Rationale
To determine whether households are accessing all mainstream program benefits for which they are eligible at the time of project start and to allow for analyzing changes in the composition of non-cash benefits between project start and exit.
Data Entry Instructions
Indicate whether each head of each household served (including minor heads of their own household) and each adult household member is receiving any of the listed benefits.
Non-Cash Benefits collected at project start and project exit are to reflect the information as of the date of project start and the date of project exit. 'Information Date' for those records must reflect the date of project start and the date of project exit, respectively.
To collect benefits information, projects are expected to ask clients whether they receive benefits from each of the sources listed (either on paper or through client interview) rather than asking them to state the sources of non-cash benefits they receive. Clients are not required to provide documentation of benefits. Requiring documentation of benefits when it is not a funder's requirement unnecessarily slows down the process for assisting people to exit homelessness.
Benefits data should be recorded only for benefits that are current as of the 'Information Date' (i.e. have not been terminated). Clients may identify multiple sources of non-cash benefits.
- For example, a client received food stamps on the first of the month and expects to receive food stamps again on the first of the next month. Record the response for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) as ‘Yes.’
- For example, a client received food stamps on the first of the month but is not eligible to receive food stamps on the first of the next month. Record the response for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) as ‘No.’
Non-Cash Benefits is intended to identify regular, recurrent benefits. Services and/or gifts such as phone cards and vouchers that are provided by a project to clients during enrollment are fundamentally different and are not considered benefits.
More Resources
For more detailed and the most up-to-date information regarding HUD required HMIS Program Data Elements, please find the Data Standards Manual here: HMIS Data Standards - HUD Exchange.
Contact Us
If you need help, or wish to offer suggestions or feedback, please contact the Cincinnati/Hamilton County HMIS support team at HMISsupport@end-homelessness.org or by calling 513-263-2790 9:00am - 3:00pm Monday-Friday (excluding holidays).
When contacting HMIS Support, please do not include any Personal Identifiable Information (PII) such as names, social security numbers, birth dates, etc. Please only use the Clarity Unique Identifier found on the Clarity client profile page.