September 2023

Dear HMIS Community,

Every two years the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sends out an update to all CoC across the nation to tell us what changes they want to see on the data we collect and report to the federal government. The 2024 HMIS Data Standards are out and we've been updating HMIS to be in compliance.

All HMIS New Data Standards go live on October 1st, 2023!!!

This year's release has a lot of changes designed to enhance data accuracy, inclusivity, and reporting capabilities. There are updates on the client profile, the program enrollment, status update, program exit screens, and more! We will be reaching out to specific agencies and programs regarding these updates. Please check out the documents below to learn more.

What do you need to do as an HMIS End User?

Our vendor and our HMIS Team are working behind the scene to correctly configure and implement these new changes with as little impact to our community partners as possible. However, the screens we are changing are complex and with almost 500 active programs, minor mistakes will happen. Please promptly inform us if you find any missing or malfunctioning fields in your program screens. Your help is crucial to help us catch any errors as soon as possible. We plan on releasing initial changes to the program screens a little early, so you may seem some of those changes as early as next week (9/25/23).

Custom Fields on Program Screens

As we update these program enrollment, status assessment, and program exit screens, we are also reviewing any custom fields created in response to requests from community partners. We will be connecting with specific agencies regarding the current use/non-use of their custom fields on program screens. Please be on the lookout for communications from the HMIS Team regarding these custom fields. Failure to respond to these requests will result in the assumption that these custom fields are no longer needed and they will be removed from the program screens.

A Sneak Peak

Are you wondering what kinds of changes you can you expect? Here are a few examples of some of the more significant updates coming down the pipeline.

A new Preferred Language question is being added to the program screens.  We will be providing a comprehensive picklist for you to select, but we know that we many need to add additional languages to accurately reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. This is another place where we will need your help. Please email our HMIS team if you find any languages that we need to add to our list.

Race and Ethnicity are being updated to a single field. There will also be an additional race and ethnicity detail text field below the list.

Gender Identity has been updated to include 2 more items in the list.

There will be more options in the drop down lists on several screens including:



• Prior Living Situation (Program Enrollment Screen)
• Current Living Situation (Current Living Situation CLS Program Assessment)
• Exit Destination (Program Exit Screen)

We look forward to continue working together and supporting you throughout this process. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email us at HMIS@SacStepsForward.org.

In Partnership,

Data & Analytics Department

Sacramento Steps Forward



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