Data Quality: Submission Portal is Open and Data Clean-Up
Quarterly Data Quality Submission Portal is Open
The Quarterly Data Quality (QDQ) Submission portal is now open. Agencies using HMIS should have the data from Quarter 4 entered into HMIS and can now start running the QDQ Report to check on the quality of the data. Over the coming weeks, agencies in HMIS may be asked more than once to clean up some data. There are multiple federal reports and the regular Quarterly Data Quality report that contribute to this request. Find out more about the portal and data clean-up by clicking below.
The Quarterly Data Quality (QDQ) Submission portal is now open. It will remain open until midnight on February 12, 2024. Agencies using HMIS should have the data from quarter 4 (October 1, 2023-December 31, 2023) entered into HMIS. Agencies can now start running the QDQ Report to check on the quality of the data and submitting scores to the portal.
Remember, it is always the last submission before the deadline that is counted as the final submission. If an agency submits scores three times, the first two are not considered the final one.
Data Quality: Clean Up and QDQ
The Point-in-Time (PIT) count took place on January 24, 2024. Many agencies and volunteers prepare for that night when an annual count of all people experiencing homelessness on a single night is completed across the state. Many people are aware that the PIT count is a snapshot of the homelessness situation in the state. What some people may not be aware of is that there are four federal reports that ICA and CoCs work on to give a broader, more complete picture of who the families and individuals are who navigate the existing support systems and how effective the navigation is.
In the past few months ICA has conducted targeted data quality outreach to agencies around the Longitudinal System Analysis (LSA) report and the System Performance Measures (SPM) report. Right now, we are beginning outreach for data quality that will help with the PIT count and the Housing Inventory Count (HIC). All of these data clean up processes (the LSA, the SPM, the PIT, and the HIC) contribute to a clearer, more accurate picture of the state of homelessness in Minnesota and the country.
One bright spot to keep in mind for anyone involved in data entry in HMIS is that the quality of data in Minnesota is quite good. This is due to several factors. One is that the continued participation in the Quarterly Data Quality (QDQ) process has made a positive difference in HMIS data. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this success.
Please keep in mind that in the coming months the QDQ process will continue, and the data clean up for the federal reports will take place. Three quick reminders:
QDQ is looking at the data from the previous quarter.
The LSA and SPMs (federal reports) are looking at data from the federal fiscal year 2023 (10/1/22-9/30/23).
The PIT and HIC (also federal reports) are looking at data from one night - 1/24/24
They are different time frames, but the importance of keeping the data in good shape is important in all cases.
If you have any questions regarding use of the QDQ portal or data clean-up please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Helpdesk at MNHMIS@icalliances.org.