San Luis Obispo CoC HMIS Newsletter - Celebrating 6 Months in Clarity HMIS 🎉

This week marks six months since our system of care transitioned to Clarity HMIS and we're thrilled to celebrate this milestone with all of you! We have seen improvements in care coordination, data quality, and overall system performance.

Cheers to smooth operations, expanding capacity, and continued success with Clarity HMIS. Thank you for all your hard work - we appreciate you!

To ensure Clarity is meeting your needs, please complete this user survey.

Take the Clarity User Survey

Bookmark the Knowledge Base

The #1 Training Tip from the HMIS Support team is to bookmark the Knowledge Base for self-guided study. Then, use the search feature to find the articles you need. Bookmark the HMIS Knowledge Base homepage today!

Thank you to those who participated in September Office Hours

We appreciate the HMIS users who came to the monthly Office Hours on September 4. There was discussion surrounding editing program enrollments and tips for efficient data entry. Starting in October, Office Hours will take place a new time in the afternoon in hopes to solicit additional engagement from even more folks. See you there!

In Person Training Opportunities for All Users - Countywide!

The HMIS Support Team is offering in-person foundational training for HMIS users of all levels. The team will cover such topics as searching for clients, common data quality errors, and there will be sufficient time for question. There are morning and afternoon sessions to choose from in Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, and Arroyo Grande. Register today!

System Performance Measure Training - Available for all users!

HMIS Users may have noticed another training available in their course catalog. Users of all levels are welcome to complete the System Performance Measures (SPM) Training found in TalentLMS. Learn more about the federal reporting metrics that impact funding opportunities with the SPM training found in TalentLMS.

Updates to User Edit Rights in Clarity

Users are now able to edit client profiles, regardless of which agency had initially created the profile. Previously, only Agency Administrators had the ability to delete profile data elements such as SSN or DOB. Users remain encouraged to follow training procedures during intake and data entry to ensure client data accuracy prior to making any edits.

Q: I was trying to add a 5-page lease to a client's enrollment but was receiving a file size limit notification. What can you do to help?

Answer: We're glad to share that Bitfocus Clarity announced a system update in August that the file size limit for attachments has increased to 25MB and compressed files can be uploaded now as well. We hope that this improvement allows you to assist clients by attaching all necessary documentation to help clients be housing-ready in the system. Reach out to HMIS Support directly if you continue to get an error message for file size and friendly reminder to not include client PII in any communications, but rather to use the Clarity ID.

Q: I made a mistake at intake and enrolled a client in the wrong program - what are my options to fix this?

Answer: There is so much happening during a client's intake - we get it! If a client is enrolled in the wrong program - there are two options: if there are no (or few) services attached to the program enrollment, it is recommended that you recreate the program enrollment in the correct program and then ask your agency administrator to delete the incorrect enrollment. If the client in the wrong program also has several current or historical services attached, then it is recommended to reach out to HMIS Support directly to move the entire client enrollment to the preferred/correct program. While HMIS Support cannot move individual services administratively, we are able to move the record from one program to another. The HMIS Support Team can be reached directly at ss_HMISsupport@co.slo.ca.us.

Learn the Impact of Family Care Network

During the 23/24 fiscal year, Family Care Network supported 135 people, including families, experiencing homelessness in securing permanent housing through the Housing Support and Bringing Families Home programs! Family Care Network also supported 37 families in avoiding eviction which helped maintain housing stability and prevented children from being placed into foster care. Family Care Network is proud to support any families' efforts to remain safely housed.

Family Care Network serves children, youth, individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, those impacted by mental health challenges, involved with child welfare services, justice system involvement, and those facing barriers to education and career opportunities. Learn more about Family Care Network on their website here: www.fnci.org

A message from the CES Management Entity

Thank you for your patience as the Matchmaker continues to keep up with housing vacancies! Check out the below tips for ensuring client-centered support:

When referring clients to the queue, be sure to refer to the Community Queue and not a "Program Queue". Clarity HMIS has a feature that informs users which available units their client may be eligible for, however the referral in Clarity HMIS should still go to the queue at large.
Remain engaged with clients with a program-related activity every 120 days to keep the client active on the queue. Program-related activities includes services, or program-level assessments such as annual, status, or current living situation (CLS) as well as custom assessments within an enrollment record.
Keep your client active on the Community Queue with this Knowledge Base article for the Coordinated Entry Practices!

Questions regarding best practices and CES user support

can be directed to the CES Management Entity

HMIS Office Hours *new time

To encourage more attendance, the HMIS Support team is changing the meeting time for the recurring Monthly HMIS Office Hours. Join us in October on Wednesday, October 3 meeting at 3PM.

HMIS Website