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WellSky | Community Services Built for Zero Report Suite
September 12, 2024The WellSky Community Services Built for Zero (BFZ) v2024 report suite aims to provide communities with sufficient person-level and aggregate data to understand each person’s journey through your homeless response system. This information can be used for multiple purposes, including to aid case conferencing, create a by-name list, better understand inflow and outflow, or flag potential data quality issues. These reports are compatible with the WellSky Community Services HMIS system and utilize HUD standard data elements.
The author of these reports is Elizabeth Lockley and they were created in conjunction with the BFZ Data Coaching Team. If you have any questions, please contact the BFZ Data Support Team at bfzdatasupport@community.solutions or submit feedback here. If you are a BFZ participating community, you can also contact your Data Coach about questions related to the v2024 BFZ Report Suite. The 2024 version of the report was originally released in December 2023 and re-released in June 2024 to reflect minor bug fixes found in the report. All materials included for v2024 on this webpage also apply to v2024.2. More information about the changes made in v2024.2 can be found in the Latest Update section of the report manual.
This webpage is designed to be used as an implementation guide to support communities in the process of setting up and using the WellSky Built for Zero v2024 report suite as part of their day-to-day work. If you are looking for a specific resource please follow this link to see a list of all resources available.
There are two parts to the implementation process, (1) the prerequisites, or initial report setup and validation process and (2) using the reports to conduct regular data quality checks, report BFZ metrics, and create a By-Name List. In addition to following along on this webpage, the Quick Start Guide in the report manual is a great place to start. As questions arise, we will be updating this FAQ.
Prerequisites
👉 The report setup must be completed prior to using the reports for data quality reviews, BFZ reporting, or case conferencing. An ART Ad Hoc license, an HMIS System Admin license, and mapping and query customization skills are required to complete the work of this phase. Most of this work can be done one time. Depending on how often changes occur in your local homeless response system, parts of this phase may need to be revisited.
Mapping the reports
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: 4-8 hours, but can vary widely per community.
- The reports will likely need to be mapped from the templated version to your local system. The templates can be found in the Business Objects Available Reports and Templates Folder (Public Reports → Available Reports and Templates → Unmapped Client Community Templates → Built for Zero Reports). Even though many communities will find the reports have already been automatically mapped to their local public folder (Public Folders → Universe Folder [cmtyname_live_folder] → Community Solutions Custom Reports → Built for Zero 2024 v1) in Community Services, the mapping process is more accurate if completed manually. Detailed instructions on how to map the reports can be found in the Mapping Built for Zero v2024 reports in Business Objects document.
- If you have mapped v2024 and have completed the bug fixes noted in the Latest Updates section of the report manual, there is no significant reason to map v2024.2 of the reports. If you have not yet mapped the v2024 reports, please map v2024.2 of all four reports, found in the Business Objects Available Reports and Templates Folder noted above. Please ensure that you are using the same version (either v2024 or v2024.2) of all four reports.
- An ART Ad Hoc license is required to map the reports.
Customizing the reporting logic
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: 1-5 hours, but can vary widely per community and level of customization.
- There are various aspects of the report suite that can be customized to match local processes, specifically the inactive period. Section A.2 (Report Overview: Inactivity) of the report manual discusses how the inactive status is set up in the report and this document Customizing the Built for Zero v2024 reports in Business Objects includes video tutorials on various customizations, including how to change the inactive period from 3 months to immediate.
- An ART Ad Hoc license is required to customize the report queries.
Reporting Group
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: >1 hour, but can vary widely per community.
- Setting up a reporting group that pulls in system-wide data is a critical step to using this report. Section A.1 (Report Overview: Selecting a reporting group) of the report manual discusses how to set up the correct reporting group and how to set up the report parameters. Training Module 1: Report overview provides additional detail.
- An HMIS System Administrator license is required for setting up a reporting group.
Report Validation
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: 3-8 hours, but can vary widely per community.
- Once the reports have been mapped and customized, if needed, and the reporting group has been set up, you are ready to validate the report output. Training Module 1: Report overview provides tips for how to validate the report to ensure it is pulling in accurate, system-wide data.
- We recommend re-validating the reports after any customizations to ensure the reporting logic was not unintentionally changed.
- An HMIS System Administrator license is required for viewing system-wide data in the report outputs. This video provides instructions for scheduling the reports so that they can be sent to Business Objects users without System Administrator licenses.
Using the reports for regular data quality checks, reporting BFZ metrics, and creating a BNL
👉 Once the prerequisite steps are complete, the reports can be used for regular data quality checks, reporting BFZ metrics, and creating a BNL. We recommend regularly using the report to monitor data quality, at least monthly. The data quality monitoring and corrections should be completed at least 24 hours before using the reports to pull monthly active, inflow, and outflow metrics, to ensure accurate data is reported.
Using the reports for regular data quality checks
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: 2-6 hours, but can vary widely per community and current HMIS data quality.
- We recommend setting up a data quality plan to support your monthly process. This webinar introduces a data quality monitoring tool (Excel, Google sheets) that will help you stay organized.
