PA Homeless Management Information System (PA HMIS)

 The more you know about a problem, the better equipped you are to solve it. That’s the idea behind the Pennsylvania Homeless Management Information System (PA HMIS) overseen by the Department of Community and Economic Development. This community-based software is designed to capture client-level information over time on the characteristics and service needs of women, men, and children experiencing homelessness. The primary goal is to acquire hard data in order to understand the scope and dimensions of homelessness in order to address the problem more effectively. This benefits service providers and homeless clients and enables more efficient use of coordinated services.

Publications and Document Library

Live Training Availability

Training Materials and Recordings

Sites of Interest

  Documen

Publications and Document Library

Agreements (Updated 4/19/12)

• Release of Information for data sharing - Client Consent Agreement (.pdf)
• Participation Agreement (.pdf)
• Revocation of Consent Agreement (.pdf)
• System User Agreement (.pdf)
• User Authorization Form (.pdf)

Information and FAQ (Updated 4/19/12)

• HMIS Data standards (released March 2010) (.pdf)
• PA HMIS User Manual *Under Revision* (.pdf)
• PA HMIS New User Registration Instructions (.pdf)
• PA HMIS HPRP Services Entry & Automatic Closing Procedures (.pdf)
• Password Reset Instructions (.pdf)
• Privacy Posting (.pdf)
• PA HMIS Policies and Standard Operating Procedures (.pdf)

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Live Training

Upcoming Training Dates (Updated Monthly)

Please note that all attendees are required to register in order to receive your unique training invitation link.  These unique training links are used to track training attendance.  Please register at least one day prior to the training event.  Simply click the link(s) below for the training(s) you wish to attend.  You will be directed to a registration page.  If you have any questions regarding the registration process, please contact the PA HMIS Help Desk at ra-pahmis@pa.gov or (717) 720-7375.  If you wish to attend trainings in person, please notify us at ra-pahmis@pa.gov    and arrive at the following location approximately 15 minutes early:

DCED, Computer Training Lab

Commonwealth Keystone Building - 4th Floor

400 North Street

Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225

The PA HMIS team will be providing a full follow-up training for those Agencies and Users that missed the April training classes or would like a refresher on the new system structure changes, interface updates, and improved reporting features recently released.

• May 22nd - Intake/ Caseworker Training - 9:30 A.M. to 12 Noon (Click this link to register - a confirmation email will be sent with your unique access code ) 

Note: The full intake and data collection process will only be covered in the Intake/ Case Worker training class, the Agency Manager training is reserved for system setup and Agency configuration processes.

• May 23rd - Agency Manager Training - 9:30 A.M. to 11 A.M. (Click this link to register - a confirmation email will be sent with your unique access code)
• May 23rd - Agency/ User Reports Training - 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. (Click this link to register - a confirmation email will be sent with your unique access code)

Note: Since reporting is now available to all system users, the availability of the this training is no longer limited to Agency Managers.

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Training Materials and Recordings

 (Files with an .mp4 extension will open with media players such as Windows Media Player or Apple Quicktime.  All files may be downloaded by right clicking, then clicking "Save Target As."  Please be patient with downloads as some files are large and may take a few minutes, depending on your internet connection speed.) 

Agency Manager Training (Updated 4/19/12)

• Agency Manager Training - PowerPoint Presentation (.pdf)
  • Agency Manager Training - Part I (Agency Level Setup - Program, Site Configuration and User Permissions) (.mp4)
  • Agency Manager Training - Part II (Important Data Collection and Intake Functionality, Client Management Tools) (.mp4)
• Agency Manager – Client Merge Tool (.pdf)
• Agency Manager – User Access Permissions (.pdf)

Intake/ Caseworker Training (Updated 4/19/12 )

