Understanding Enrollments or Entry/Exits

Every enrollment in HMIS is more than just a start and end date but the story of a client’s time in your program. It starts when the client enters your program and ends when they exit, capturing everything in between such as assessments, services, and updates. Think of it like a timeline that captures everything that happened during that stay. This timeline matters because it’s used for reporting, compliance, and helping other providers understand the client’s journey.

Accurate enrollments make the client timeline makes sense. They tell the right story for funders, reduce confusion between agencies, and make sure clients get the support they need without duplication or gaps. When you create or update an enrollment, you’re not just filling out an assessment for your agency but you’re building a clear record that other providers may rely on. Treat each enrollment like a complete, accurate snapshot of that period in the client’s life.

Creating Enrollments

When clients begin to receive services from a program and to enter data for a client, users must enroll them in their project. Enrollments can be viewed in the Summary or Entry/Exit tab.

Each row represents one enrollment record.

Clicking "Add Entry/Exit" creates a new enrollment.

1. Households link clients that are receiving a service together. These must be established upon enrollment
2. Provider selected is the specific project the client is receiving services from.
   • Users many only select projects in their own agency, with the exception of CES Housing Resource Specialists. 
   • The projects available for selection is determined and provided by the user's ATA. 
3. Type indicates the federal funder of the project. 
4. Project Start Date is the date the client has provided data sharing consent and have started receiving services from the project.

Clicking Save & Continue then creates the new enrollment and directs you to the entry assessment.

All data that is associated with the same enrollment must be entered within this row's pencil or notepad icons. 

Each row represents an enrollment to a specific project, found in the Program column.

Projects use a naming convention that follows the formula, "Agency - Project Type/Name and/or Funder (Project ID#)" For example, see the following breakdown of the programs in the screenshots above:

Working with Enrollment Data

When you create a new enrollment for a client, HMIS will automatically pull in the most recent information available for the client and pre-fill the assessment. This is designed to save time, but it’s your responsibility to review and update the data.

• Check every field carefully. Look at income, housing status, household composition, and any other details that could have changed since the last enrollment. 
• Ask the client directly. Confirm things like income sources, living situation, and household members during intake. Never assume the system is correct. 

• Update what’s changed. If the client’s circumstances have shifted, make sure the enrollment reflects the new information.

   

If You See Conflicting Data

Sometimes a client is active in another project, or an old enrollment that has yet to be exited where old or outdated data don’t match what you have or is showing up overriding data you have entered. In those cases please review the steps below and utilize our ATA Resource List.

• Don’t overwrite another agency’s data. Changing their enrollment can cause reporting errors and break the audit trail. 
• Pause and review the conflict. Look at what’s different; dates, income, housing status, household members and confirm what you know is correct. 
• Reach out to the agency or project that entered the conflicting information. Collaboration is key. Contact them directly (ATA Resource List) to compare notes and figure out which data is accurate.

Respect visibility rules. Just because you can see another agency’s enrollment doesn’t mean you can or should edit it. Under no circumstances should you delete or modify another provider’s enrollment.

*Users should only be entering or changing data for their agency.