HMIS compliance rates with federal partners, including projects funded by CoC and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), are shockingly high. Those programs have 100% and 98% participation rates, respectively. However, this paints an incomplete picture: HUD compliance does not equal everyone housed within a community.
While HMIS specifications are lengthy, they do not always have every tool needed to improve outcomes for homelessness programs. HMIS software can be siloed from analytics, case management, and billing, without a way to connect the programs. This causes teams to use manual workarounds, which waste time in the day and keep your teams frustrated.
That’s why it’s critical to implement HMIS integrated case management software, which creates a single source of truth that solves many problems found in fragmented systems.
HMIS Compliance for HUD Solves Reporting (Not Homelessness)
Compliance is important, but it doesn’t always get to the root of the problem. HMIS was designed as a local IT system required by HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). It collects client-level data on people experiencing or on the brink of homelessness. This helps the government understand the effectiveness of the local assistance systems they fund.
This helps the government and local communities:
Improve planning and funding decisions
Streamline entry and find more matches for housing resources available
House the most vulnerable people first
However, if used by itself, an HMIS reporting software may not collect all of the information that’s needed for a local nonprofit to help unhoused individuals in their community. Surveys have shown that only 43% of Built for Zero communities think that HMIS software provides all of the information needed.
Many factors indicate when someone could be at risk for homelessness, such as the cost of housing, wages, behavioral health, or re-entry. However, HMIS systems don’t typically track individuals until they are in the system. This makes it difficult to catch at-risk individuals before they enter homelessness.
Without sufficient resources and services to aid unhoused individuals, no amount of reporting can help everyone in need.
5 Day-to-Day Challenges HMIS Systems Don’t Address
While HMIS platforms can be helpful to remain compliant and gain a basic understanding of the needs in your community, they don’t solve common day-to-day challenges. Teams often struggle with the following when working in the trenches of the homelessness crisis.
1. Deep Relationship-Building and Trust
While HMIS can record interactions, it’s not always flexible to meet the needs of each situation. Sometimes, people simply don’t feel comfortable coming into an office or filling out a form online. They need person-to-person interactions.
HMIS integrated case management software offers the flexibility that case managers need to support their clients. They can ensure that clients answer questions in a manner that makes them feel most comfortable.
Plus, when HMIS software is siloed from healthcare, it doesn’t give the provider the full picture of the needs of the client. A homelessness case management system solves this problem, giving each provider all of the details needed to make the right choices for their client’s case plan.
2. Fragmented Case Workflows and Systems
When an HMIS operates on its own platform, staff waste countless hours tracking down critical information via phone or email, and then manually importing it into case management software. With a lack of productivity tools, there are few ways for teams to coordinate who is in charge of each task well.
This leads to staff using shadow systems such as notebooks, Excel, and Google Sheets to manage their workflows. Then, they end up inputting data later for compliance. This can lead to more errors.
3. Lack of Vendor Support and Tracking
An HMIS system tracks enrollments and exits, but it doesn’t necessarily track the vendors you’re working with. CoC programs need enhanced capability to communicate with their service providers. Landlords are key in helping them find affordable housing options. A more robust case management solution can help them track:
Informal and formal agreements
Unit conditions to ensure everyone has access to safe housing
Neighborhood dynamics to help see which placements stick the best
Landlord cooperation with clients that need to be housed quickly
A robust case management solution allows teams to customize what they track themselves, so they can best meet the needs of their unique organization.
4. Limited Visibility Across Programs
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), needs assessment forms, and case summaries all help case workers understand the bigger picture of their client’s needs. However, different programs have different staff and case workers, making it difficult for everyone to come together to see what’s working and what’s not with different programs.
Integrated case management creates a place for every stakeholder to:
Check case notes across programs in one shared record, instead of digging through separate systems or email threads
Flag potential risks early so the right team member can intervene before a crisis
Coordinate next steps in real time, assigning tasks, updating care plans, and tracking follow-through across agencies
With this kind of shared information, teams can see which interventions are helping and save clients who might otherwise get left behind.
5. Staff Burnout and Duplicate Data Entry
Unfortunately, people who dedicate their lives serving the homeless are often expected to do too much in too little time. There has been an 18% increase in homelessness in the last two years, yet agencies are experiencing major staffing shortages.
Workers need tools to ease the administrative workloads of their days that lead to burnout, which include:
Intake and Enrollment: Answer calls and walk-ins, complete screenings and intake forms, update client records, collect and/or scan documentation
Documentation and Case Recording: Write case notes after every contact and update service plans as situations change
Referrals and Housing Paperwork: Complete and submit applications for benefits, landlord paperwork, and referrals
Scheduling and Coordination: Return calls, schedule appointments, participate in meetings, and update partners on status changes (think hospital discharge or shelter exit, etc.)
HMIS Data and Reporting: Run and review data quality reports (and fix errors), enter services, and track outcomes and service milestones for grants.
Without tools to streamline these processes, staff are stuck inputting things manually, which on average only offers about 95% accuracy.
Why HMIS Case Management Software Is the Missing Link in Homelessness Programs
Solving homelessness isn’t just about having enough resources available, which an HMIS program shows. It also requires coordinating the services and resources that lift people out of homelessness.
