In late 2018, HUD launched the Homelessness Data Exchange, Version 2.0 (HDX 2.0) platform to support the collection of Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) data for the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) process. The LSA and HDX 2.0 are cornerstones of HUD’s long-term effort to enhance the ability of CoCs to understand homelessness in their communities, increase the effectiveness of their homeless response systems, and streamline CoC reporting to HUD. However, HUD recognizes the transition to this new process has been complicated and time-consuming for communities.
HUD values and appreciates the work underway by CoCs, HMIS leads, and HMIS vendors. Communities are currently validating their data, which is a critical step in the LSA process, but this year’s validation process has been more difficult because of the shift to .csv reporting, which uncovers more errors and necessitates focus on the original records. To date, communities have been notified of data quality issues—both errors and warnings—that stem from a combination of project and client-level record errors, vendors’ programming code, and errors or omissions in the LSA sample code. Resolving these issues means that all partners—HUD, HMIS leads, projects, and HMIS vendors—have had to work both independently and together to diagnose and implement fixes.
LSA Data Validation Extension
Considering the level of effort and coordination burden that this process has demanded, HUD has approved an extension until April 22, 2019 for the completion of the LSA Data Validation process. HUD’s AHAR team members will continue to assist with one-on-one support throughout this process, and HUD will make available additional support as needed. Existing support and upcoming opportunities are below:
Resources
HMIS System Administrators:
- There will be a System Administrator Call on March 28, 2019 at 12:00 PM EDT to walk through LSA Data Validation steps and near-term priorities. If a System Administrator is not already on the HMIS Lead/System Admin HUB and would like to join this meeting, please email hmis@cloudburstgroup.com to request access. Note: vendors are also receiving information and support to fix errors, so System Administrators should focus on non-vendor related issues. Once vendors have made updates, it will be easier to diagnose data quality issues.
- One-on-one support from your AHAR Liaison is ongoing.
HMIS Vendors:
- There will be a HMIS Vendor Call on March 27, 2019 at 3:30 PM EDT to walk through LSA Data Validation file and provide updates.
- LSA Weekly Office Hours will continue to brainstorm common issues and vendor-specific programming questions.
- One-on-one support from the AHAR Team is ongoing.
Thank you again for your partnership and incredible work to resolve as many of the data quality issues as possible and for your ongoing commitment to maintaining high quality data to better understand and progress toward ending homelessness. Our collective efforts will be rewarded this summer, when HUD will release the first part of a larger tool—“Stella”—that will assist communities to understand their current performance and to model an optimal system. This first part—named “Stella Performance”—will give communities access to a wealth of insights about their performance and where to focus improvement efforts.
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