San Luis Obispo CoC HMIS Newsletter

Start with Less to Search with Confidence

When searching for a client in Clarity HMIS, be sure to search in three ways: by DOB, partial or full SSN, or name. When searching by name, use fewer letters to capture all results. Avoiding duplicate profiles helps everyone!

11AM Wednesday, Sept 24: HSOC Coordinated Entry Committee

Friday, September 26: County Office Closure

1:30PM Tuesday, Sept 30: CES Case Conferencing

3PM Wednesday, October 1: HMIS "Drop-in" Office Hours

1:30PM Tuesday, Oct 14: CES Case Conferencing

Program Recidivism Report

Are you curious to learn more about clients who exit an HMIS program but may return to homelessness at a later date? The "Program Recidivism Report" (OUTS-205) offers users the ability to select multiple programs and a reporting period to identify "returns to homelessness." Run this report today to learn more about individual pathways and program impact!

Quarterly Homelessness Database Dashboard

Launched in January 2025, the Quarterly Homelessness Database Dashboard is SLO County's first publicly accessible repository of homelessness data. The displayed aggregate data is pulled from HMIS and reflects the good, hard work of Homeless Service Providers countywide. Check out the Quarterly Homelessness Dashboard here!

Updated Process for Requesting New HMIS Users

When requesting HMIS users, Agency Administrators will be asked to provide if the new user is a "Street Outreach Worker" and if yes, the new user will be automatically assigned a unique Street Outreach Workflow Training as part of their HMIS onboarding. Street Outreach projects collect additional data elements, so the HMIS Team has advanced user onboarding to ensure informed users and improved data quality.

Join the PIT Count Planning Committee - We need your expertise!

In preparing for the biannual unsheltered Point-in-Time Count, people with direct experience working with those experiencing homelessness are invited to join the PIT Count Committee. The Committee will meet every other week beginning the week of October 1 and will make such decisions as: PIT Count start time, custom survey questions, volunteer training review, and more! Please complete this Committee Form by Sept 30 to receive the zoom invitation. PIT Count questions can be directed to the team at HSD_PITCount@co.slo.ca.us.

Save the Date: LIVE Data Standards Training on Sept. 24 at 3PM

In preparation for the FY26 Data Standards update from HUD, which are to be released to the community on October 1, the HMIS Team is offering a LIVE training. All current users will be invited to the training directly in TalentLMS, which should automatically send you a Teams calendar invitation. Those who do not attend the live training will be required to complete the online version.

Feedback Session with Coordinated Entry this Friday Sept. 19

Calling all Coordinated Entry users!

The Coordinated Entry Team is hosting a community feedback session to discuss proposed changes to the Prioritization Scoring & Eligibility Criteria Guidance and the Housing Program Denial Guidance. If you have not received an invitation to the Friday meeting, reach out to the team directly at: CoordinatedEntrySLO@capslo.org to be added.

*New* Minimum Intake Process for Low-Barrier Services

Service Providers using HMIS expressed a need for minimal data collection on low-barrier services that are open to the broader community in the Homeless System of Care. The HMIS Team is thrilled to meet this need to help encourage the full adaption of HMIS in agency operations. A minimum intake is only allowed for clients who are not at-risk or experiencing homelessness and that intake should be captured in a non-continuum Services Only (SSO) HMIS project. Check out the Minimum Intake Form and Process on the HMIS Knowledge Base here.

Attend HMIS Drop-in Office Hours and Win Swag!

Drop-in to the October HMIS Office Hours to meet users across all agencies, ask questions directly to the team, and be automatically considered for more free swag provided by HMIS vendor Bitfocus.

Click here to join HMIS Office Hours on Wednesday, October 1 at 3PM.

Congratulations to Leenda L from HASLO who was randomly selected to receive swag at the September Office Hours - we appreciate you!

Question: I receive the monthly Data Quality emails from the HMIS Team. Should I be going into profiles and looking at my staff's work before receiving the messages?

Answer: While we appreciate the thought, there is no need to double-check folks' work, but you can take note of common errors for your agency. Every agency is different! If you notice repeat errors, the HMIS Team can support your agency in a specific training to address the errors. Or sometimes, highlighting the frequency of the error can help users be mindful when their own processes need improvement. Reach out to the HMIS Support Team anytime if there are questions about how to work together for good data quality in HMIS - that ultimately leads to better client outcomes and accurate reporting.

Question: I'm an HMIS User and I accidentally enrolled a client in the wrong program. Can I delete their enrollment?

Answer: Accidents happen - we get it! At this time, only the HMIS System Administrators (aka the HMIS Support Team) can delete a client's enrollment. If you have made an enrollment mistake, reach out to HMIS Support via email with the client's unique Clarity ID and the wrong enrollment, and we will get to work!

Housing Updates and Queue Referrals

The Coordinated Entry (CE) Team will present Matching Guidance for the Maxine Lewis Grove housing opportunity at the September 30th CES Announcements meeting, which takes place at 1:30PM. Referrals are scheduled to begin in early October, with occupancy expected in early December 2025. These timelines are subject to change due to construction.

The CE team has identified high-priority Data Quality issues within CE enrollments in HMIS. Errors in CE Enrollments may impact federal reports, like the Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA). The CE Team is working with providers to improve CE Data Quality and is available for any support in correct errors or additional assistance for community best practices.

Coordinated Entry User Meetings

The CE Team hosts two monthly meetings: 1) an Announcements meeting, where program updates and relevant educational content are shared, and 2) a Case Conferencing meeting, where client denials to housing projects and individual clients who have been on the queue for a significant amount of time are discussed. During both meetings, there is time for providers to ask questions and share resources. We hope to see all agencies represented to build community and share best practices!

Questions regarding CES user support

can be directed to CAPSLO, the CES Management Entity

Data Quality Meeting in October

Friendly reminder for Agency Administrators that the next scheduled meeting to discuss HMIS Data Quality with the HMIS team is Wednesday, October 8 from 10 - 1045AM. Reach out to the HMIS Team directly with questions.

HMIS Website