July 2025 HMIS Newsletter

Contents

• Fun Poll: What’s your preferred method of battling a Zombie Apocalypse?
• VI-SPDAT Changes: Are You Confused Yet?
• Beyond the Desk: How Agency Leads Can File a Grievance
• Report Spotlight – [STFF-103] Staff Active Caseload
• Reminders from our Help Desk
• The Regular Rundown
  
  • ✨Upcoming DEW - Updating Client Profiles & Reports✨
  • Clients Assessed & Not on CHQ
  • Meetings/Upcoming Events
  • Bitfocus is Hiring!

Check Out this Fun Poll:

What’s your preferred method of battling a Zombie Apocalypse?

We will share the results of this poll on next month’s Newsletter.

Results of last month's poll: If you could travel to any continent, what would it be?

VI-SPDAT Changes: Other Adults - Are You Confused Yet?

You'll now include "Other Adults" directly in VI-SPDAT assessments when clients anticipate additional adults (like grandparents, adult children, or aunts/uncles) will be living with them in Supportive Housing. This helps ensure we select the correct unit size for the entire household.

Here's how to handle it:

• Family VI-SPDAT: Do NOT administer separate assessments for these "Other Adults." The assessment itself now captures this information, so discontinue any previous workarounds that involved separate assessments for them.
• Single and Youth VI-SPDAT: If "Other Adults" are added, please have them complete their own separate assessment. This allows us to account for potential future changes in household composition, such as couples separating or living situations changing.

See our June newsletter for more information.

Beyond the Desk: How Agency Leads Can File a Grievance

Navigating a data breach can be a confusing and difficult process, especially when it involves identifying individuals who may be responsible. We understand the challenges of needing to investigate and prove such accusations.

While we can't provide exact steps for every scenario, we can guide you through the process. We've developed a new resource to make this easier: the HMIS Data Misuse & Breach Reporting Form. We hope this tool will help streamline the reporting and resolution process for you. 

**Please note submission of this form must come directly from the designated TA/Agency Lead.

Want more resources?

Check out Bitfocus' Data Privacy & Security tools, and our article on data breaches from last month's newsletter!

Report Spotlight: [STFF-103] Staff Active Caseload 

This report offers a detailed look at a user's current caseload, including specific enrollment information like Date of Birth (DoB), Length of Stay (LoS), assessments, services, and case notes. It also provides an aggregate count of households, enrollments, and clients for each assigned staff member. For this report, a staff member is considered assigned to an enrollment based on the Assigned Staff selection in the program enrollment. The default value for the Assigned Staff is the user that created the enrollment record. 

Get more details.

Resource Highlight - Reminders from Our Help Desk Team

We've all seen those three dreaded words: "Incorrect password entered!" Almost as bad as "we need to talk," right? But don't worry, we get it, and we're here to help.

If it's been over 90 days since you last logged into HMIS, you've probably been set to INACTIVE STATUS. This means you'll need to contact the Help Desk to get reinstated. Seems simple enough, but it can get tricky, especially if that password is just gone from your memory, and those sticky notes aren't helping.

You try the "FORGOT PASSWORD" link, follow the steps, and wait patiently. But that reset email never shows up. Here's why that might be happening:  

1. Wrong Clarity Website: Make sure you're on the correct Clarity website. Don't just Google "Clarity" and assume the first result is for Santa Clara County.
2. Auto-fill Woes: Your browser's auto-fill might be using an old or incorrect email address. Double-check that it's pulling the right one.
3. Email Format Change: Has your agency recently changed its email format? You might be using the new one, but HMIS still has your old address on file.
4. Email Blocking: Your email client, especially Outlook, might be blocking the password reset email.
5. Case Sensitivity: Are you typing in all caps? Passwords are case-sensitive, so check your capitalization.
6. Firewall Issues: Your firewall settings could be preventing the email from coming through.
7. Spam/Junk Folder: Always check your spam or junk folders—the email might be hiding in there!
8. Still Nothing? Be sure and contact the Help Desk for assistance!
   
   

The Regular Rundown

Want to stay in the loop? Dive into these ongoing items we regularly share to keep you informed!