About+HMIS

=Sonoma County HMIS Initiative=

The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is an online data system used to track the demographics and services of Sonoma County's homeless population. Its use is Federally mandated for all dedicated homeless, prevention and housing programs who receive Continuum of Care, CDC or other local funding. In addition, the Sonoma County CDC mandates participation in the HMIS for any program being funded by CDBG, ESG or HOME dollars. As a CSF grantee - your program will also be required to participate in our local HMIS Initiative __if your project is dedicated to serving homeless clients__.

If you will be participating in the HMIS, a comprehensive understanding of the federal initiative is crucial. There are a vast amount of resources on the public web and through the HMIS Wiki you can learn the history of the initiative as it relates to your participation, as well as how to use our HMIS software (ServicePoint). The following links offer further information:

http://sonoma-county-hmis.wikispaces.com/HOME


 * FAQ's about the Sonoma County CDC HMIS**
 * **Will my agency be required to enter data for all programs?** Any project funded with Public Services dollars will be required to assess and enter data into the HMIS //__IF the project serves the Sonoma County homeless population with housing or other services__//. We use a HMIS made by Social Solutions Group, Inc. called Efforts to Outcomes. Additionally in early 2012, the CDC joined as part of a larger Sonoma County collaborative to produce reporting on a county-wide basis. If you are interested in learning more - please email the HMIS Coordinator at hmis@sonomacounty.org with your questions. We will be happy to set a time to explain what will be involved.


 * **Is there a cost?** There are several costs you will need to consider for participating in the HMIS. You will pay a calculated dollar match amount, and report leveraged resources for your HMIS use. The total cost to participate is a fraction of a new software purchase and we can provide a budget estimate at your request.


 * **How much time will it take to do the data entry?** Actual data entry time into Efforts to Outcomes runs approximately 10 minutes per client but there is an important learning curve to be mastered which will run your HMIS staff about sixty days use with the system, before they feel comfortable understanding the depth of the initiative. Actual time spent to comply with the HMIS standards varies depending on the type of homeless/housing program you operate. All persons working with the HMIS must receive Security and Ethics training, New User Orientation, Intermediate User Training and attend a small number of mandated User Update sessions at least annually.


 * **Will we be held to ALL the standards that apply to other programs?** The HMIS participation mandates several important standards around security and ethics, and data quality and consistency. Even if your program is NOT directly funded by the CoC stream, your efforts will be held to a rigorous set of data standards which our HMIS implementation has developed and achieved.