Course Content
-
0 / 1
👋 Introduction
-
0 / 6
👤 Clients
-
Get consent before you add a client file
-
How to create a client file
-
How to record a client's current or most recent place of residence
-
How to indicate that a client is deceased
-
How to record a client's contact information
-
How to record general notes about a client
-
-
0 / 1
📝 Consent
-
How to modify a client's consent record or add a new one
-
-
0 / 1
👩👧👦 Families
-
How to group clients into families
-
-
0 / 1
🏕️ Housing History
-
How to log a client's housing and homeless history
-
-
0 / 4
💵 Financial Profile
-
How to record a client's source of income
-
How to record a client's expenses
-
How to record a client's debts or arrears
-
How to record a client's financial assets
-
-
0 / 2
😷 Health & Medication
-
How to record a client's health issue
-
How to note that a client requires medication
-
-
0 / 3
🤹♀️ Miscellaneous Client Information
-
How to add a barrier to housing
-
How to identify a client with a watch concern
-
How to add a watch concern alert for a client
-
-
0 / 1
🏘️ Supportive Housing
-
0 / 5
🧙♂️ Case Management
-
Understanding case management in HIFIS 4
-
How to record a session with a client
-
How to upload a document to a case file
-
How to record case notes
-
How to close a case file
-
-
0 / 1
🌡️SPDAT & VAT
-
How to complete a SPDAT (or VAT) assessment
-
No Supportive Housing module
As mentioned at the start of this course, HIFIS does not handle Supportive Housing very well. We're hoping that this changes in the near future, but right now we're in a bind.
So what are you to do?
While this is by no means the only way to do things, we have a recommendation that we think balances convenience for front-line staff with also tracking required information that program administrators care about. Here it is:
When a client moves in to Supportive Housing, do two things:
- Add a Housing History record to show that they are housed with you, and
- Open a Case File (for the whole household) to show that they are receiving case management services from you.
When a client moves out of your Supportive Housing, do two things:
- Edit the Housing History record and add an end date, to show they've moved out. If you know where they're going, create a new Housing History record with that information.
- Close the Case File to show that they are no longer receiving case management services from you.
That's basically it, in terms of the most important basics. You can optionally do everything else in this course, like use the Financial Information module to do budgeting with the client or record how much money they're paying in rent. You can keep track of their appointments, and track their quality of life through periodic SPDAT assessments. Your supervisor will tell you how much else they expect, but the Housing History and Case Management modules are the most important components (one might say the minimum requirements).
Nerdy Note
If you're truly interested in the logic here, keep reading. Otherwise, just go ahead and Mark Complete.
The other options that were considered and rejected include:
- Using Housing Placements. It's a good module, but doesn't match the workflow for Supportive Housing. For example, you're required to track the client's housing search process, then after they move in, conduct "follow-ups." It's a bit of cognitive dissonance, which is why we're rejecting it.
- Using Housing Loss Prevention. In a certain sense, Supportive Housing is all about preventing housing loss. But the module's a little clunky and doesn't bring much to the table.
- Using Admissions. We know there are several programs that are using Admissions for Supportive Housing. It's easy to use and staff like that. However, there are a few really important issues: First, clients in the Admissions module are considered homeless at all times, which means they'll continue to show up on your BNL among other things. Second, you need a bed for each household member to move into. Third, it's really not the intended use, so you're going to get some other unforeseen weird behaviours, like occupancy reports including Supportive Housing units on them.