Introduction

HMIS Data Standards are established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and participating federal partners. The HMIS Data Dictionary is designed for HMIS (homeless management information system) vendors and HMIS Lead Agency system administrators to identify the data elements required in an HMIS. HUD updates the HMIS Data Standards every other year and the next version of Data Standards, FY2024, will be effective as of October 1, 2023.

Data Standards Updates include widespread updates of the HMIS Data Dictionary, HMIS Data Standards Manual, CSV Export files, and reporting specifications including, System Performance Measures (SPM), Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA), CoC APR/ESG CAPER, Coordinated Entry APR, and the PATH Annual Report.

Software vendors were provided the updated Data Dictionary and CSV specifications as of April 2023 and have been undergoing development on the updates since. Per HUD, all changes should be implemented into a sandbox environment no later than September 1, 2023 to provide communities sufficient time to train and update documentation.

This article acts as an outline of the Data Standard Update release plan for Eccovia.

For a brief overview of the FY2024 Data Standards Update in ClientTrack, please watch the video below.

Important Dates

August 31, 2023 (release notes)

Data Standard Updates will be released to customers Non-Production Environments, including testing and development environments. Customers will have the month of September to test the updates in their non-production environments, update documentation, and integrate the updates into their custom forms, workflows, and processes.

September 15, 2023 

Customers should receive the Impact Report for their implementation. The impact report should outline customized/configured versions of forms, drop-down lists, workflows, and reports that may be impacted by the FY24 DSU Updates. This report can be utilized to guide system administrators in updating each item through the month of September.

In addition to the Impact Reports, Eccovia has also outlined a process around two queries that can be uploaded into your implementation. These queries are meant to compare baseline and configured workgroup forms and workflow assignments to ensure HUD compliance. These queries can be used anytime, but may be beneficial for customers during the FY24 DSU Updates. The queries and instructions can be found at the link below.

https://help.eccovia.com/hmis/comparing-baseline-and-configured-workgroup-form-and-workflow-assignments 

September 30, 2023 (release notes)

Data Standards Updates will be released to customers Production Environments.

August 31–September 30, 2023

There will be a sync freeze for all customers, HMIS and non-HMIS. The sync freeze is in place to prevent items that impact all customers, such as Gender and Race/Ethnicity updates, from being released prematurely.

To provide an opportunity for customers to update documentation and custom database elements with the new updates, Eccovia will implement a total sync freeze for the month of September (August 31–September 30). 

Syncing from non-production environments to production environments during this time could cause errors as the underlying table structure has not yet been released to production environments. For this reason, all customers will not be able to sync to production during this time. 

Syncs will resume as usual after September 30, 2023.

Scheduling a Sync

For all customers who require a sync to their production database immediately following the release of the Data Standards Update on September 30, 2023, please use the form located here to request the sync. Eccovia will work to accommodate all sync requests. All sync requests for September 30 should be submitted no later than end of day on September 22.

Any customers who do not require a sync to their production database immediately following the release of the Data Standards Updates should follow the normal process of scheduling a sync by reaching out to their client success manager. 

If you are considering scheduling a sync for the first week of October, please consider requesting a sync at the link above, to take place on 9/30. Sync resources will be allocated based on the number of sync requests that are received.

Updates Impacting All Customers (HMIS & Non-HMIS)

It is critical that a software platform continues to evolve along with the needs of the organizations that use the platform. Many of the solutions Eccovia has built over the past couple of years have accounted for the many nuances of identity, including the gender inclusivity updates in 2021. In 2023, Eccovia will be continuing this work through racial equity and inclusion updates, additional gender identity values, and reframing language around a client’s preference not to answer. 

Racial Equity and Inclusion

In previous years, Eccovia has maintained two separate fields for Race and Ethnicity. This standard is being updated by software vendors for communities across the country to account for additional racial identities and factor in options for individuals to select Hispanic/Latina/e/o as a racial identity without forcing users to choose between an additional racial identity or poor data quality. As of October 1, 2023, customer implementations will see the following list of options available under the newly combined Race & Ethnicity element.

•      American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous 
•      Asian or Asian American
•      Black, African American, or African
•      Hispanic/Latina/e/o
•      Middle Eastern or North African
•      Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
•      White
•      Client doesn’t know
•      Client prefers not to answer
•      Data not collected

Gender Identity

In 2021, Eccovia underwent a major change for gender identity data collection. In 2023, gender will be receiving additional gender identity options. As of October 1, customer implementations will see the following list of options available under the Gender element.

