HMIS Project Management Topics and Tools - OneCPD

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HMIS Project Management Topics and Toolsneighboring communities. In a region with a number of small implementations employing asingle HMIS staff person in each jurisdiction, these staffers of individual implementations canform a particularly valuable support network.National HMIS CommunityHMIS is a national initiative and interacting with the National HMIS community is a small butintegral part of the project manager’s job description. The National HMIS community can be aninvaluable resource, both officially through HUD-Sponsored National Technical Assistanceefforts and unofficially through organizations like the National Human Services DataConsortium (www.nhsdc.org/). However, the national HMIS community also makes demands ona project manager.HUD may invite HMIS project managers to participate in status assessments, trainings, andnational conferences. HMIS project managers are also often asked to provide feedback orcontribute to documents such as this one or to review and adjust their policies to evolvingnational standards. Some communities have been asked to participate as an Annual HomelessAssessment Report sample community, in which case, the project manager will be asked toprepare and provide aggregate client data. Eventually, all communities will be contributing datafor national reports. Responses of local project managers benefit all local implementations. Theyalso enable HUD to understand and report back to Congress about the status of HMIS andhomelessness nationally.General Local Community and the PressA major goal of HMIS in most communities is to gather data at the local level to inform thepublic and policymakers. Thus, releasing aggregate data collected in HMIS is essential toachieving the goals of the project. The data can be released as a report, which can be mailed topolicymakers and stakeholders. Data can also be made available for researchers and the generalpublic on a website. One such website was developed by the CSPTech project in Massachusetts.It allows users to dynamically create a custom report and generate a limited de-identified datasetthat has been extracted and cleaned from the HMIS. 4 In addition, HMIS project managers areoccasionally approached by students and researchers for access to a dataset for research.Decisions about the circumstances under which the data can be released are generally made bythe advisory or governing committee if a policy is not already in place. Appendix 26 is anexample of a data release policy.In order for the valuable information about homelessness to make an impact on the generalpublic, the project manager will want to disseminate findings to the press. Having a pressstrategy should not be limited to the release of a report. Generating public good will towardHMIS can be very useful for sustaining the project financially and politically. Employing aproactive press strategy can be a useful tool to further this end. Also, HMIS is sometimescontroversial, particularly with regard to privacy concerns. Framing in advance how HMIS isperceived is preferable to allowing opponents of HMIS to shape perceptions in the press.4 http://www.csp.umb.edu/Masshelter/44
HMIS Project Management Topics and ToolsA project manager will want to work with the community and involved staff to discuss thesystem using a common message. To assist in this goal, the project manager may want todevelop an HMIS Fact Sheet, FAQs, or talking points. As well, the community may want todesignate a spokesperson to manage communication with the press.When releasing a report, the information about homelessness should rightfully be the focus.However, other opportunities for positive press about the HMIS itself can help raise publicawareness. Potentially newsworthy events include:• The system is implemented at a large agency or in a new town;• A coverage threshold is reached;• Software is chosen;• A large training or conference is held;• A new high-tech feature or advanced intake method is piloted;• A new grant is received;• A particular homeless person is demonstrably helped through HMIS;• A new project manager is hired; or• New programs are funded based on the need for services demonstrated by HMIS data.When one of these events occurs the project manager can write a press release and distribute itvia fax/e-mail to local news organizations or particular reporters. A press release should befollowed up with a phone call. The project manager should consider which news organizationsare most likely to cover what kind of story. For example, local community newspapers arealways seeking stories that have an angle related to the town. Thus, such a publication might bevery interested in a story about HMIS being implemented in the one shelter in the town; but theymay be uninterested in a statewide report that cannot be filtered down to the local level.Homeless street newspapers are often receptive outlets for any HMIS information.An example of a press release can be seen in Appendix 27. The following are standardcomponents of a press release: 5• The release should be on letterhead, or if in email, feature the name of your organization.• The top should contain “For Immediate Release, the date, and contact information byphone. Contacts should be easily reachable. For email releases, contact information maybe on the bottom.• The headline should be catchy but not overblown. If using email, the headline should bethe subject line.• The release should be terse, written like a news story with the most important informationfirst, and should answer “who, what, where, when, why and how”.• The organization should be briefly described in the last paragraph of the release. Awebsite link should appear here or along with the contact information.• End the release with “###,” which indicates the end of copy.The idea of generating press is to present the project positively. Depending on the particularcircumstances, the following are some positive ways of framing HMIS:• HMIS is an effort to better understand the many dimensions of homelessness on thenational and local level in order to more properly address the problem.5 Adapted from Salzman, J. Making the News (Boulder: Westview Press, 2003) 105.45
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