HMIS Newsletter: September 2025

Table of Contents

• Federal Data Standards: 2026 Data Standards Update 
• Federal Reporting – Upcoming LSA
• Feature Releases  
• Reminders from our HelpDesk Team  
• Upcoming events 
• Bitfocus is hiring   
  
  

Federal Data Standards: 2026 Data Standards Update 

The 2026 Data Standards will be implemented in your HMIS on October 1, 2025. You may not see any changes right away if your program doesn't use federal funding or if your community has made extensive customizations based on local priorities. 

Please replace your paper forms  with updated versions for 2026 Data Standards, on October 1st, 2025. 

Here is a summary of the key changes to the 2026 HMIS Data Standards: 

• New Data Field: A new core data field, "Sex" (4.21), has been added and is now required for programs funded by HUD, HHS, and VA. 

• Retired Data Field: The "Gender" field (3.06) has been retired from HUD standards, but it will remain in the system for communities that choose to continue using it. 

• Housing Move-in Date: A new "Housing Move-in Date" (3.20) data element has been added for specific VA projects. 

• Funding Sources: "HUD: CoC Builds (56)" has been added as a new funding source, while "HUD: ESG-CV (47)" and "HUD: HOPWA-CV (48)" have been retired. 

• Optional Fields: The "Additional Race and Ethnicity Detail" field (3.04.2) is now optional. 

• Specific Conditions: Several "Specific Disabling Conditions" fields have been removed for VA-funded and HUD: VASH programs. 

More Information: 

• This one-pager outlines the changes in a clear and brief way:  2026 Data Standards FAQ Please feel free to print it off to share with others in your office!  

• Please check out the recording from our October Feature Release to review the changes through video demonstrations in Clarity.  

• For detailed information about the 2026 Data Standards updates, Data Analysis changes, Reporting updates, release dates, and links to additional documentation, please check out our Help Center article on the changes. Please keep in mind that how these changes are rolled out may vary across communities. HMIS is designed to be flexible, so local priorities will determine how these updates are customized for your specific system. 

Reporting Impacts: 

• Canned Pentaho Reports: Federal, General, and Custom reports will be updated to align with the 2026 Data Standards. Federal Reports will be aligned with 2026 Data Standards and relevant Reporting Specifications by 10/01/2025. General and Custom reports will follow.  
• Looker Reports: Please review any local Looker reports that may be affected by the 2026 Data Standards changes and make any necessary updates. Familiarizing yourself with these new standards is the first step.
   

Federal Reporting - Upcoming LSA

The 2025 federal reporting season is approaching! Prep for two of HUD’s major CoC reports will start soon: the Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) and System Performance Measures (SPM).  

HUD’s Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) is a report submitted to HUD annually that includes a complex analysis across key projects participating in the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS). The LSA replaced the Annual Homeless Assessment Report’s (AHAR) data component in the 2018 reporting year.    

HUD’s System Performance Measures (SPM) focus on evaluating local homeless responses as a coordinated system of homeless assistance options. This data is reported to HUD annually and includes key indicators of a high performing system including length of time homeless, exits to permanent housing, returns to homelessness, and more.     

What Can Your Agency Do to Prepare for LSA and System Performance Measures?    

The Bitfocus team may reach out to verify or correct data about your program and/or clients. Please look out for those emails and respond promptly. We truly appreciate all of the hard work your community does to maintain data that is complete, accurate, and timely!   

You can review the data by doing the following:  

