Your Input Needed on the Data HMIS Collects
HMIS Users and Other Interested Stakeholders,On behalf of HMIS Governance, I write to solicit your input on the data that is gathered in Minnesota’s HMIS. As has been done in prior years, we are reviewing data collection requirements at the state level and seek broad input from the community. In conducting this review, our aims are to:
- Ensure that HMIS gathers data needed for state and local planning, evaluation, and decision-making
- Align HMIS with client-centered, low-barrier, and trauma-informed practice, to the extent possible
- Limit data entry burden for HMIS users
To that end, we have prepared two forms to gather your input, one for the universal data elements collected by all homeless programs using Minnesota’s HMIS and another for the program-specific data elements required by DHS and Minnesota Housing programs.* Each form includes a link to a document that lists the relevant data elements for your reference. Each form provides an opportunity to suggest additions, edits, and subtractions to existing questions.
- Universal data elements: https://goo.gl/forms/XWjT6XXCBWTZBNF72
- Program specific data elements: https://goo.gl/forms/FPOGi9dOrJq0DRC53
Your response to one or both forms is requested no later than Wednesday, March 29th. We encourage agencies to have internal discussions about the changes you would like to see and respond accordingly.Responses will be reviewed by the HMIS Policy & Prioritization Committee at our next meeting on April 5th, from 1-3 pm, at DHS (a dial in option is also available). We invite you to join us for that meeting and provide further input into this discussion.*Please note that this review does not extend to federally mandated questions, nor to Minnesota’s Coordinated Entry Question Bank, as those questions are outside the purview of HMIS Governance.Thank you in advance for your time and thoughtful consideration,David HewittChair, HMIS Policy & Prioritization Committee