Rubric

Single Adults Scorecard Rubric

The Single Adults Quality Data Scorecard Rubric is crafted to provide the clarity and direction needed to achieve a “yes” across all questions of the scorecard, ultimately steering towards the foundational goal of achieving Quality Data for this population of individuals experiencing homelessness. Quality Data standards are at the heart of efforts for communities aiming to achieve functional zero, serving as the critical linchpin in accurately understanding and effectively addressing homelessness in communities. 

Quality Data transcends mere numbers; it encapsulates a holistic view of the individuals and circumstances within the homeless response system, offering insights and guiding strategic decisions towards ending homelessness. This rubric aims not only to illuminate the path to achieving Quality Data but also to foster a shared commitment to the precision, reliability, and integrity of our data practices.

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How to use the rubric

This rubric serves as a resource to identify the thresholds of a Quality Data system and lays down a roadmap of indicators for each scorecard question to help communities transition from their starting point to maintaining excellence in data quality. Quality Data indicators (the initial and advanced thresholds) have been developed for each scorecard question to help define what it means to get to “Yes.” This rubric will be updated periodically as we continue to refine our understanding of population by-name data. 

The scorecard rubric can be reviewed in conjunction with the corresponding toolkit section to help determine if your community meets the Quality Data threshold, and if not, how to make progress in that area. A PDF of the rubric can be found here.

1A – Outreach Coverage

Is the geographic coverage of your outreach clearly mapped out, informed by your data and regularly assessed, to ensure you are able to reach all unsheltered individuals within your community?

1B – Outreach Coverage

Have you coordinated your outreach, ensuring that your outreach teams are deployed at the locations and the times that they are most likely to effectively engage with unsheltered homeless individuals, while minimizing duplication between providers?

1C – Outreach Coverage

Do you have a documented outreach policy that clearly states how your outreach teams will be deployed and how they work with each other to swiftly connect individuals to their self-determined needs?

1D – Outreach Coverage

Do you have consistent, coordinated and reliable outreach and in-reach efforts across your geographic coverage area that gives you confidence that at least 90% of the unsheltered population is captured in your by-name dataset?

2A – Provider Participation

Are 90% of CoC-funded and non-CoC-funded providers reporting data into your by-name dataset?

2B – Provider Participation

Are approximately 90-100% of single adults experiencing homelessness served by the providers reporting into your by-name dataset? 

3A – Provider Participation

Is your by-name dataset able to collect data on all single adults experiencing homelessness in your community, including unsheltered individuals living in a place not meant for human habitation (e.g., street, cars, campsites, beaches, deserts, or riverbeds)?

3B – Provider Participation

Is your by-name dataset able to collect data on all single adults experiencing homelessness in your community, including individuals in shelters, safe havens, seasonal overflow beds, hotels paid for by homeless providers, or Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) beds?

3C – Provider Participation

Is your by-name dataset able to collect data on all single adults experiencing homelessness in your community, including individuals in transitional housing, including VA-funded Transitional Housing?

3D – Provider Participation

Is your by-name dataset able to collect data on all single adults experiencing homelessness in your community, including individuals fleeing domestic violence?

4A – Inactivity

Has your community established a written policy that specifies the number of days of inactivity (i.e., the person cannot be located) after which a person’s status will be changed to “inactive,” and which includes protocols to attempt to locate an individual before they are moved to inactive status?

4B – Inactivity

Does that written policy account for changing an individual’s status to “‘inactive’” based on a client’s verified absence from the community before the specified number of days has elapsed? (e.g., reunited with family in a different community, death, etc.)

4C – Inactivity

Does that written policy account for individuals on your list who are entering an institution (e.g., jail or hospital) where they are expected to remain for fewer than 90 days?

5 – Tracking Unassessed

Does your community have a way to track actively homeless individuals (i.e., single adults experiencing homelessness) who have not consented to services and/or assessment at this time?

6 – By-Name Data Management

Does your community have policies and protocols in place for keeping your by-name dataset up to date and accurate, including timelines for provider data submission and ongoing quality assurance protocol?

7 – Tracking List Statuses

Does your community’s by-name dataset track the “homeless/housed status” of all individuals, including the date each status was last changed and the previous status? Homeless status fields should include at minimum: homeless, inactive, and permanently housed.

8 – By-Name Data Management

Does your community’s by-name dataset include a unique identifier (e.g., an HMIS ID) for each individual to prevent duplication of client records and facilitate coordination between providers?

9 – Tracking List Statuses

Does your by-name dataset track the total number of newly identified (not necessarily assessed) individuals experiencing homelessness every month? This figure represents a portion of your monthly inflow.

10 – Tracking List Statuses

Does your community’s by-name dataset track individuals returning to active homeless status within the past month?

11A – Tracking List Statuses

Does your community’s by-name dataset track individuals as they move out of active homeless status, including those who move into permanent housing?

11B – Tracking List Statuses

Does your community’s by-name dataset track individuals as they move out of active homeless status, including those who become inactive, per your inactive policy?

11C – Tracking Population-Based Statuses

Does your community’s by-name dataset track individuals as they move out of active homeless status, including those who no longer meet the population criteria of single adult?

12A – Tracking Population-Based Statuses

Does your community’s by-name dataset track population-based statuses, including: veteran, chronic, youth, and family with minor children?

12B – Tracking Population-Based Statuses

Can your by-name dataset track people with multiple population-based statuses (e.g., chronic homeless status AND veteran status)?

12C – Tracking List Statuses

Can your by-name dataset track historical changes in activity status (e.g., active to inactive, active to housed, etc.)?

12D – Tracking Population-Based Statuses

Can your by-name dataset track individuals who become chronically homeless after they are added to your single adults list?

12E – Tracking Population-Based Statuses

Can your by-name dataset track individuals who are initially assigned chronic or veteran status when they enter your system but later do not meet the criteria for these population statuses?

13A – Race Equity

Does your community have a way to report race and ethnicity data on the individuals in the by-name dataset for the purpose of analyzing system outcomes?

13B – Race Equity

Does your data collection policy and process around race and ethnicity respect the self-identification of clients?

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We want to hear from you! Let us know if you have specific feedback, comments, or questions about the material on this page.

Submit Questions or Feedback

We want to hear from you! Let us know if you have specific feedback, comments, or questions about the material on this page.