- The Newly Housed and Inactive Clients Exiting (NHICE) report is designed for data quality monitoring by identifying individuals that have exited to a housed or inactive destination, but are still showing up as active due to remaining open project enrollments. Among other things, the report also identifies individuals that have been left open in a project enrollment when their Head of Household has been exited. For more details on how this report can be used to monitor data quality review Section B.4 (Report Details: Newly Housed Clients and Inactive Exiting (NHICE) Report) of the manual and Training Module 5: Newly Housed and Inactive Clients Exiting Report.
- The Case Conferencing, Inflow, and Outflow reports can be used to identify individuals that are missing a HoH or DOB by filtering on the BFZ Household Type field. Training Module 6: Reporting BFZ Metrics with the reports provides more detail on the BFZ Household Type field.
- The Case Conferencing report can be used to identify potential duplicate records and to review how individuals on the active list are engaging with Coordinated Entry. See Section B.1 (Report Details: Case Conferencing Report) of the manual and review Training Module 2: Case Conferencing Report for more details.
Reporting BFZ metrics
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: 2-3 hours, but can vary widely per community.
- Once any necessary updates and corrections have been made, the reports are ready to be used to report BFZ metrics. Section C (Reporting Built for Zero Metrics) of the manual provides a general overview and Training Module 6: Reporting BFZ Metrics with the reports, goes into more detail. Additional resources are available on the webpage including a guide for creating pivot tables to report BFZ metrics, a guide to using Power Pivot in Excel, and this downloadable Excel tool for generating BFZ metrics, which can be copied and pasted into your Excel report outputs (the functions in this workbook were created in Excel for Microsoft 365 and may not be compatible with other versions).
- In addition to reviewing the materials listed above when reporting BFZ metrics, we also recommend reviewing the following materials:
- Training Module 2: Case Conferencing Report to learn about who is included on the active list and how they are engaging with Coordinated Entry.
- Training Module 3: Inflow Report to learn about who is included in each inflow category.
- Training Module 4: Outflow Report to learn about who is included in each outflow category.
- The Built for Zero Reporting Reference Guide for details on BFZ population and subpopulation definitions.
Creating a By-Name List
Estimated time commitment to complete this step: 4-8 hours, but can vary widely per community.
- The Case Conferencing report can be used as a BNL for case conferencing by filtering or querying the list to review the appropriate group of people. Section B.1 (Report Details: Case Conferencing Report) of the manual and Training Module 2: Case Conferencing Report provides more details about the different tabs in the report and how they can be used in case conferencing. Appendix B of the report manual includes a list of the column names in all reports to help identify which fields can be used for organizing the list.
WellSky Community Services v2024 report suite resource list:
- Feedback form
- BFZ v2024 WellSky | Community Services Report Manual
- BFZ WellSky Report v2024 FAQ
- Mapping Built for Zero v2024 reports in Business Objects
- Customizing Built for Zero v2024 reports in Business Objects
- Scheduling BO Reports
- Data Quality Workshop recording
- BFZ Data Quality Monitoring Tracking Workbook (Excel, Google Sheets)
- [v2024] HOW TO: Creating Pivot Tables to report BFZ Metrics
- Using Power Pivot to Report BFZ Metrics from Excel
- Excel PMT Table inserts v2024
- The Built for Zero Reporting Reference Guide
v2024 Built for Zero Report Training Materials
The following training modules apply to both v2024 and v2024.2 of the report suite and are designed to be viewed at your own pace. We recommend starting with Module 1 and reviewing the others as needed. Please note that all report snapshots used in the training modules are from a fictitious CoC.
Module Name | Topics | Time |
---|---|---|
1. Report overview and Manual Introduction Video Slides (Google Slides) Slides (PDF) | Training overview (0:35) Finding and running the reports (2:00) Report set up and content (7:06) Validating the reporting group (9:19) Manual intro (11:50) | 13 minutes |
2. Case Conferencing report Video Slides (Google Slides) Slides (PDF) | Report overview (0:31) Active list and examples (1:10) Color coding – Active Client Details tab (4:49) Color coding – First Last Entry Exit tab (8:29) Additional report features (11:30) | 14 minutes |
3. Inflow report Video Slides (Google Slides) Slides (PDF) | Report overview (0:28) Inflow categories (1:18) Lookback period and return definition (4:03) Chronic Age-in (6:28) Additional report features (10:14) | 12 minutes |
4. Outflow report Video Slides (Google Slides) Slides (PDF) | Report overview (0:31) Outflow categories (1:11) LOT to housing calculations (5:20) Inactive period (7:16) Additional report features (12:03) | 14 minutes |
5. Newly Housed and Inactive Clients Exiting report Video Slides (Google Slides) Slides (PDF) | Overview (0:31) Review color coding (2:03) How to use the report (6:56) | 10 minutes |
6. Reporting BFZ Metrics with the reports Video Slides (Google Slides) Slides (PDF) | Reporting overview (0:20) Summary tables (1:10) BFZ reporting definitions (4:15) Reporting examples (6:51) | 15 mins |
NOTE: v2024 of this report is updated from v4.11. The v4.11 materials and training calls can be found below.