons aging into adulthood. A user will be able to edit the Non-Cash Benefits record at project start as well as enter an update as of the participant’s 18th birthday.