Case management software helps homelessness programs take the data collected by an HMIS reporting software and act on it. It is unique in that it:
Is Client-Centered: It helps case workers communicate with their clients to define goals and priorities, with tools such as client portals to maintain a steady line of communication
Is Collaborative: It allows case workers, doctors, therapists, family members, and more to assess needs and create plans to help the client thrive
Is Engaging: With dashboards to track attendance, remind case workers to follow up, and acquire more resources as needs arise, it helps manage client churn to ensure no one slips through the cracks
What Integrated HMIS and Case Management Really Looks Like
You don’t have to rely on separate “compliance” and “care” systems. An integrated HMIS and case management platform gives you a clear picture of the needs of your clients and the resources available in your community. Here’s how integrating the two works.
Unified Intake Across Programs
Many organizations offer multiple programs. A single entry process captures the HUD-required elements for your records, but then routes that person to the correct program. This prevents the need for multiple intake forms.
Furthermore, this record can be viewed by anyone with the proper credentials, keeping the client information safe yet accessible to the personnel working with them.
The client portal and digital document builders allow partner agencies to work together, adding data that everyone can use to prevent manual input.
Ongoing Case Plans and Service Tracking
Within the same platform, case managers can create individualized service plans tied to the HMIS enrollment. This way, progress notes and any other updates are connected to the HUD project record without any additional administrative work from team members.
Plus, this helps keep your team audit ready. Every service contact is logged as a transaction, including:
Outreach visits
Meetings and sessions
Classes
Resources provided
Standardizes assessments and forms (SDOH, GAD-7, PHQ-9, needs assessments)
These are automatically updated in dashboards, so everyone is seeing the most up-to-date information.
Referrals and Cross-Agency Coordination
In an integrated system, referrals go beyond emails and voicemails. HMIS case management software creates trackable workflows connecting housing, health, behavioral health, education, and employment around a shared client record.
A single, shared profile follows the client across agencies, so providers see the same core information. Of course, this follows HIPAA, so only the right people are given sensitive information
Referrals are created inside the platform and sent to the right program with relevant information already attached
Closed-loop feedback is built in: when a referral results in an intake, appointment, or housing placement, that outcome is captured and shown in the case plan. If the referral is never completed, the system can alert case workers to ensure it’s looked into further to address the problem
Cross-system partners use the same coordination loop through data-sharing agreements. This makes it easier to line up housing help with tutoring, jobs, and healthcare instead of treating each as a separate solution
HMIS case management turns referrals from one-way hand-offs into an accountable process where people engage and move forward.
Real-Time Reporting for HUD, State, and Local Needs
Real-time reporting and analytics can be a powerful tool to apply to grant applications, and to show leadership of your team’s progress in service goals.
Case management software allows you to take information from HMIS and use it paired with case plans. Additionally, you can generate tailored reports specific to each funder.
It also makes required reporting much faster. HUD reports (APR, LSA, PIT/HIC, SPMs) can be generated with far less manual clean-up.
How Integrated Case Management Improves Outcomes for Communities
Integrated case management aligns people, programs, and data around a shared plan instead of letting each service operate in a silo. This allows providers to connect the dots and solve interconnected problems.
Outcomes are improved through:
Housing Stability: Studies show that case management improves homelessness outcomes for people with additional support needs.
Coordinated Support: Integrated case management coordinates housing, healthcare, behavioral health, income, and legal support. People have one plan rather than a maze of disconnected programs
Lower Administrative Burden and Crisis Costs: Software streamlines data entry, freeing up time for staff to focus on case planning. Case management helps catch people struggling before they fall into a crisis, leading to fewer emergency and psychiatric crises
Stronger Data for Funding and Policy: Case management software collects more data than an HMIS system, creating a resource that captures every point along the case management lifecycle
Revitalize Your HMIS and Case Management With PlanStreet
PlanStreet’s purpose-built system was created with HMIS needs in mind. It goes above and beyond to stay compliant and help you improve the day-to-day workflows at your nonprofit.
PlanStreet supports housing nonprofits through:
HMIS Compliance: Pre-built forms that mirror HUD, FedRAMP ready hosting, and HUD report generation (like CoC APR and ESG CAPER) in a few clicks
End-to-End Case Management: HMIS intake is turned into a full case file, creating a backbone for assessments, case plans, service notes, tasks, and follow-up activities in one record
Configurable Workflows and Reporting: Nonprofits can customize workflows for intake, assessment, referrals, service delivery, and follow-up to match their requirements
PlanStreet in Action: WHEDco
The Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) implemented PlanStreet to centralize client records, integrate program management, and create custom workflows.
This led to:
Enhanced program monitoring
Increased staff efficiency
Better program outcomes
PlanStreet’s platform enhanced WHEDco’s ability to deliver exceptional, coordinated care to families and youth in the greater Bronx.
Moving Beyond Compliance Toward Lasting Impact
HMIS compliance is only the first step in nonprofit work. An integrated case management system helps you go beyond and improve your systems, creating a single ecosystem for all providers to care for their clients, together.
Learn more about how PlanStreet can elevate the work you’re already doing in homelessness services and schedule a demo with our team today.