•      Woman (Girl, if child)
•      Man (Boy, if child)
•      Culturally Specific Identity (e.g., Two-Spirit)
•      Transgender
•      Non-Binary
•      Questioning
•      Different Identity
•      Client doesn’t know
•      Client prefers not to answer
•      Data not collected

Client Prefers Not to Answer

Users may be used to seeing an option within a majority of drop-down values that specifies the client refused to answer or disclose the information requested. As of October 1, customer implementations will see an adjustment of language in drop-down lists. 

•      Options previously labeled as ‘Refused’ will be updated to ‘Prefers not to answer’ 
•      Options previously labeled as ‘Client Refused’ will be updated to ‘Client prefers not to answer’

Related Articles: 

Release Updates: https://help.eccovia.com/en_US/hmis/fy24-dsu-release-update 

Implementation Identifier: https://help.eccovia.com/en_US/hmis/implementation-identifier 

Coordinated Entry Participation Status: https://help.eccovia.com/en_US/hmis/ce-participation-status 

Coordinated Entry Event: https://help.eccovia.com/en_US/hmis/coordinated-entry-event 

Translation Assistance Needed: https://help.eccovia.com/en_US/hmis/translation-assistance-needed 

CSV Export: https://help.eccovia.com/hmis/hmis-csv-export 

FY24 Data Standards Release Update

Production Release

September 30, 2023 

Release Notes (available here)

Information last updated:  January 23, 2024 10:45 am EST

Submitted Issues & Status

Information last updated:   January 17, 2024 10:45 am EST

Topic	Summary	Status	Estimated Release Date
Drop Down Lists	Some drop-down lists were not updated with the correct Client prefers not to answer language.	In Progress

 

 

Reporting Updates

Information last updated:  January 23, 2024 10:45 am EST

Topic	Summary	Status	Estimated Release Date
CSV Export v1.4	Released early October 2023 to vendors	Released	12/05/2023
LSA		Released	11/15/2023
System Performance Measures	Original specifications developed. Pending additional updates to the format of the report by HUD.  Delayed from 12/5/2023 due to additional testing needed.	Released	12/19/2023
CSV Import		Released	12/05/2023
Baseline Reports	ADR Export Check-in Roster Client Demographics Client List Client Served with Details Enrollment Demographics Standard Intake VAWA VAWA Detail	Released	12/19/2023
Baseline Reports	Client Profile Sheet Client Demographics CSBG Report 2017 EHR Data Quality Enrollment Barrier Family Service Demographics HMIS Data Print Out Active Client List HMIS BNL Veterans RSR Export	Released	1/16/2024
APR/CAPER Detail		Released	12/19/2023
APR/CAPER Viewer & Drill Downs	*This is a large update because of the total number of questions updated from FY22 to FY24. We are working diligently on updating this and releasing it as soon as possible, but also want to be realist about potential timelines. This report may be delayed beyond 12/19/2023, but we are aiming for a 12/19/2023 release date. This has been delayed until the next release on 1/16/2024 in order to gain additional development and testing time.	Released	12/19/2023 * 1/16/2024
CE APR Detail		Released	12/19/2023
CE APR Viewer & Drill Downs		Released	1/16/2024
PATH Annual Report (v1.2)	Released to vendors early-mid November 2023.	Released	1/16/2024
2024 Point-in-Time Count	PIT/HIC notice released early-mid November 2023.	In Progress	1/30/2024
SPM CSV Export	New Update to produce one SPM CSV Export file for upload into HDX 2.0 Bumped to 1/30/2024 release to finalize the details of the Data Quality section.	In Progress	1/30/2024
Baseline Reports		In Progress	Rolling releases - January 2024
Data Quality Validation		In Progress	1/30/2024

 

 

Delayed Reports

HUD shared an announcement earlier this week outlining updates on HMIS Reporting. The message is shared below.

If your community is experiencing a delay in submitting your CE APR or CoC APR/ESG CAPER report in a timely manner, according to Sage, and need a letter from Eccovia, please reach out to your Client Success Manager. 

Please note that the FY24 CE APR is set to be released next Tuesday, November 7, 2023. 

