The Recovery Act of 2009 provided the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) substantial funds to help individuals and families avoid homelessness or receive the services they need to become eligible to obtain adequate housing (e.g., legal, financial counseling, employment). These funds are administered through the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). To qualify for HPRP funds, organizations must use a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) or comparable program (see HPRP for more information) to provide and report specific information about the clients they serve, such as housing status, services provided, and numbers of individuals affected by the services.
HPRP and Domestic Violence Service Providers
The requirements for using an HMIS, however, place domestic violence (DV) service providers in a unique position relevant to HPRP funds. Without question, the clients they serve—victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking—have a very prominent and pressing need to obtain safe and adequate housing. On one hand, however, to be eligible for HPRP funds, organizations must use an HMIS or other program to track and report individual client information carefully. On the other hand, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005 promotes confidentiality regarding identifying information of survivors of domestic violence of other crimes, and specifically indicates that they should not use an HMIS to track their clients. How, then, can a domestic violence service provider take advantage of HPRP funds?
HUD has provided very clear direction to help domestic violence service providers be eligible for HPRP funds. First, HUD has indicated that DV service providers cannot use their existing HMIS, but rather must use a “comparable database”—such as case-management software—to track their clients and services. Because of reporting requirements, this “comparable database” still needs to meet the 2009 HMIS Data Standards. Further, to support VAWA, HUD has indicated that DV service providers must still track the specific, required client information, but that they may report aggregate (non-identified) data about the HPRP service provided to their clients.
The ClientTrack Solution
ClientTrack is a very capable HMIS. It is also a very powerful case-management software. This means that ClientTrack can be used by domestic violence service providers—as a separate system from its HMIS capabilities—to meet HPRP requirements for collecting and reporting client information. Whether or not ClientTrack is used by your Continuum of Care or other grant managers, ClientTrack can provide the tools you need to collect HPRP information and create the required reports in 30 seconds, at the touch of a button.
Beyond providing HPRP tools that simplify the lives of those who run DV service organizations, ClientTrack can also make life easier for the clients you serve and the social service professionals you support. With ClientTrack, clients don’t need to fill out extensive paperwork, or repeat the same information time and again as they apply for various services. Instead, that can all be automated. For your front-line service professionals, ClientTrack helps them gather and find the right information at the right time, making intakes, assessments, case management, referrals, and goal tracking more simple, and giving them more time to meet their clients’ needs. And, if you have any other grants to manage and report—such as Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) monies—or if you would like to track and report your outcomes to show stakeholders the value of your services, ClientTrack can do it all with simplicity.
To learn more about ClientTrack…