HMIS Newsletter: February 2026


Announcements

 

Cal AIM Resources Now Available

We are excited to announce that the CalAIM Housing Deposit HMIS workflow is officially live!  This training is essential for any staff responsible for tracking and invoicing housing deposit services for Medi-Cal members via the Central California Alliance for Health. You can find the recorded training and additional materials on the Santa Cruz Bitfocus website under the Training & Resources Tab.

 

System Performance Measures Submitted!

The Bitfocus team is thrilled to announce that Santa Cruz County has submitted the FY 2025 System Performance Measures (SPM) on February 25, 2026 well ahead of the March 4, 2026 deadline. Federal reporting is a massive undertaking, and we couldn’t have done it without your responsiveness. Thank you for your hard work and for keeping our data quality top-tier. We appreciate you!


Federal Reporting Updates

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Point-in-Time Count & Housing Inventory Count

First and foremost: thank you! To every staff, volunteer, and client that helped with the 2026 PIT Count, your dedication is the backbone that will help us end homelessness in our community.  

 

Action Required: Data Quality Phase

We have officially moved into the Data Quality phase for the Housing Inventory Count (HIC) and Point-in-Time (PIT) report. Our focus now shifts to Utilization Rates—ensuring that the number of people served on the night of the PIT matches the capacity of our HMIS programs. 

What this means for Agency Leads: If you manage Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, RRH, PSH, or OPH programs, please keep a close eye on your inbox. We are currently flagging programs with significantly HIGH or LOW utilization

If you receive a flag, we need your help to resolve it by:  

  • Providing a detailed explanation for the utilization discrepancy.
  • Updating Bed and Unit Inventory if your program capacity has changed.
  • Cleaning up client data, specifically ensuring all missing exit dates and housing move-in dates are recorded.

 

Questions?

Accurate data ensures our community receives the funding and resources it deserves. If you need a hand navigating these updates, please reach out directly to santacruz@bitfocus.com. Thanks in advance for your help in making sure that our community’s data is as accurate as possible. 


Help Desk Reminders

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1. Canned Report Issues  
When submitting tickets for Clarity Canned Reports, include: 

  • Report Name 
  • Parameters Used (Agency, program, date range, etc.) 

 2. PII Reminder: Use UID Only 
To maintain client confidentiality and data security: 

  • Use only the Clarity Unique Identifier (UID) in all communications (emails, tickets, chats). 
  • Block out all PII (names, SSN, DOB, etc.) from screenshots and files sent to us. 

3. Support Tip: New Ticket Per Issue 
We are continuing to see users replying to or reopening old tickets. To help us support you faster and more efficiently, please submit all new requests by sending a new email to santacruz@bitfocus.com.

❗Please do not reply to or reopen old tickets. Each request MUST be submitted as a new ticket so it can be properly tracked and assigned. 


Data Quality Dashboard

 

Please see below for the agency-level data quality dashboard and report content updates. This is updated monthly check it out here.

 


Upcoming Events

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Housing for Health - HMIS Office Hours | March 23, 2026 at 1-2:30PM | Register here

Housing for Health and Bitfocus host office hours every fourth Monday of each month (in lieu of HMIS Workgroup meetings). Drop-in for as long or as short as you’d like to ask any and all questions related to the HMIS. All users are welcome. Please join us within the first 15 minutes or we will assume nobody will be joining us for Office Hours

 

Want more details?

Check out our full events calendar.

 


Bitfocus is Hiring

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Join our Team!

  • Work with us at Bitfocus! Join a team committed to innovation, collaboration, and real-world impact in human services.  

Questions?

Your HMIS Administrators are happy to help.

Phone: 831-713-2288

Email: santacruz@bitfocus.com