• Intake & Case Worker Training - PowerPoint Presentation (.pdf)
  • Intake and Case Worker Training – Part I (System Introduction, Client and Household Data Collection) (.mp4)
  • Intake and Case Worker Training – Part II (Program Enrollment and Program Specific Data Collection) (.mp4)
  • Intake and Case Worker Training – Part III (Program Services and Program Exit Data Collection, Client Management Tools) (.mp4)
• Intake Procedures – Agency, Program, and Site Enrollment/ Access (.pdf)
•  Intake Procedures – Client Lookup/ Search and New Client Entry (.pdf)

Reports Training (Updated 4/19/12)

• Agency Reports Training (.mp4) | Accompanying slides (.pdf) 
• Customizable Query Tool (.pdf)

HPRP Reporting Training and Tools (Updated 4/19/12)

PA HMIS Users

• HPRP QPR Reporting Training for PA HMIS Users 1st Quarter, 2012 (.mp4) | Accompanying Slides (.pdf) 
• Year 2 (2011) HPRP APR Data Collection and Reporting Training for PA HMIS Users (.mp4) | Accompanying Slides (.pdf)

Independent HMIS and Table shell Users

•                                 HPRP QPR Reporting Training for Independent HMIS and Table shell Users 1st Quarter, 2012 (.mp4) | Accompanying Slides (.pdf)
  • QPR Reporting Table Shell for subrecipients using an independent HMIS or comparable database (Microsoft Excel 2003 and earlier)  (.xls)
  • QPR Reporting Table Shell for subrecipients using an independent HMIS or comparable database (Microsoft Excel 2007) (.xlsx) 
• Year 2 (2011) HPRP APR Data Collection and Reporting Training for Independent HMIS and Table Shell Users (.mp4) | Accompanying Slides (.pdf)
  • HPRP APR Table Shell for subrecipients using an independent HMIS or comparable database (Microsoft Excel 2003 and earlier) (.xls)
  • HPRP APR Table Shell for subrecipients using an independent HMIS or comparable database (Microsoft Excel 2007) (.xlsx) 
• Data Quality Reporting Tool for subrecipients using an independent HMIS or comparable database (Microsoft Excel 2003 and earlier) (.xls)
• Data Quality Reporting Tool for subrecipients using an independent HMIS or comparable database (Microsoft Excel 2007) (.xlsx)

Supplemental Training (New Features/ Changes/ Topics of Interest)

May, 2011

• Program Exit Screen Notification Page (.mp4) | Program Exit Validation Guidelines (.pdf)
• Housing Inventory Training (.pdf)
• How to update Housing Inventory to HMIS 2010 Data Standards (.pdf)

July, 2011

• Additional  Program-Specific Data Elements (.mp4) | Additional Data Elements (.pdf)

December, 2011

• HPRP Services –Replication, Entry Interface, and Automatic Closing (.mp4)
  • HPRP Services Entry & Automatic Closing Procedures (.pdf) 
  • HPRP Service Replication Guidelines (.pdf)
• Agency Client Utilities – Case Load, Client Delete Tools (.mp4)
  • Client Delete Utility (.pdf)
  •  Agency Manager Case Load Tools (.pdf)
• Editable Household Join Date Utility (.pdf)

March, 2012

• Privacy and Security Standards Training (.mp4) | Accompanying Slides (.pdf)

April, 2012

• Agency Reports Training (.mp4) | Accompanying slides (.pdf)

Documentation to Accompany new release (PA HMIS version 3.6)

• Agency Manager – Client Merge Tool (.pdf)
• Agency Manager – User Access Permissions (.pdf)
• Intake Procedures – Agency, Program, and Site Enrollment/ Access (.pdf)
• Intake Procedures – Client Lookup/ Search and New Client Entry (.pdf)
• Customizable Query Tool (.pdf)

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Other Sites of Interest 

• Log onto PA HMIS

• HUD Homeless Resource Exchange (HUDHRE.info)

• HMIS.INFO - HUD's HMIS technical assistance site

For more information about PA HMIS, please contact the PA HMIS Help Desk or Dan Fox. 

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