The target go-live date for Minnesota’s new HMIS is July 1, 2024. “Go-live” means the software is ready for you to begin using it, with your program and client data migrated over, essential custom reports built, and you trained and ready to log in.

You might be thinking "That’s so soon!", and you’d be right. However, you can take comfort in the fact that ICA and the HMIS Governing Board have been preparing for this transition for over a year. Since the board selected ClientTrack and its companion data warehouse, ClientInsight, in November 2023, ICA has partnered closely with Eccovia to plan the transition; Eccovia is the software vendor behind ClientTrack and ClientInsight. If you need a refresher on how we arrived at this moment, check out the overview offered at the 2023 HMIS Annual Meeting.

With a comprehensive plan in place, construction of Minnesota’s new HMIS has begun. Like any construction project, timing and other expectations may change as the work progresses. Check this page regularly and subscribe to our newsletter to stay apprised of the latest developments. The links below will take you to different transition-related topics.

Transition Announcements | "Last Call" in Community Services | Looking Ahead | Frequently Asked Questions

Last call for new user training and (most) configuration changes to Community Services! To meet our target go-live date, ICA must reduce our operations in Community Services. This means cutting back on or entirely ceasing activities like user training, assessment and report modifications, and the Quarterly Data Quality process.

Below you’ll find a table listing core operational activities and their respective stop dates:

Why is suspending core operations necessary?

• It aids our new vendor, Eccovia, in knowing what to build in ClientTrack.

• It helps ICA staff prepare to support you, a process that includes training ourselves!

• It contributes to a smoother transition for HMIS users by reducing the number of things they will need to learn in the new system.

User Training Exceptions for Hardship Scenarios

Stopping new user training for a few months will be a significant challenge for our community, as ICA has continued to receive record numbers of training requests. Many organizations will be able to respond to this temporary limitation through adjustments to staff responsibilities; for others, we recognize this could stall operations. To that end, we are building in flexibility for the following scenarios:  

• When the only user at an agency leaves and needs to be replaced.

• For shelters or projects with high turnover, where the ability to serve clients would be greatly impeded.

In those situations, ICA will offer a limited training for new users. As the stop date approaches, we will communicate any changes in procedure. It is critical that your agency's leadership finds ways to provide peer support for these new HMIS users and offer flexibility in structuring your operations until ClientTrack training begins.

Which Activities Are Not Changing?

All the ways you typically communicate with ICA's team remain in place. Please continue to email our Helpdesk (mnhmis@icalliances.org) and submit new provider requests as needed.

What is something to look forward to in ClientTrack?

You know how in Community Services, to see if you made a data entry mistake in a client enrollment, you need to wait a day for a “build”, run a report, download it to Excel, review the flagged client IDs, log back into Community Services, look up the necessary records, and navigate through assessments?  

In ClientTrack, the software actively helps prevent data entry issues from occurring in the first place. Missing and possibly inaccurate responses are flagged as you enter data, and in some cases you cannot move on until errors are addressed. If a data entry error does sneak through, a ClientTrack report can be run immediately to assist you in identifying issues

What Can You Be Doing to Prepare?

1. Keep entering client data!

2. Make sure your agency’s leadership knows about this change. See Britt’s transition announcement video for ideas on how to discuss the transition at your next staff meeting.

3. Plan to set aside time to learn the new software this summer.

When will the new platform be Available for Use?

The anticipated go-live date is July 1, 2024.

Will I get training?

Absolutely! ICA staff will be learning about ClientTrack from the experts at Eccovia, then sharing that knowledge with our users both as we approach the go-live date and after the new system goes live.

Will our user fees go up with the transition to a new software?

There are no changes planned to user license fees at this time. Those fees are established by the HMIS Governing Board in consideration of the overall budget. The board will work with ICA leadership to set the future cost of user licenses with the understanding that license costs are important to our community.

What happens next?

Now that the contract has been secured, ICA staff are working with Eccovia's implementation team to design the new system’s structure and plan for data to be migrated over to ClientTrack.

Who made the decision to switch vendors?

The HMIS Governing Board holds the authority to select Minnesota’s HMIS software vendor. Throughout most of 2023, ICA and the Governing Board led a community-engaged software review. This review culminated with a final vote on November 16 and was a two-pronged vote: First, they had to decide whether to switch vendors; next, they selected one of the finalists. After hearing the results of the software review from ICA, which included user and partner input throughout the process, the Governing Board selected Eccovia, Inc.

What was the process for learning more about the finalist vendors?

Once the Governing Board decided in October which vendors would be finalists, we arranged a series of conversations with both Eccovia and BitFocus, convening our local experts with theirs. We also held public demonstrations and arranged hands-on testing for ICA staff and our implementation committee (end users!). All the information gleaned from these meetings was distilled into the presentation given to the board on November 16.

Homeless Day on the Hill Flyer

Click here to view an introductory handout created for the 2024 Homeless Day on the Hill at Minnesota’s state capitol.