Author: Michaela Simmons

Registration is now open for the 12th cohort of the HMIS Data Analytics On-Demand Course. The goal of this immersive course is to provide a conceptual and practical framework for ad hoc reporting utilizing Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data. This self-paced course is open to anyone in your community who is interested in analyzing, interpreting, and communicating HMIS data.

This is an introductory level course and might be a good fit for newer members of your HMIS team or someone looking to brush up on their data skills. Participants are not expected to have high-level technical or statistical skills; only basic knowledge of the following is needed:

• HMIS data standards
• How to pull an HMIS comma-separated value (CSV) file set, unless the participant has access to someone who can pull HMIS reports for them
• How to enter data into Excel and navigate within it

The data analytics course will equip participants with the skills to create a data brief highlighting trends to engage communities to drive insights into action. A combination of content, hands-on skill-building, and recommended resources are provided to help a basic data user build skills and knowledge necessary to be an advanced data professional while providing opportunities for ongoing professional development and learning. Participants will have eight weeks to complete six course modules at their own pace. Course participants will also receive a certificate upon completion of all six modules.

Abt TA providers, in partnership with Cal ICH, have developed a webinar on Trauma-Informed and Equitable Approaches to Data Collection for grantees and other entities that collect information from people served by the homelessness system and enter data into Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). This webinar introduces grantees of California state-funded homelessness programs to concepts related to trauma and its presentation, defines trauma-informed and equitable approaches, and applies this perspective to inform best practices in data collection for HMIS.

The webinar is available to view at the link below, and slides are attached.

Trauma-Informed and Equitable Data Collection in HMIS

• Trauma-Informed and Equitable Data Collection for HMIS.pdf

New resources to assist communities in training workers to take a client-centered and trauma-informed approach to data collection are now available. The FY 2024 HMIS Data and Technical Standards provided first-time guidance on how data collection should be approached: “Communities [should also] employ a person-centered approach to the review and use of the HMIS Data Manual with a clear foundational understanding of racial trauma and trauma-informed practices, cultural humility, and a person first, data-informed perspective.”

Immerse Yourself in this Virtual Reality Experience

The Client-Centered Data Collection Approach: Virtual Reality Series resources help support this directive.

Five Virtual Reality (VR) videos provide an immersion experience to increase empathy. The immersion, accessible through any smartphone, provides a first-person view into trauma-informed approaches to data collection.

Before engaging with the VR videos, we recommend that you start with the Facilitator’s Guide which provides helpful information to support the use of the VR videos as part of a group training curriculum. Additionally, there is a brief Human-Centered Approach to Intake video which provides helpful context and reviews why identifying questions, such as those about race and gender, might be stressful to answer and suggests strategies that minimize or eliminate potential frustration or disenfranchisement at the point of intake.

View the Resource Collection

The Office of Care Coordination, on behalf of the Orange County Continuum of Care (CoC), is hosting the upcoming training opportunity. The
LGBTQ Center OC is providing a training on cultural competency when working with the LGBTQ+ community.

The LGBTQ+ 101 training will provide necessary language to reaffirm the identities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) people. Attendees will learn the complexity of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and pronounce use. This training provides tools organizations can utilize to make their work environment a safe space for staff and clients alike.

This virtual training requires registration.
Date: Thursday, September 21, 2023
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Please register to attend by Wednesday, September 20, 2023: Click this link

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Office of Care Coordination at CareCoordination@ocgov.com.

The Office of Care Coordination would like to share a training opportunity on behalf of Homebase. Homebase has launched a Medi-Cal Renewals outreach campaign to help people experiencing homelessness in California retain their Medi-Cal coverage. By educating homeless systems of care, Homebase aims to slow down the loss of coverage for Medi-Cal members without a current mailing address.

Homebase will provide specific guidance on how homeless providers and health enrollment navigators can help clients navigate the renewals process. Additionally, Homebase will share online tools that outline these strategies, which meeting participants can utilize and share in their own communities. There will be ample time for meeting participants to ask questions and/or provide comments. This virtual training requires registration.
Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Time: 12:30pm
Please register to attend at: Click this link

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Homebase at Medi-Cal@homebaseccc.org.