San Luis Obispo CoC HMIS Newsletter

Defining Chronic Homelessness

The Coordinated Entry team has created a helpful guide to help users determine chronicity in clients. Study up or learn more about chronic homelessness with this Knowledge Base Article.

9AM Mon., Mar 24: HSOC Data & Performance Subcommittee

1:30PM Tues., Mar 25: CES Announcements and Information

11AM Wed., Mar 26: HSOC Coordinated Entry Subcommittee

3PM Wednesday, April 2: HMIS Drop-in Office Hours

1:30PM Tuesday, April 8: CES Case Conferencing

Clarity System Outages and Scheduled Maintenance

In the past two weeks, there have been occurrences of delays or disruption in service for Clarity HMIS. The HMIS Support Team receives timely notifications from Bitfocus regarding scheduled maintenance and communicates any planned system outages as early as possible.

When there are instances of ad hoc system outages or delays, the HMIS Team first checks with Bitfocus Clarity to determine the affected components and estimated duration. If an outage or delay persists longer than 10 minutes or occurs during peak usage time, the HMIS Support Team will message HMIS users regarding the disruption. Reach out to HMIS Support anytime if there are connection issues or questions!

Renew Your HMIS User Agreement

For users who have been using Clarity since going live on March 2024, you might have noticed a pop-up message requiring you to renew your HMIS User Agreement. The HMIS User Agreement is completed by all Clarity users at the time they first access Clarity HMIS and the User Agreement is valid for one (1) year. All users should expect a pop-up notification at sign-on exactly one year after first using Clarity to ensure compliance with the HMIS User Agreement.

Federal Reporting Resumed

Following a pause issued last month from HUD, the Fiscal Year 2024 System Performance Measures (SPMs) are now open for submission. HMIS Agency Administrators and users may receive emails from HMIS Support regarding corrections or additional information needed. Final submission is due to HUD on April 11. Learn more about System Performance Measures and their impact in the community on the HUDExchange here.

HMIS Drop-in Office Hours: Wednesday, April 2 at 3PM

Thank you to all who attended March Office Hours! We discussed assessment best practices, the HMIS Team's favorite Clarity Reports, and user notifications. Drop-in Office Hours is an opportunity to build community among users across all agencies and ask questions direct to the HMIS Team. Click here to join the April Office Hours.

Question: Why does Clarity sometimes notify me for an annual assessment and sometimes not?

Answer: Great question! Clarity will issue an assessment notification for assigned staff 30 days before an assessment is due and 30 days after. This notification window is designed to give case managers time to reach out to clients to further assess their needs and ensure compliance. Learn more about program enrollment and annual assessments in this Knowledge Base article.

Question: I have additional information about my client that may be helpful for users. What is the process for entering notes in Clarity HMIS?

Answer: Entering notes in Clarity HMIS can be a great way to provide additional and relevant information about a client. Notes can help agencies coordinate care and is a feature of case management! Notes should be linked to the Client's program enrollment. Once in a client's program enrollment, navigate to 'Notes' and then to "Add Note." Note formatting can be defined by the agency and notes can even be made private, if necessary. Learn about best practices and expectations regarding Notes in HMIS with this Knowledge Base Article.

Thank you to all who attended the February Information and Case Conferencing meetings! We're looking forward to seeing you in the March and April meetings as well!

Referrals for the Calle Joaquin Homekey project are expected to start at the end of March. All 70 units at the project will be accepting referrals directly from CES. Updates on matching and prioritization will be provided Tuesday, March 26 at the monthly CES announcements meeting.

Auto-exits from Coordinated Entry projects will be reinstated started April 1, 2025. This means that clients will need an assessment completed every 90 days to remain active on the Community Queue. If a client is auto-exited, the "Assigned Staff" (not the Care Team) will receive a notification. To learn more about notifications in Coordinated Entry projects, review this Knowledge Base Article. To learn how to return a client to the Community Queue after they have been auto-exited, review this Knowledge Base Article.

Hayley Spyksma, the CES Specialist, ahs been meeting individually with case managers to answer any Coordinated Entry questions and troubleshoot issues. If you would like to schedule a time to meet with her, please reach out via email at hspyksma@capslo.org.

Questions regarding best practices and CES user support

can be directed to the CES Management Entity

Wisdom Center

Health and Happiness happen Here

The Wisdom Center, a CenCal Health contracted provider, supports individuals and families in San Luis Obispo County who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. They offer essential Housing Services, including Housing Navigation, Housing Deposits, and Housing Tenancy & Sustaining Services, along with Enhanced Care Management (ECM) program to help people maintain stability and well-being.

The Wisdom Center is excited to utilize SLO County HMIS and partner with CoC organizations in SLO County to enhance coordination and service delivery to those in need. The Wisdom Center accepts walk-ins and referrals through phone, fax, email, or mail. For more information, please contact them at 805-314-5551 or referrals@smwisdomcenter.org or visit them at 124 Carmen Lane, Suites B&C, Santa Maria, CA 93458.

Learn more about Wisdom Center's good work on their website: smwisdomcenter.org.

Pictured above: Sitlaly. Yolanda, and Juanita: Lead Care Manager and Lead LCM at the Wisdom Center.

HMIS Policies and Procedures

HMIS Policies and Procedures are expected to be approved at the end of March. Agency Administrators can expect to hear from the HMIS team will relevant updates for HMIS documentation thereafter.

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