Reports & Data

Data Sharing and HUD Feedback on Data Sharing

DATA SHARING

RTFH is not a government agency, but a non-profit organization. We work with numerous researchers and nationally recognized organizations like 211/CIE, UCSD, the Center for Budget, Policies and Priorities, health plans, and the County of San Diego, in data sharing, research, analysis and coordination. Here is a recent example of that collaborative work from UCSD.

RTFH maintains public-facing dashboards that drill down to the program level and provide a wide range of data.

RTFH follows HUD’s guidance around how to handle data during and after research projects, and in June of 2024 RTFH requested clarifications from HUD on data sharing. A summary of HUD’s response to RTFH’s questions along with a link to the federal agency’s full response is below.

It is important to note that people experiencing homelessness deserve the same privacy protections as the rest of us. We hold our role and responsibility to protect the privacy of those experiencing homelessness seriously.

We’re proud of our transparency and dedication to providing the region with more data and information on homelessness than almost any other continuum of care lead agency in the country, while balancing the stewardship and responsibility to protect the privacy of the most vulnerable members of our community.

 

HUD FEEDBACK ON DATA SHARING

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has provided comprehensive guidance on the handling, sharing, and use of data within the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Firstly, HUD recently clarified that HMIS data funded by federal dollars is not considered a matter of public record. CoCs are required to implement and maintain privacy and security plans that dictate how data can be used and disclosed. These plans are designed to protect personal information while allowing for responsible and limited data use.

The HUD guidance addresses the handling of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) within the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). PII includes any information that can identify a specific individual, either directly or indirectly. The responsibility for determining how much data must be removed to prevent identification rests with the CoC and its HMIS Lead or system administrator. Additionally, when disclosing HMIS data for academic research purposes, a written agreement must outline the terms of data use and security, including provisions for data disposal after the research is completed. Local CoCs must decide what qualifies as academic research and whether other types of research disclosures require similar agreements.

Data sharing with non-covered homeless organizations is governed by the CoC’s HMIS privacy policy and notice. HUD encourages CoCs to develop policies that allow for reasonable data use and disclosure while maintaining transparency. The 2004 Data and Technical Standards outline specific circumstances under which data can be shared without client consent, which do not require de-identification.

Lastly, HUD confirmed that publishing non-identifiable, aggregate data from HMIS-participating programs complies with their standards, as it does not involve the sharing of client-level personally identifiable information (PII). HUD emphasizes that CoCs have the authority to manage their HMIS and must ensure compliance with federal privacy and security standards while considering local laws and policies.

CLICK HERE TO READ HUD’S FULL RESPONSE TO RTFH

RTFH is responsible for collecting, tracking, and reporting out on a significant amount of data as it pertains to homelessness in our region.

Many of the reports are mandated by funding sources; however, there are also reports such as the Dashboards and System Framework that provide timely and relevant insights into the progress and performance of the CoC in meeting its mission.

RTFH Dashboards

RTFH Public Data Dashboards

The public dashboards use data from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and are meant to provide interested stakeholders and community members insights to better understand individuals and families accessing homeless services, performance of our homeless crisis response system, and help with identifying gaps in housing and service needs.

Community Analysis Dashboards – This dashboard is based on a system wide APR report for FY2022 (10/1/2021 – 09/30/2022) and shows de-duplicate clients count in the entire HMIS system.

Community Snapshot Dashboards – This is a project level dashboard that can be filtered by specific program names and different data ranges anytime between 10/01/2020 –  End of the current month. The data quality section on this dashboard can be used as a tool to work toward improving individual program data quality.

Community Performance Dashboards – This dashboard is based on the HUD system performance measure for FY2022 (10/1/2021 – 09/30/2022) and shows our system of care system performance.

RTFH Equity Dashboard

As of 2023, Black, African American, or African clients make up 5.6% of the general population in San Diego County but make up 22.3% of the Homeless population, and they are 5.9 times more likely to experience Sheltered Homelessness than Non-Black, African American, or African clients. They are also 3.9 times more likely to experience Unsheltered Homelessness than Non-Black, African American, or African clients.

