This Data Assessment builds on the findings of the self-assessment conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) as part of a Continuum of Care (CoC) Checkup process in the summer of 2011. This Assessment is based on a deeper and more detailed investigation of the current state of homeless data collection and management in Los Angeles and reflects information from interviews with key stakeholders, including LAHSA staff, LAHSA’s HMIS solution provider, County departments, and other funders and stakeholders in the Los Angeles region. The Data Assessment also included interviews and focus groups with HMIS end users and makes recommendations based on best practices across the nation, in particular for tools and processes associated with client assessment and coordinated client intake. The findings and recommendations in this document are intended to inform the planning and implementation of coordinated HUD and locally-funded technical assistance work.
Ending Homelessness in Los Angeles: A Data Management Strategy
In recent years Los Angeles has experienced increased national and local attention for the vexing problem of homelessness. The complexities involved in addressing the issue of homelessness anywhere are made more difficult in LA by the large geographic planning and coordination area and the multitude of independent, sometimes competing, political interests.
Los Angeles has experienced success recently with the development of thousands of new Permanent Supportive Housing units across the metro region, many of which use Mental Health Service Act (MHSA) funding to target the chronically homeless and persons with mental illness. Other small scale local initiatives such as Project 50 have provided permanent housing for fifty chronically homeless persons previously residing in tents along the sidewalks of skid row. Other groups are beginning to experience similar success on a neighborhood level by partnering with homeless assistance providers, elected officials, and public systems to create location-specific initiatives. And the United Way, in partnership with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, has produced a strategic plan to end homelessness for particular subpopulations, people experiencing chronic homelessness and veterans, Home for Good. While a combination of specific subpopulation initiatives and geographically targeted strategies may ultimately provide the best region-wide approach for addressing homeless, successful implementation of these plans is hindered by the lack of a single, coordinated data collection and management strategy that can be used to measure progress and document success in ending homelessness.
While some stakeholders have expressed concerns about the adequacy of the LA HMIS as a platform for an improved data collection and management system in Los Angeles County, this Data Assessment finds that LAHSA’s HMIS represents the foundation on which a homeless data management strategy for Los Angeles should be based. HMIS already provides a fully-functional infrastructure for client case coordination, program data management, and system-wide coordination and evaluation. Program performance outcomes, as well as system-wide measures, can be monitored using the standardized data elements already defined as the building blocks of HMIS. System-wide outputs such as the supply of permanent supportive housing units, both in production and operational, can be tracked in HMIS.
Many homeless assistance providers in LA are already using HMIS or are familiar with administrative data management systems and can readily adopt HMIS as their primary data collection and management tool if provided the necessary resources and support. System improvements will be necessary to make HMIS viable as an ongoing tool. These improvements need to be targeted to end users of HMIS, so that their experience with entering and managing data and running data reports is positive and successful.
Timely, complete and high quality data entered by end users then will be available to support the data and analysis needs of system planners and policy-makers as they analyze the performance of individual programs and the homeless services system. Homeless people themselves will benefit from more efficient and accurate service planning when service providers coordinate assessments, case plans, referrals, and outcome tracking using HMIS.