HMIS Project Management Topics and Tools - OneCPD

HMIS Project Management Topics and Toolstraining, staffing, and overhead. Some of the operating costs are relatively straightforward andattributable to specific agencies, such as licensing costs. Other costs, like personnel costs, may bemore difficult to pro-rate. One suggestion is to conduct a short-term or long-term time trackingsystem for existing agencies in order to determine, on average, how much time staff is spendingwith agencies. Once that is done, it may be helpful to note whether or not more time is spent withlarger agencies and less time with smaller ones. If so, the cost structure could be dividedaccording to agency size—small, medium, and large—with smaller agencies getting charged lessfor project management, technical assistance and training. Hosting costs for each agency can bedetermined by dividing the project’s total hosting costs by the number of active licenses and thenallocating a cost to each agency based on the number of licenses being used. Central serverhardware and software costs (including anticipated hardware and software costs) can be allocatedin the same fashion. Overhead costs include items such as space and supplies. Administrationcosts, if you choose to include these, will vary. Many organizations have a standard rate that theycharge.Once the “per unit” costs have been documented, the Continuum can determine whether and howit should charge individual agency participants. Nationally, communities have adopted manydifferent models including: flat agency fees, flat user fees, fees based on the number of users(typically using a scale), fees based on size of agency budgets, or fees based on the number ofclients served nightly/annually. The fee structure should be uniform and incorporated into thescope of services and/or contract. Cincinnati’s fee schedule, which is based on the size of anAgency’s annual budget, is included in Appendix 14. This example also documents what theagencies receive in return.Information to Collect and Track About Each Participating ProviderProject managers will need to maintain records about each program and agency participating inHMIS. Each participating provider file might include:• Current, executed contract;• An up-to-date document certifying that the program is complying with all of the privacyand security standards as well as data entry requirements (see next sub-section andrelated appendices on Site Monitoring);• Current list of trained and authorized users that specifies names, positions, and accesslevels;• Agency and Program Information Forms, including the type of programs and the numberof beds or units;• Verification of fee payment, if applicable;• Documentation of hardware/software stipends, if applicable;• Contact Log with documentation of significant communication, concerns, decisions, andmonitoring results; and• Copies of signed user agreements.Before an agency or user joins an HMIS project, the project manager needs to make sure that allof the required documentation is in place. Project managers should set up a regular schedule forcontacting sites to inquire whether or not any changes have occurred to the information that has24