More information can be obtained from the RTFH Equity Dashboard: https://newsletterapp-gp0f.onrender.com/

RTFH HMIS Monthly Data Reports

To provide the San Diego region with a better understanding of the homelessness crisis, the RTFH has begun publishing a new report that highlights how many people enter and exit homelessness each month throughout San Diego County.

RTFH’s data team has compiled this first-of-its-kind monthly data report with the help of homeless service providers from across the region. This initial release of data is broken down over the past 12 months. Moving forward, RTFH will update these statistics each month. On average, over the last 12 months, 10 people found housing for every 13 people who experienced homelessness for the first time.

You can learn more about the reports here. Please click below to view the reports.

Monthly Veteran Housing Placement Reports

To provide the San Diego region with a better understanding of veteran homelessness, as well as the progress towards the functional zero goal outlined in the Leave No Veteran Homeless Initiative, the RTFH has begun publishing a monthly data report.

“As a region, we’ve come together to get to functional zero for our veterans experiencing homelessness,” RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler said. “This monthly report will provide a progress report on how we’re doing to reach that goal, ensuring that we’re staying focused on leaving no veteran behind.”

Functional Zero is defined as the point when a community’s homeless services system is able to prevent homelessness whenever possible and ensure that when homelessness does occur, it is rare, brief, and one-time. This means that the number of veterans experiencing homelessness monthly is consistently less than are routinely housed each month, providing a monthly data-driven measure.

Based on a 15-month timeframe put together by RTFH’s data team, the dashboard provides updates on where the initiative stands in the effort to reach functional zero on veteran homelessness.

The calculation comes from Community Solution’s Built for Zero framework. This nationally recognized movement has been used in communities across the country to reach functional zero for specific populations of people experiencing homelessness.

“We should be proud of our work to reduce veteran homelessness,” Kohler said. “Right now our biggest hurdle to reach functional zero is the need for more landlords to rent to veterans. If we increase our monthly housing placements, we can decrease the number of veterans experiencing homelessness while getting to our goal even quicker.”

Annual Data and Performance Reports

To provide the San Diego region with a better understanding of the homelessness crisis, the RTFH has begun publishing a new report that highlights how many people enter and exit homelessness each month throughout San Diego County.

The annual Data and Performance Reports summarizes homeless trends across key performance indicators in San Diego County, helping us better understand what’s working and where the opportunities are. Click on the links below to read the reports.

LSA: Stella Performance Module

Stella is an analysis and strategy tool that helps CoCs to understand how their system is performing and to model an optimized system that fully addresses homelessness in their area.

Performance (Stella P) relies on dynamic visuals of CoCs’ LSA data to illustrate how households move through the homeless system, and to highlight outcome disparities.

HUD System Performance Measures

HUD System Performance Measures report on local homeless response as a coordinated system. These measures are required to be reported yearly.

The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR)

The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) is an annual report to the U.S. Congress that provides nationwide estimates of homelessness, including information about the demographic characteristics of homeless persons, service use patterns, and the capacity to house homeless persons. The San Diego County reports summarize our community’s contribution to the national AHAR.

Please note that the AHAR was replaced in 2018 with the LSA report, which can be found under the LSA menu dropdown.

Housing Inventory Count (HIC)

The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a point-in-time inventory of provider programs within a Continuum of Care that provide beds and units dedicated to serve persons who are homeless, categorized by five Program Types: Emergency Shelter; Transitional Housing; Rapid Re-housing; Safe Haven; and Permanent Supportive Housing. The annual HIC report submitted to HUD is available by year below.

WeAllCount (PIT)

Mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), this annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count provides an estimate of the number of homeless persons throughout San Diego County. The count includes persons living “on the street” or staying in homeless shelters. Additional descriptive information is drawn from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) for sheltered persons and through in-depth questionnaires conducted with approximately 20% of the unsheltered persons, enabling us to better understand the characteristics of those who are homeless in our community. The PIT results below are organized by year.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Report/Data Request Form

Requests for aggregate data will be submitted to the RTFH utilizing this form. After the request was reviewed and approved, the RTFH will respond to the request by including estimated time and cost.

Download Request Form
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