 

 

Archived Releases:

Released Items

Release Notes (available here)

Information last updated: January 12, 2024 3:45 pm EST

Topic	Summary
3.04 / Race & Ethnicity	Race & Ethnicity Page Help needs to include the additional updates	Released	9/14/2023
2.02 / RRH Subtype	RRH Subtype mapping not applied correctly in the 8/31 release.	Released	9/14/2023
2.09 / CE Participation Status	Search Form for administrative insight into all CE Participation Status' recorded in the system.	Released	9/14/2023
HMIS Triage Workflow (2294)	Factor in CE Participation Status as well as Project Type 14 Remove reference to HUD Ethnicity Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.	Released	9/14/2023
HMIS 2017 - 2022 Program Data (Missed) Assessment (1265)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.	Released	9/14/2023
HMIS 2020 / 2022 Program Add Family Member to Case (2312)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.	Released	9/14/2023
HMIS 2020/2022 Program Data Update Annual Assess. (2308)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.	Released	9/14/2023
HMIS 2020/2022 Streamlined Program Data Exit (2297)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.	Released	9/14/2023
HMIS 2020/2022 Program Data (2298)		Released	9/14/2023
HMIS 2022 Program Data Assessment (2296)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.	Released	9/14/2023
2.09 / CE Participation Status	CE Participation Status End Date is appearing as required when it shouldn't be.	Released	9/22/2023
2.02 / Project Information	Project Type 0 not appearing for Workflow project selection	Released	9/22/2023
V5 / Last Permanent Address	Last Permanent Address is still appearing on the Universal Data Assessment for SSVF funded projects.	Released	9/22/2023
5.10 / Implementation Identifier	AJAX Error when saving the form. Does not impact data being saved, but should be resolved.	Released	9/22/2023
2.08 / HMIS Participation Status	End Date is displaying 12/31/9999 instead of being blank	Released	9/22/2023
2.09 / CE Participation	When CE Participation is selected as ‘Yes’ to being an access point, project is excluded from Program Enrollment form. Issue is with missing variable in Intake Workflow.	Released	9/22/2023
3.917 / Prior Living Situation	Approximate Date Homelessness started was not updated on Form 5059	Released	9/22/2023
Drop-Down Lists	DDL 3028 & 3377 not updated with Client prefers not to answer	Released	9/22/2023
4.02 / Income and Sources	Form update to accompany the workflow update to display Income and Sources when project is funded by new Special NOFO funding sources	Released	9/22/2023
V3 / SSVF Financial Assistance	Financial Assistance Start & End Date not displaying on Services, Quick Services, and Quick Services Multiple Clients forms.	Released	9/22/2023
R3 / Sexual Orientation	RHY Entry Assessment (Form 5050) is receiving an error when navigating to the form.	Released	9/30/2023
2.09 / CE Participation Status	Add records to production databases for all projects Multi-Edit form to update CE Participation Status records across multiple programs	Released	9/30/2023
V3 / SSVF Financial Assistance Type	Element displaying for Financial Assistance Type incorrectly on form 4337	Released	9/30/2023
R3 / Sexual Orientation	Instructions updated for RHY Entry Assessment step to clarify that the form is also used for CoC PSH, Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO funded projects.	Released	9/30/2023
3.917 A/B Prior Living Situation	Compliance Crosswalk did not include a mapping for Data Not Collected. Now available and mapped appropriately.	Released	9/30/2023
Compliance Crosswalks	Any compliance crosswalks with a crosswalk mapped for FY2022 has an updated FY2024 crosswalk mapping	Released	9/30/2023
V1 / Veteran Information 3.01 / Name Data Quality	Help text for Name Data Quality and Veteran Status updated for FY2024	Released	9/30/2023
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Typo for Data Not Collected and Portuguese	Released	9/30/2023
R17 / Project Completion Status	Project Completion Status not appearing for Project Type 0 / Emergency Shelter - Entry/Exit	Released	9/30/2023
3.04 & 3.06 / Race & Ethnicity & Gender	Additional Race & Ethnicity text box, and Different Identity text box not displaying on Add Family Members form (new form 5088)	Released	9/30/2023
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Translation Assistance Needed needs to be added to the Review Entry Assessments tab and Well-being Assessment needs to be removed	Released	9/30/2023
R17 / Project Completion Status	List 3113 not updated with Client instead of Youth.	Released	9/30/2023
3.01 / Name Data Quality	Help text for Name Data Quality needs to be updated with new Client Prefers Not to Answer language. Form 5046	Released	9/30/2023
Workflows	HUDOverride=1 is causing the Project Selection on the program enrollment form to display information incorrectly.	Released	9/30/2023
3.917 / Prior Living Situation	Prior Living Situation dependent fields not populating for Project Type 1	Released	9/30/2023
HUD Data Quality Report		Released	9/30/2023
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Add Translation Assistance Needed to the Review Entry Assessments form. Remove Well-being assessment from Review Entry Assessments	Released	9/30/2023
PATH Annual Report	Delayed from 10/5/2023 release to 10/10/2023	Released	10/5/2023
CSV Export	RHY and SSVF Export are included under the CSV Export umbrella. Delayed from 10/5/2023 release to 10/10/2023 Find addition information on the CSV Export here: HMIS CSV Export	Released	10/5/2023
V7 / HP Targeting Criteria	SSVF Funded projects not triggering the Income step of workflow 2321.	Released	10/5/2023
2.02 / Project Information	Program Relation sub-form (Form ID 3679) wasn't populating for new Program Type 0 / Emergency Shelter Entry-Exit	Released	10/20/2023
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Different Preferred Language text box is being populated for incorrect language values.	Released	10/20/2023
CoC APR/ESG CAPER		Released	10/20/2023
Data Quality Report	Q2 - Client with valid last 4 of SSN was incorrectly counted in the total column for Overall Score.	Released	11/6/2023
4.04 / Health Insurance	Drop-down list for Health Insurance needed to be updated from Military Insurance to Veterans Health Administration (VHA)	Released	11/6/2023
CE APR		Released	11/6/2023
CSV Export v1.3		Released	11/6/2023
4.04 / Health Insurance	List 2257 / Health Insurance Types need to be updated from Military Insurance to Veterans Health Administration (VHA)	Released	12/5/2023
R20 / Aftercare Assessment	Aftercare assessment not populating for project type 0	Released	12/19/2023
R18 / Counseling R19 / Safe and Appropriate Exit	Assessments are not populating correctly for Project Type 0 in the exit workflow.	Released	1/16/2024
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Newly released v1.3 of the Data Dictionary specifies that Translation Assistance Needed should be collected for HOWPA funded projects as well.	Released	1/16/2024
3.20 / Housing Move-in Date 4.13 / Date of Engagement	Error message on the Program Enrollment form (Form 4332 & Subform 5063) when saving an enrollment without a move-in date. Rule for Date of Engagement was updated to hide Date of Engagement for any project type and funding source combination not outlined in the HUD Spec.	Released	1/16/2024