1. Run the [HUDX-225] HMIS Data Quality Report for the period 10/1/24 to 9/30/25 (you'll find this report in the Clarity Human Services Report Library under HUD Reports). Correct records with errors, paying special attention to any element that shows over a 5% error rate (remember, clicking on a number will give you a list of clients being counted in that number). Want more information on what gets counted in this report? Check out our Help Center article: [HUDX-225] HMIS Data Quality Report  
2. Run the [GNRL-106] Program Roster for the period 10/1/24 to 9/30/25 (this report is under Program Based Reports) and make sure household groups are correct (households are separated by bold lines. Clients not separated by lines are grouped together in a household). If clients are grouped together incorrectly, contact the Helpdesk to get them corrected. Some measures only count heads of household, so it's important that households be configured correctly!  Check out our Help Center article: [GNRL-106] Program Roster 
3. Run the [GNRL-220] Program Details Report for the period 10/1/24 to 9/30/25 (this report is under Program Based Reports) and review the following:   
   1. Date of Birth: Some measures only count adults, so it's important that dates of birth be as accurate as possible.  
   2. Housing Move-in Date: Make sure this date is on or between the client’s project start and exit dates, otherwise it will look like clients were never housed by your project!   
   3. Income and Non-Cash Benefits: Be sure these are/were updated before client exit. Increase in income/benefits is one of the areas in which communities are measured.  
   4. Living Situation (including prior residence and length of time homeless): Make sure these fields are as complete as possible with no "Client doesn’t know," "Client Prefers not to Answer," or "Data not collected" values when possible. These elements impact measures around entries from homelessness.   
   5. Exit Destination: Avoid choosing "Client doesn’t know," " Client Prefers not to Answer," or "Data not collected" values whenever possible. This element impacts measures around returns to homelessness.   
   6. Review Bed Inventories and Utilization rates for accuracy. Ensure an accurate number of beds and units are listed throughout the year for your shelter and housing programs. Utilization rates should be between 90-105%. For Night-by-night (NbN) Shelters, please resolve any missing exits or abandoned enrollments.  

Thanks in advance for your partnership in making sure that our community’s data is as accurate as possible.   

 
What Else Should You Know About LSA and SPM Preparation?    

The best people to review the data are program managers and key staff who work in the programs. There is overlap with the LSA and SPM timeline and relevant data. Your work on this will benefit both reports, and more broadly, your CoC.    

Feature Releases: October 2025 Clarity HMIS Updates 

Clarity has released several new features and updates in the October 2025 feature release for Clarity Human Services. Most updates are focused on implementing the new 2026 Data Standards.  

Some key updates include: 

• New Screens and Templates: New screens such as HMIS General Screens and Clarity Screens have been introduced to accommodate the new standards. 

Additional Updates  

• Update: Deleting a Portal User (Customer Portal)  

• Update: Operational API: Relation to Head of Household 

• Looker Update: Additional Fields Exposed 

• Update: Tracked Characteristic Card/Updated Assessment 

• Update: Community Queue Logic Update 

• Update: Default Site Address Update (INVENTORY) 

For more information, check out the release details here.   

 Reminders from our HelpDesk Team

When reporting issues with the Clarity Canned reports, please be sure to include:

• Name of the Report
• Parameters used to run the report (Name of the agency, program, time frame, etc.) 

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Reminder - Client Confidentiality/Privacy:

• As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain the confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (E.g., name, SSN, DOB, etc.) , we kindly remind you to use only the Clarity Unique Identifier (UID) when submitting requests, emails, chats, tickets, reports, unsecured files, etc. to our HelpDesk. The UID can be found on the client's profile screen within our system.
• Additionally, please ensure to block out PII from any screenshots, reports, or files you send to us.
• Using the UID  instead of personal information helps us ensure your data remains secure and protected.

Support Tip: Please Create a New Ticket for Each New Request

• To help us serve you better and ensure each support need is easy to track and review later, we kindly ask that you create a new ticket for each new issue or question, rather than replying to an old or resolved ticket.
  • How to create a new ticket:
    • Simply send a new email to marin@bitfocus.com
    • This helps our team respond more efficiently and ensures your request gets the attention it deserves. 

Upcoming Events

October HMIS Agency Leads Meeting  | October 10th, 2025 2-3PM (register here)

We will be discussing topics such as community initiatives, trainings, client privacy and security, program and data management, and much more!

Want more details?

Check out our full events calendar.

Bitfocus is Hiring

Join our Team!

• Visit bitfocus.com | Jobs | About | Bitfocus  

• Work with us at Bitfocus! Join a team committed to innovation, collaboration, and real-world impact in human services.  

Questions?

Your HMIS Administrators are happy to help.

Phone: 415-429-1400

Email: marin@bitfocus.com