Are Stanislaus County homeless counts accurate? This system shows a much higher number
Every January, volunteers in Stanislaus County and communities across the nation count the homeless. These tallies are required for service providers that receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding.
These counts, which are called point in time, generate lots of attention, but they are a snapshot of homelessness, and their results depend on such factors as how well they are organized, the number of volunteers and even the weather.
There is a more definitive tally produced through what is called the homeless management information system, which is another HUD requirement. The system tracks homeless people who receive help on an annual basis, such as staying in emergency shelters or being placed in transitional or permanent supportive housing.
The most recent local HMIS report shows 5,892 people received services throughout Stanislaus County from Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018. That’s about three times more people than were tallied in the most recent point in time count from last January, which turned up 1,923 homeless men, women and children.
So why conduct the point in time counts?
The most basic answer is that HUD requires them for what it calls continuums of care, which receive HUD funding. These are local governments, nonprofits and other service providers that help the homeless. The local continuum is called the Stanislaus Community System of Care.
And federal and state homeless funding now is being based on the results of these counts, said Lynnell Fuller, Modesto’s HMIS coordinator. The city belongs to the system of care, and its duties include administering the homeless management information system.
For instance, the $7.2 million the state awarded the Stanislaus Community System of Care this year was based in part on the results of system of care’s 2017 point in time count.
Homeless advocates say the point in time counts also raise awareness about homelessness as the tallies generate coverage in newspapers, on TV news and through social media. The counts include the most visible of the homeless, people living on the streets and parks and who often are chronically homeless.
Government officials also publicize the numbers as part of their efforts to tackle the homelessness crisis.
While the homeless management information system provides a more definitive number, it also has limitations. Fuller said HMIS only tracks people who receive services through agencies that report data to HMIS and people who meet HUD’s definition of homelessness.
She said someone who is couch surfing with friends and relatives or living in a hotel room and paying for it out of his or her own pocket does not meet the HUD definition. HMIS also does not track homeless people who don’t seek help.
But she said the system of care’s HMIS does a very good job of tracking homeless people. She estimates it collects data from about 85 percent of the local agencies, nonprofits and service providers that help homeless people.
Fuller said that is because in addition to getting information from 43 programs that are required to report it as part of receiving federal funding, HMIS receives information from 37 programs that are not required to report.
Jessica Narayan, Modesto’s community development manager, attributed the high level of reporting to the cooperation among service providers.
Besides tracking the number of people who receive services, HMIS tracks other data, including how long people stay in emergency shelters (the average was 38 days for the most recent report), and the percentage of people who moved into permanent housing from shelters, transitional housing and a program called rapid rehousing (it was 29 percent).
Fuller and Narayan said HMIS has a new feature that lets officials track the effectiveness of individual programs and the progress of individual homeless people as they receive services. Both said that will be important in evaluating the effectiveness of programs and the system of the care.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 4:12 PM.