 

 

9/14 Release 

Release Notes (available here)

Information last updated: September 14, 2023  1:30 pm EST

Topic	Summary
2.09 / CE Participation Status	Search Form for administrative insight into all CE Participation Status' recorded in the system.
3.04 / Race & Ethnicity	Race & Ethnicity Page Help needs to include the additional updates
2.02 / RRH Subtype	RRH Subtype mapping not applied correctly in the 8/31 release.
HMIS Triage Workflow (2294)	Factor in CE Participation Status as well as Project Type 14 Remove reference to HUD Ethnicity Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.
HMIS 2017 - 2022 Program Data (Missed) Assessment (1265)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.
HMIS 2020 / 2022 Program Add Family Member to Case (2312)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.
HMIS 2020/2022 Program Data Update Annual Assess. (2308)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.
HMIS 2020/2022 Streamlined Program Data Exit (2297)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.
HMIS 2020/2022 Program Data (2298)
HMIS 2022 Program Data Assessment (2296)	Remove reference to Utilization Tracking Method. Update reference to Project Type 0 where appropriate. Add in new funding sources Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO for applicable steps.

 

 

9/22 Release 

Release Notes (available here)

Information last updated:  September 25, 2023  11:30 am EST

Topic	Summary
4.02 / Income and Sources	Form update to accompany the workflow update to display Income and Sources when project is funded by new Special NOFO funding sources
V3 / SSVF Financial Assistance	Financial Assistance Start & End Date not displaying on Services, Quick Services, and Quick Services Multiple Clients forms.
2.08 / HMIS Participation Status	End Date is displaying 12/31/9999 instead of being blank
2.09 / CE Participation	When CE Participation is selected as ‘Yes’ to being an access point, project is excluded from Program Enrollment form. Issue is with missing variable in Intake Workflow.
3.917 / Prior Living Situation	Approximate Date Homelessness started was not updated on Form 5059
Drop-Down Lists	DDL 3028 & 3377 not updated with Client prefers not to answer
2.09 / CE Participation Status	CE Participation Status End Date is appearing as required when it shouldn't be.
2.02 / Project Information	Project Type 0 not appearing for Workflow project selection
V5 / Last Permanent Address	Last Permanent Address is still appearing on the Universal Data Assessment for SSVF funded projects.
5.10 / Implementation Identifier	AJAX Error when saving the form. Does not impact data being saved, but should be resolved.

