California Continuums of Care and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Vendors: Who They Are and Next Steps

The table below provides a breakdown of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) vendors for California Continuums of Care (CoCs). The table at the end of this report lists the name of the HMIS vendor for each California CoC.[1]

Table 1. Breakdown of HMIS software vendors for California CoCs

HMIS Software Vendor Number Percent
Bitfocus, Inc

14

35.0

Mediware

14

35.0

Eccovia Solutions

6

15.0

Bell Data Systems, Inc.

4

10.0

Social Solutions

1

2.5

Adsystech

1

2.5

Total:

40

100

Bitfocus, Inc., which provides CoCs with the Clarity Human Services Homeless Management Information System, and Mediware, which provides ServicePoint, service 70% of all California CoCs. Eccovia Solutions, which provides ClientTrack, and Bell Data Systems, Inc., which provides Client Services Network, service 25% of all California CoCs. Lastly, Social Solutions, which provides Efforts To Outcomes (EtO) and Adsystech, which provides Enginuity, service the remaining 5%.

Next Steps

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently provided a Data Strategy for CoCs to best use HMIS to accomplish the ultimate goal of ending homelessness in their jurisdictions. The strategy emphasizes data quality and accuracy, system-level data analysis, and project-level data analysis. HUD has also produced new reports and tools to help CoCs fulfill the strategy.

As a result, the software that HMIS vendors provide should be aligned with the strategy to end local homelessness for each of the CoCs that they serve. Helping ensure that CoCs are compliant with HUD’s standards for data collection, management, and reporting standards is important. Helping CoCs to collect complete and accurate data, to seamlessly share data in real time, to develop the capacity to analyze data at system and project levels, and to evaluate their efforts, including real-time bed availability assessment and assignment, is imperative.

HUD has been working to standardize communication between HMIS vendors, CoC HMIS lead agencies, and system administrators. The purpose of the 2017 HMIS Data Dictionary is to help HMIS vendors and HMIS lead agencies identify the data elements required by HUD and to help with understanding the function and specific use of each element. The 2018 HMIS Data Standards Manual aims to help CoCs, HMIS Lead Agencies, HMIS System Administrators, and HMIS Users “understand the data elements that are required in an HMIS to meet participation and reporting requirements established by HUD and the federal partners.”

As a result, HUD states that HMIS software

“must be able to collect all the data elements defined within these HMIS Data Standards, support the system logic identified in the HMIS Data Dictionary, and ensure that the visibility of data elements is appropriate to the Project Type and Federal Partner Funding Sources for any given project.”

HUD notes that

“There are many software products on the market that communities across the county have chosen to use as their HMIS. Each product has unique features and was built to meet the different data collection needs of each community.”

and that

“Each software vendor should provide the guidance, support, and documentation necessary for the CoC to understand the system they are using.”

HUD also notes that

“Communities may elect to add data elements or maintain historical data element collection beyond what is specified in the Data Standards as long as it does not impact the ability of the CoC to accurately collect and report on the required data elements. In these cases, HMIS Leads should work directly with their HMIS vendors to meet their individual needs.”

Thus, each HMIS software vendor should be providing each CoC served with a customizable software system that helps CoCs fulfill the data strategy by effectively providing housing and services systemically. Each CoC should ensure that they have what is needed from their HMIS software vendor to do so and receive any technical assistance necessary.

HUD may provide future one-time funding directed towards solving persistent HMIS issues. If provided, CoCs with such issues would have an opportunity to apply for this limited funding on a competitive basis. If awarded, a CoC would be able to enhance its capacity to measure its progress towards the ultimate goal of ending local homelessness by resolving persistent HMIS issues.

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Table 2. Name of HMIS software vendor for each California CoC

2017
Continuum of Care

Name of HMIS

Software Vendor

CA-500 San Jose/Santa Clara City & County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-501 San Francisco CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-502 Oakland, Berkeley/Alameda County CoC Mediware
CA-503 Sacramento City & County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-504 Santa Rosa, Petaluma/Sonoma County CoC Social Solutions
CA-505 Richmond/Contra Costa County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-506 Salinas/Monterey, San Benito Counties CoC Mediware
CA-507 Marin County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-508 Watsonville/Santa Cruz City & County CoC Mediware
CA-509 Mendocino County CoC Eccovia Solutions
CA-510 Turlock, Modesto/Stanislaus County CoC Eccovia Solutions
CA-510 Stockton/San Joaquin County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-512 Daly City/San Mateo County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-513 Visalia/Kings, Tulare Counties CoC Eccovia Solutions
CA-514 Fresno City & County/Madera County CoC Mediware
CA-515 Roseville, Rocklin/Placer, Nevada Counties Mediware
CA-516 Redding/Shasta County CoC Mediware
CA-517 Napa City & County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-518 Vallejo/Solano County CoC Meidware
CA-519 Chico, Paradise/Butte County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-520 Merced City & County CoC Mediware
CA-521 Davis, Woodland/Yolo County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-522 Humboldt County CoC Mediware
CA-523 Colusa, Glen, Trinity Counties CoC*
CA-524 Yuba City/Sutter County CoC Bell Data Systems, Inc.
CA-525 El Dorado County CoC Bell Data Systems, Inc.
CA-526 Tuolumne, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa Counties CoC Bell Data Systems, Inc.
CA-527 Tehama County CoC Bitfocus, Inc.
CA-529 Lake County CoC*
CA-530 Alpine, Inyo, Mono Counties CoC*
CA-600 Los Angeles City & County CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-601 San Diego City and County CoC Mediware
CA-602 Santa Ana, Anaheim/Orange County CoC Adsystech
CA-603 Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County CoC Mediware
CA-604 Bakersfield/Kern County CoC Eccovia Solutions
CA-606 Long Beach CoC Mediware
CA-607 Pasadena CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-608 Riverside City & County CoC Eccovia Solutions
CA-609 San Bernardino City & County CoC Eccovia Solutions
CA-611 Oxnard, San Buenaventura/Ventura County CoC Mediware
CA-612 Glendale CoC Bitfocus, Inc
CA-613 Imperial County CoC Mediware
CA-614 San Luis Obispo County CoC Bell Data Systems, Inc.

[1] The information for the tables was taken from section 2A-5 in each California CoCs 2017 Continuum of Care Program application.

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