For Clients

Homeless Management Information Systems are used nationwide and are proven effective in improving the care provided to those in crisis. HMIS is also an effective tool to secure funding for those services so they may continue.

In Utah, much of the data entered into UHMIS is shared with most Homeless Service Providers to improve the care they can give to each person they serve.

• Our team consists of several members who have worked in the homeless services system and we have over 75 years of expertise between us.

• We actively participate in training at local and national levels to keep up with the latest HMIS security and data standards.

• We train organization’s staff on how to enter data into the system.

• We monitor each organization annually to ensure they keep client’s data private and secure

• We take client data security seriously and have many checks and balances to ensure compliance to our privacy and data security.

some of the agency staff have access to UHMIS, and the agency has agreed to uphold the privacy and security policies (described below) to maintain the security of client data. Each user must also complete training on privacy, security, and data quality standards annually.

we detail how your data is kept private and secure within UHMIS and the oversight to ensure it stays that way.

This posting is displayed at every agency that uses UHMIS and is meant to remind clients of their rights to their data in UHMIS.

This is the form that all clients (who are legally able to sign documents, e.g., over 18) sign to consent for the agency serving them to share their data in UHMIS with other UHMIS participating organizations.

Clients may be asked to sign this form multiple times, either by the same agency or many agencies. The UHMIS leadership asks agencies to review the client’s consent to share regularly to ensure that the current services are okay with the client to share in UHMIS.

If a client chooses to not sign this form, the client will still be served in the program¹, and the agency will restrict the client’s information entered in UHMIS, so it is not shared² with other participating organizations.

¹Very few projects require data to be shared in UHMIS by funding or project type; if the client chooses not to sign the informed consent, they will not be eligible for this program. However, this is the exception, and in 99% of cases, the clients choosing to share their data in UHMIS will not impact their services.

These users include:

• The UHMIS Lead Agency: for system oversight, training, and insurance that client data is secured appropriately.

• The system developer: to secure the devices that contain the data for technical support and system security oversight.

In very rare cases,

• Funders: to fund programs that require client data to accomplish the funding.
• Others that are explicitly approved by the UHMIS Steering Committee: typically academic researchers who complete projects that improve overall services.

the UHMIS Informed Consent Release Form only allows agencies to share data within UHMIS, and UHMIS is a secure system regularly monitored for data-sharing risks.

Clients do not have to use the form to submit a complaint, but it includes information for the UHMIS Lead Agency to help resolve the problem.

Please note that the UHMIS Lead Agency can only help with issues that impact data within UHMIS; if there is a concern outside of UHMIS, the UHMIS Lead Agency will direct the person to the best place possible to resolve the issue.

This form allows clients to submit a request to revoke their previous allowance to share their data in UHMIS. When this form is submitted to the UHMIS Lead Agency (either by an agency or the client), the UHMIS Lead Agency will make every effort to restrict sharing of that person’s data in the system to fit the client’s request.

However, because of the nature of UHMIS, it may be impossible for the UHMIS Lead Agency to restrict data already shared in the system, so the UHMIS Lead Agency cannot make that guarantee to the clients.