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Monterey County HMIS
Monterey County implemented the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) throughout the region in November, 2004. Nearly two years of research, development & planning occurred to put a sound HMIS into place for the County. Monterey drew heavily on the experience of other Continuums in the Bay Area while in the planning process, and spent many months reaching agreements among Coalition members and collaborating with in-county agencies to decide on policy and procedures and what form HMIS should take.
The Monterey Coalition of Homeless Service Providers decided to use ServicePoint software for HMIS, and in the process of developing the plan for HMIS, a ground-breaking collaboration was formed with Contra Costa County to share a system and save on costs. Both Counties utilized Community Technology Alliance (the lead agency for Santa Clara County HMIS) to oversee the collaboration among the two counties, negotiate costs, manage project implementation, provide technical assistance, and consult on HUD related issues. Due to this collaboration, both counties saved and continue to save on annual software support fees, dollars that can be well-used to provide direct services to the homeless in our county.
In the spring of 2005, Seaside, a city of Monterey County successfully participated in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), which was a HUD sampling of Continuums and their homeless populations from around the United States. Seaside will again participate in AHAR IV, and Monterey County continues to work to find new initiatives to better serve the homeless and at-risk populations in the area.