2023 (FY 2024) MN HMIS Data Element Changes and Feedback Results

The results for this year's MN HMIS Universal and Program Specific Data Element changes are in! Minnesota HMIS Data Element Changes for 2023 (FY 2024) will take effect on October 1st, 2023. The timing of the MN changes will align with the FY 2024 HUD HMIS Data Standards Changes. To prepare users for these upcoming changes, we want to provide a summary of the changes and information on when to expect training and materials to be updated.

A message from the co-chairs of the Policies & Prioritization Committee: 

Thank you all for your feedback on Minnesota’s Universal Data Elements! These data elements apply to all households that are entered into HMIS in the state of Minnesota, and a regular review of their content and use is a critical part of our work as HMIS stakeholders and partners in Minnesota’s efforts to end homelessness. The Policy and Prioritization Committee (P&P) is responsible for carrying out this review every two years, but the feedback of end users and community partners informs that review.  

After the success of the 2021 Data Elements review, we again solicited broader participation in the P&P committee meeting where the proposed data element changes were discussed but moved P&P member voting until the following meeting. This allowed time for additional information gathering as well providing an opportunity to more intentionally consider the implications of changes made to our universal data elements. We are grateful to all who took the time to participate in this process and look forward to identifying how this process can continue to improve. The review of our statewide data elements must be transparent and driven by the experience of those collecting and entering this data, and the data we collect must be meaningful in our efforts to end homelessness, with shared accountability to the households experiencing homelessness that we serve. 

Summary of changes to MN's Universal Data Elements: 

Below is a brief summary of the changes that P&P voted on in the June 14th meeting. If you are not as familiar with the current MN Universal Data Elements and want to refer to a list when reviewing these changes, we recommend having the MN Data Elements List open, which will contain question text, answer options, rationale, and other pertinent information regarding the data element.  

Data elements that will be edited:  

• M1 Tribal Membership: If Native American, of which tribe are you an enrolled member? - approved to update drop-down menu to include an option for "Not applicable" 

• 4.11 Domestic Violence question series - Clarify language. The following language changes were approved in consultation with Violence Free Minnesota: 

  • “Have you ever experienced domestic violence?”

    • Change to: "Is the client a victim/survivor of domestic violence?" 

  • “If yes for domestic violence victim/survivor, when did the experience occur?”

    • No change 

  • “If yes for domestic violence victim/survivor, are you currently fleeing?”

    • Change to: "If yes for domestic violence victim/survivor, is the client currently fleeing?" 

Data elements that will be retired:  

• COVID-19 Sub-assessment - Approved removing the COVID-19 Sub-assessment. Agencies will be able to add the sub-assessment by request. 

Summary of changes to State Program-Specific Data Elements: 

These changes only impact the specific State Homeless Programs listed below. If a State Homeless Program is not listed below, then there are no changes expected for their program-specific data elements. 

MN Housing LTH, DHS LTHSSF, and DHS Housing Support 

Data elements that will be retired:  

• Previous Stable Housing 

DHS LTHSSF and DHS Housing Support 

Data elements that will be retired:   

• The Matrix 

MN Housing LTH 

• Client Residence Sub-Assessment 

MN Housing FHPAP and Homework Starts with Home 

Data elements that will be retired:   

• Application Submission Date 

• Health Insurance Sub-Assessment 

• Non-Cash Benefits Sub-Assessment 

• Percent of Income Spent on rent 

What comes next?  

All changes will take effect in HMIS at the start of the 2024 Federal Fiscal Year, on October 1, 2023.  

ICA will begin releasing training materials in the months leading up to the October 1st, 2023 changes and will be populating the FY 2024 HMIS Data Standards Changes website as we release materials, so please bookmark the page now! Data Collection Forms and HMIS User Guides will be updated by October 1, 2023. 

Please reach out with questions to ICA’s helpdesk at mnhmis@icalliances.org.