 

 

9/30 Release 

Release Notes (available here)

Information last updated: September 29 2023  6:30 pm EST

Topic	Summary
3.917 / Prior Living Situation	Prior Living Situation dependent fields not populating for Project Type 1
R3 / Sexual Orientation	RHY Entry Assessment (Form 5050) is receiving an error when navigating to the form.
2.09 / CE Participation Status	Add records to production databases for all projects Multi-Edit form to update CE Participation Status records across multiple programs
V3 / SSVF Financial Assistance Type	Element displaying for Financial Assistance Type incorrectly on form 4337
R3 / Sexual Orientation	Instructions updated for RHY Entry Assessment step to clarify that the form is also used for CoC PSH, Unsheltered Special NOFO and Rural Special NOFO funded projects.
3.917 A/B Prior Living Situation	Compliance Crosswalk did not include a mapping for Data Not Collected. Now available and mapped appropriately.
Compliance Crosswalks	Any compliance crosswalks with a crosswalk mapped for FY2022 has an updated FY2024 crosswalk mapping
V1 / Veteran Information 3.01 / Name Data Quality	Help text for Name Data Quality and Veteran Status updated for FY2024
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Typo for Data Not Collected and Portuguese
R17 / Project Completion Status	Project Completion Status not appearing for Project Type 0 / Emergency Shelter - Entry/Exit
3.04 & 3.06 / Race & Ethnicity & Gender	Additional Race & Ethnicity text box, and Different Identity text box not displaying on Add Family Members form (new form 5088)
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Translation Assistance Needed needs to be added to the Review Entry Assessments tab and Well-being Assessment needs to be removed
R17 / Project Completion Status	List 3113 not updated with Client instead of Youth.
3.01 / Name Data Quality	Help text for Name Data Quality needs to be updated with new Client Prefers Not to Answer language. Form 5046
Workflows	HUDOverride=1 is causing the Project Selection on the program enrollment form to display information incorrectly.
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Add Translation Assistance Needed to the Review Entry Assessments form. Remove Well-being assessment from Review Entry Assessments
HUD Data Quality Report	FY2024 Updates

 

 

10/20 Release 

Release Notes (available here)

Information last updated: October 20, 2023  3:15 pm EST

Topic	Summary
2.02 / Project Information	Program Relation sub-form (Form ID 3679) wasn't populating for new Program Type 0 / Emergency Shelter Entry-Exit
C4 / Translation Assistance Needed	Different Preferred Language text box is being populated for incorrect language values.
CoC APR/ESG CAPER	CoC APR/ESG CAPER Reports have been updated to the FY 2024 CoC APR and ESG CAPER HMIS Programming Specifications Version 1.0

 

 

 

 

Submitting an Issue

If an issue is discovered on a baseline form, workflow, drop-down list, etc., and is suspected to be related to the Data Standards Update, please submit an issue ticket, within your system, with the following information:

• FY24 DSU in the subject line
• Relevant Names & IDs - for example, Form ID, Workflow ID, Drop-Down List ID
• Description of the issue
• Screenshot of the issue
• Check the ‘Send to ClientTrack' checkbox

Issues submitted to support will then be shared with the engineering and product team to identify common issues for prioritization. Common/Known issues will be updated at the top of this article with a description of the issue and a potential release date.

 

 

Baseline Language List and Mapping

Many customers have asked for a comprehensive list of the baseline language list, list 310, and how those values map to the HMIS C4 Translation Assistance Needed Supplemental list. Available for download below is a list of the combo box value and description for the ClientTrack value as well as the standard value mapping to the HUD value. 

Language List - ClientTrack Standard Value and Mapping

 

Baseline Lists 

The baseline lists outlined below are the pre-FY2024 lists. Each of these lists were used to compare between the expected baseline list descriptions and the list descriptions that were in your environment. If the list in your environment did not match these, it was considered to be a modified baseline list, and therefore did not receive the FY24 DSU Updates. 

A downloadable copy of these lists can be found here.

List 310 / Languages

• English
• Spanish
• Vietnamese
• Other Chinese Language
• Portugese
• German
• French
• Russian
• American Sign Language
• Cantonese
• Japanese
• Korean
• Tagalog
• Other Sign Language
• Mandarin
• Cambodian
• Armenian
• Ilacano
• Mien
• Hmong
• Lao
• Turkish
• Hebrew
• Polish
• Italian
• Arabic
• Samoan
• Thai
• Farsi
• Mixtexo
• Other Non-English Language

 

 

List 1 / Gender

• Female
• Male
• A gender other than singularly female or male (e.g., non-binary, genderfluid, agender, culturally specific gender)
• Transgender
• Questioning
• Client doesn't know
• Client refused
• Data not collected

 

 

List 2591 / Race & Ethnicity

• American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous
• Asian or Asian American
• Black, African American, or African
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• White
• Client doesn't know
• Client refused
• Data not collected