Clark County to require NPI tracking in HMIS; staff briefed on quarterly-report changes and deadlines

Clark County program staff told contracted homeless and Community Action providers during a recorded training that providers must begin tracking national performance indicators (NPIs) in the county Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) starting Oct. 1 (the beginning of quarter 2).

The change, announced by Abby Mansion, Clark County program staff, is intended to let agencies track federally designated outputs and outcomes continuously in HMIS so they can be pulled into the county quarterly report spreadsheets. "We're adding a requirement for providers to track client achievement of national performance indicators or NPIs in HMIS," Mansion said.

County staff said the NPI requirement applies only to the NPIs each program and its coordinator agree are appropriate; agencies may request an exception and technical assistance. Kayla, the county's Homeless Crisis Response System program coordinator, told attendees the county had prepared a definitions sheet and a crosswalk that maps federal NPIs to HMIS service labels. "We will send out this sheet, which has a full list of all of the NPIs and their definitions," Kayla said.

HMIS data-entry rules and deadlines were reiterated. County staff said client records must be entered into HMIS no later than 10 days after enrollment; data for the prior month must be entered accurately by the fifth day of the following month. HMIS service transactions must include HMIS numbers on invoices; county staff will check HMIS before approving invoices.

County presenters demonstrated how ROMA/ROMA-aligned outcomes and service transactions will appear in HMIS entry/exit screens and as service transactions. Dale Whitley, who ran the HMIS demonstration, walked through creating entry records, selecting ROMA outcomes in the assessment area, adding service transactions, and assigning fund sources so dollars attached to services can be identified in reports. He said some NPIs will be recorded at entry/exit, some as service transactions, and that interim updates are possible if the program needs them.

The training also reviewed the county's quarterly reporting spreadsheet: each contracted program receives a locked Excel template, with one program tab to complete each quarter and an instructions tab. Deadlines are: quarter 1 (July–Sept) due Oct. 15; quarter 2 (Oct–Dec) due Jan. 15; quarter 3 (Jan–Mar) due Apr. 15; quarter 4 (Apr–June) due July 30 (year-end extension). County staff emphasized that the spreadsheets ask for unduplicated counts within the fiscal year and that some percentage/median cells must be entered manually at year end.

Presenters answered provider questions about edge cases raised during the Q&A, including how to report clients who enter and exit shelters repeatedly, how to count volunteers and volunteer hours, when to report income-change outcomes, and how fund-source coding interacts with multiple funding streams supporting one program. County staff said agencies should coordinate with their program coordinators and with Dale for technical help to make sure services and fund sources are set up correctly in HMIS so the BusinessObjects reports return the intended unduplicated counts.

County staff listed limited exceptions to HMIS reporting. Programs covered by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), clients who refuse to sign the HMIS release of information, and programs that the county grants an exception (for example, some food assistance programs) may be permitted to keep a paper file and provide anonymized data to Council for the Homeless on request. The county will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis and provide technical assistance.

The session closed with staff offering follow-up help and promising to share the recording, slides and the NPI crosswalk spreadsheet. County staff said they will work program-by-program to add the agreed service items to each program's HMIS quick list and to confirm that provider user accounts have access to BusinessObjects reporting if needed.