Spotlight on Our Report Writer!

You may not be familiar with Amanda Franklin, ICA’s Report Writer, but if you use ART for reporting, you are probably very familiar with her work! Amanda works with us all the way from Texas, where she builds the reports that help CoCs and agencies track client outcomes, check data quality and completeness, monitor the coordinated entry process in their community, and more. Recently, she worked with our ICA colleagues in Wisconsin to quickly build the new COVID-19 Vector Client Interactions Report. This report can assist agencies that have been contacted by public health entities in locating clients or staff that may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Amanda’s work may be less visible, but it is critical to HMIS and data needs, so we’re taking this opportunity to introduce her and her work. Read on to learn more about Amanda’s work and her favorite ART reports (she had a hard time choosing just one)!

Tell us about yourself!

I’m a Southern girl through and through. I was born and raised in Texas and Louisiana. My husband is a programmer, and my two children, ages 7 and 10, are gamers. Geek is Chic in my household. 

I’ve been working in HMIS as a report writer for over 14 years, but I still get lost in that acronym alphabet soup. I am happiest when immersed in a project digging deeply into calculations. I usually avoid the limelight, preferring to support my well-spoken coworkers in their endeavors to end homelessness. 

I love collaborating, hearing my coworker’s data needs and finding a way to solve “that” problem, the difficult calculation. Truth be told, I’m relentless in this drive to solve reporting problems.  I believe this determination is what has made me successful as a report writer. 

Tell us more about your work with the new COVID-19 Vector Client Interactions Report

This report is the product of wonderful collaboration and was brought from concept to completion in only a few days.  I always enjoy working with my ICA counterparts in Wisconsin, but this report was the model for teamwork. Together we were able to quickly solve complex calculation issues for the benefit of all our ICA sites.

What is your favorite report?

Over the years, I have developed hundreds of reports, so picking an all-time favorite is hard. The reports that stick out most in my mind are the ones with a novel workflow or a cool aggregation, like the 054-Returns to Homelessness that “counts between rows”, or the 046-HYA Outcome that aggregates successful outcomes between reporting periods, or the 030-Core, this one is just cool… it uses “creative” query design to processes a ton of data and the report is robust. 

Tell us about the reasons you love what you do!

I love being part of the ICA Minnesota team.  Not only do I get to geek out on data, but I get to feel good about the work I do.  I am blessed to be part of the ICA team. I get the best of both worlds.  I love this job.