October HMIS Newsletter 💼

Welcome to the San Luis Obispo Continuum of Care's HMIS Newsletter

This newsletter is designed to inform HMIS users, Agency Administrators and interested parties on the latest news, best practices, and updates regarding the local HMIS implementation.

Pictured Above: Clarity's Halloween Costume!

October 2026

IN THIS EDITION

HMIS Updates - Required DQ Meetings, Reporting, Clarity Upgrade, and more!
Important Dates - Come to Office Hours Next Wednesday, November 4!
Tips and Training - HMIS ROI and Privacy Settings
Reports Worth a Look - Staff Active Caseload
You Asked, We Answered - Ideas and Feature Requests, Data Quality Emails, HMIS Support
Coordinated Entry - CES Training, Assessments, & Looking Ahead

One Month of New Clarity User Interface 🎉

Thank you to everyone who completed the New Clarity UI training courses in Talent LMS! The HMIS Support Team greatly appreciates your continued efforts to provide feedback on your experience in the new interface.

Reminder: End Users who did not complete the required new Clarity interface training courses in Talent LMS by 10/1 were temporarily deactivated in Clarity. Please notify the HMIS Support Team once you have completed the courses to have your account reactivated!

Coming Soon: Clarity Reports Module Upgrade

If you run reports in Clarity, you have likely noticed that Reports remain in the legacy user interface. The new Clarity Reports Module is expected to launch this fall. Learn more about the upcoming changes to the Reports Module on the Bitfocus website, or test it out in the SLO County HMIS Clarity Training site!

Attend HMIS Drop-in Office Hours

Drop-in to the November HMIS Office Hours to meet users across all agencies and ask questions directly to the HMIS Support Team!

Click here to join HMIS Office Hours on Wednesday, November 4 at 3:00 PM.

Monthly Data Quality Meetings for Agency Administrators

Please ensure that your agency is represented by a minimum of one HMIS Agency Admin!

Thank you to all Agency Administrators who joined the HMIS Support Team on October 22 to discuss common data quality errors and solutions. In addition to preparation for federal reporting season, these meetings are an opportunity to build community and share best practices among agency leadership. The HMIS Team looks forward to seeing you again on Thursday, November 19 at 9:00 AM.

Federal Reporting - FY2026 LSA Timeline

HUD has announced the FY2026 Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) reporting timeline. The LSA provides HUD with critical insights into how people experience and navigate our local homeless response system. High-quality HMIS data helps ensure our community is represented accurately in federal reporting and funding decisions. Please keep these deadlines in mind:

November 9, 2026: First LSA Benchmark Date
January 7, 2027: Final Submission Deadline (All data corrections must be complete by this date)

The HMIS team appreciates your attention to these dates and your continued commitment to data quality. Your efforts help ensure our community and the meaningful work of our partner agencies is accurately represented at the federal level. Thank you for all you do to keep our data accurate and reliable!

IMPORTANT DATES - SAVE THE DATE - DON'T MISS OUT

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 @ 3:00 PM: Monthly HMIS "Drop-In" Office Hours - via Teams.

Tuesday, November 10, 2026 @ 1:30 PM: CES Monthly Case Conference (HMIS Users Only)

Friday, November 13, 2026 @ 10:00 AM: CES "Drop-In" Office Hours

Wednesday, November 18, 2026 @ 1:00 PM: Full HSOC Meeting

Thursday, November 19, 2026 @ 9:00 AM: Agency Admin Required Meeting Series for DQ review. (2/3)

Thursday, December 17, 2026 @ 9:00 AM: Agency Admin Required Meeting Series for DQ review. (3/3)

HMIS ROI and Privacy Settings

SLO County CoC HMIS is an "open system" that defaults to sharing client records across all agencies, though some programs and notes can be marked private. We build trust with clients by ensuring consent to share information and adequately documenting the ROI in HMIS. Review this Knowledge Base Article for systemwide consistency for client privacy.

Need to Practice Data Entry?

Visit the Clarity HMIS Training Site!

The Clarity Training Site is a practice environment that mirrors the live database, allowing users to safely practice data entry using fictitious data rather than real client information.

Pick your favorite fictional character or create one and practice HMIS data entry!

Reminder: End Users should not enter real client data in the training site.

Need Quick Answers or Step-by-Step Guides? Explore Our HMIS Knowledge Base!

The SLO HMIS and CES teams maintain over 100 articles in the Knowledge Base, from Clarity step-by-step workflow guides to reporting guides.

Have an article suggestion? Submit a ticket to the Help Desk!

Need a Refresher?

Review HMIS training courses in Talent LMS!

HMIS users can log in to Talent LMS and review training content anytime.

Watch step-by-step video tutorials covering Clarity navigation, data standards, data collection, privacy and security, reports library, coordinated entry, and more!

Staff Active Caseload Report

Stay on top of your caseload or help your staff manage theirs with this impactful report. This report presents a count of enrolled persons by assigned case managers along with a details table with assessments, services, and case notes. Learn about the Staff Caseload Report in Clarity HMIS with this Knowledge Base Article.

Question: I have ideas for how Clarity HMIS could be improved in little ways like configuration requests or pop-up notifications. Who do I contact with ideas?

Answer: We love ideas for improvement! The HMIS Team is the System Administrator and meets with Clarity's software vendor, Bitfocus, frequently to discuss challenges and advocate for improvements. We want HMIS to be a tool that works for YOU, so if you have any ideas for improving the database, reach out to us directly at the HMIS Help Desk - we want to hear from 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!

Visit the CES Website

CES Training, Assessments, and Looking Ahead

The CES team is updating training content to reflect the new Clarity interface. We are also reaching out to partner agencies to schedule training!

The Client Preferences and Requirements Assessment and the Permanent Housing Referral Checklist discussed in September's Monthly CES Announcements Meeting are now available in HMIS. For more information on how to use those assessments, click the guidance links above.

The new Arroyo Terrace property has one 1-bedroom and two 2-bedroom units that will accept CES referrals. Matching guidance will be available soon!

Though there is not yet a start date for Welcome Home Village PSH referrals, Interim Housing referrals to WHV are ongoing. The CES team will keep service providers updated as we learn more.

Updates on these projects and others are provided at the Monthly CES Announcements Meeting. More info can be found on the CES website.

Join the CES Team for CES drop-in Office Hours for 2026!

CES Office Hours take place every other Friday at 10AM. Stop by to ask questions or share ideas for system improvement!

The CES Team, in partnership with the HMIS Support Team, is using a shared helpdesk email address to field technical questions.

Reach us at: hsd_CESsupport@co.slo.ca.us.

Thank you from the CES Team

Nathan, Hayley, and Nathaniel

Veteran Wellness Event - November 19

Veterans and their families are invited to join TMHA VetWell and County of San Luis Obispo Veterans Services on Thursday, November 19 for an afternoon of connection, wellness, and fun! This event is designed to provide veterans and their families the opportunity to explore different avenues of wellness and connect with valuable community resources.

HMIS Website

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