San Luis Obispo CoC HMIS Newsletter

Referring to the PSH Queue

Clients must be assessed prior to being referred to the Community Queue in Clarity. Read a detailed guide for referring clients to the Permanent Housing opportunities in this Knowledge Base Article.

Q: I'm an "Agency Manager" for my organization and I received a message about access changes in Clarity. What does this mean? What can I do?

Answer: Every agency in HMIS has at least one user designated as an Agency Administrator or called the "SLO County Agency Admin Manager" role in Clarity. Managers have specific access privileges such as Delete/restore data, Edit any client profile, and Explore/Data Analysis. There is an assigned training for all agency managers that is required for folks prior to receiving the specified access. Learn more about Agency Manager access and the required training in this Knowledge Base Article.

Q: The newsletters have great information, but I get overwhelmed. Where can I review all the HMIS resources being sent out?

Answer: The HMIS Knowledge Base is *THE* place to go for resources, information, and best practices for HMIS users. Ac cess th e HMIS Knowledge Base here. The Knowledge Base is known as "Helpscout" and contains everything from Clarity Feature updates to Coordinated Entry processes to reporting recommendations with step-by-step instructions. The HMIS Support Team recommends all users bookmark this incredible resource.

Q. How can I request specific instructions or guidance to be included in the HMIS Knowledge Base?

Answer: If there is a tip or best practice you want to see highlighted in the Knowledge Base - let us know! Reach out directly to the HMIS Support team at ss_HMISsupport@co.slo.ca.us to inform us what instructions or needs you want included in the Knowledge Base! This is resource is for YOU the HMIS user so the HMIS Team needs your support in making it as relevant and timely as possible. We thank you!

A message from the CES Management Entity

Reminders for CES Users:

CES staff and housing providers are using the Clarity messaging system. Be sure to keep an eye out for inbox notifications as they could pertain to a housing referral for your clients.
Upload client housing-related vital documents to the client profile "files" tab, rather than the "files" tab connected to a program enrollment. This way, many agencies can access them. Program-specific or private documents should still be uploaded to a program enrollment when necessary but the client profile allows for smoother coordination of care.
Be sure to update client contact information whenever possible! Users can easily see when there is no client contact information from the profile when a red notification box appears that says "No Contact Information" with a button to "add."
Users can enter their own contact information on Clarity, via their Account Settings. This is helpful to get ahold of colleagues in a pinch.
Keep up the great work!

*****************************

This section will be used in the future to share about Coordinated Entry best practices and updates direct from the CES Management Entity.

2024 PIT Count Community Report

Look for the 2024 Point-in-Time Count Community Report becoming available to the public later this spring. Preliminary PIT Count data can be found on the Homeless Services Division news website.

HMIS Website