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.