ommunities working toward the quality data milestone and using the WellSky Built for Zero (BFZ) report suite to track population and subpopulation data can use this resource to help identify if their use of the WellSky BFZ report meets the initial quality data threshold for the data infrastructure questions of the single adults scorecard. This is not always a straightforward answer and depends on how the community implemented the report suite, including set up and validation, and how the report suite is used. This resource can also be used to support [TEXT: by-name data management LINK: By-Name Data Management > Tool] documentation.
See below for high-level guidance on what that process should look like:
Built for Zero has developed the WellSky | Community Services Built for Zero Report Suite webpage with resources to support communities through each of these stages.
Quality Data and the WellSky BFZ report
Before considering how the WellSky BFZ report supports your community to track list statuses and population/subpopulation statuses in alignment with the single adults scorecard, your will need to understand the universe of data included in the report. The report outputs will only include data collected by the providers that are in the reporting group selected in the prompts.
The first step is to review how the reporting group compares to the providers listed as part of the provider participation scorecard questions (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D). If there are providers that serve people experiencing homelessness but are not included in the WellSky BFZ report reporting group, additional considerations will need to be made around how those individuals served by those providers are accounted for in the by-name dataset.
| As noted in the WellSky report FAQ, all projects serving folks experiencing literal homelessness and housing projects serving those who had formerly experienced homelessness that were in operation at any point within the lookback period should be included in the reporting group. For example if a two-year lookback period is used and a shelter closed 18 months ago, the shelter should be included in the reporting group. |
Developing a complete picture of your system
If there are providers in your community that are not entering data into HMIS and the individuals served by those providers are not accounted for by other HMIS-participating providers, then the HMIS is an incomplete picture of the system. In such cases, the WellSky BFZ report on its own is not sufficient for meeting the initial quality data threshold for the data infrastructure questions of the Single Adults scorecard. See the scenarios below as examples of the WellSky BFZ report not including comprehensive system data:
- An emergency shelter does not participate in HMIS and many people they serve are not connected to other providers or to coordinated entry.
- A street outreach team keeps an external spreadsheet of those who decline services and does not enter any anonymous record of those individuals into HMIS.
- The local victim service provider collects data in a comparable database and only shares aggregate data to include as part of the BND.
If this is the case for your community, the recommended next steps are:
- Identify what other lists or data sources are used to track people experiencing homelessness in your system.
- Develop workflows to combine non-HMIS datasets with the HMIS dataset pulled into the WellSky BFZ report (for example, manually adding the total number of single adults served by a local victim service provider to the active list pulled from the WellSky BFZ report)
- Develop data entry pathways for individuals served by providers that do not contribute to HMIS to be included in your HMIS data (for example, completing coordinated entry enrollments with those being served by a provider that does participate in HMIS).
Validating the WellSky BFZ report locally
Validating the report outputs can look different depending on the information available in your community. See the WellSky | Community Services Built for Zero Report Suite webpage for more information on how to validate the report. Here are some key tips to keep in mind:
- The report outputs and population/subpopulation active lists should be reviewed with a diverse group of stakeholders (such as a case conferencing group) to ensure the report is not missing folks.
- The reporting group should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure new providers are included as they come online in HMIS.
- The reports should be re-validated after any changes in local workflows or in the report logic.
Further details for the data infrastructure scorecard questions
The table below describes how and if the WellSky BFZ report addresses each of the single adults scorecard data infrastructure questions (#7-13B). Use this table to help determine if your community’s use of the WellSky BFZ report meets the criteria of the single adults scorecard.
| Single Adults Scorecard Questions | |
|---|---|
| #7 | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track and report on a person’s status as of the last day of the reporting month including who is actively experiencing homelessness, inactive, or housed. Local workflows and the reporting group can impact how the report tracks a person’s status and teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials for more details. |
| #8 | The WellSky BFZ report uses HMIS data, which automatically generates and assigns a unique identifier to every person entered into the data system. Additional monitoring to resolve duplicate records should be in place as part of the community’s regular data management protocols. |
| #9 | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track all individuals who are newly identified as experiencing homelessness each month, per the lookback period set up in the report parameters. Local workflows and the reporting group can impact if the report includes individuals who have not been assessed or consented to services and how the report tracks who is newly identified. Teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials for more details. |
| #10 | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track returns to active homelessness during the month in the by-name dataset, per the lookback period set up in the report parameters, and is able to reference the most recent exit data to determine what exit type each person is returning from. Local workflows, the inactive policy, and the reporting group can impact how returns are tracked by the report. Teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials for more details. |
| #11a | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track when a person exits the system to permanent housing each month. Local workflows and the reporting group can impact how the report tracks housing placements and teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials for more details. |
| #11b | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track when a person exits the system to inactive status each month. Local workflows, the inactive policy, and the reporting group will impact if the report logic to track inactivity matches local protocols. Teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials for more details. The report logic can be customized to better fit local workflows. |
| #11c | The WellSky BFZ report is not able to track changes in household type. However, the report outputs can help to identify if someone’s population status has changed over time. A method to track changes in household type using the WellSky BFZ reports should be outlined in the community’s data management practices and processes. |
| #12a | The WellSky BFZ report tracks population and subpopulation reporting categories (including veteran, chronic, youth, and family) using standard HMIS data elements. Teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials to ensure local definitions match the report logic. |
| #12b | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track each population and subpopulation category distinctly. |
| #12c | The WellSky BFZ report is able to track an individual’s historical changes in activity status using past HMIS enrollment data. The report output includes data that identifies the dates of previous episodes of homelessness and the exit destination of the previous episode. The reporting group will impact what enrollment history the report includes. Teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials for more details. |
| #12d | The WellSky BFZ report logic uses HMIS standard data elements (3.917 and 3.08) and enrollment length of time data to identify individuals that become chronically homeless during an episode of homelessness, including the date they become chronic. Teams should review the WellSky BFZ report materials to ensure local chronic verification processes match the report logic. |
| #12e | The WellSky BFZ report is not able to track changes in chronic or veteran status. However, the report outputs can help to identify if someone’s chronic or veteran status has changed over time. A method to track changes in chronic or veteran status using the WellSky BFZ reports in alignment with local chronic and veteran verification protocols should be outlined in the community’s data management practices and processes. |
| #13a | The WellSky BFZ report outputs include the HMIS standard race and ethnicity data elements. The data can be used for analysis purposes. |
| #13b | This question is related to local policies and protocols and the use of the WellSky BFZ report is not sufficient for answering this question. |
The worksheet linked below can be used to compare local definitions to how the WellSky BFZ report processes HMIS data.
