Federal reports such as the Annual Performance Report (APR), Quarterly Performance Report (QPR), PATH Report, and VA Export are critical compliance deliverables for HUD, SAMHSA, and VA-funded programs. In a shared HMIS environment, these reports often include data from multiple agencies under Global Visibility, which means unlocked client records created or updated after go-live can appear in your submissions even if another agency entered the data.
This article explains how to review these reports before submission to ensure accuracy, privacy, and compliance. It covers what to check, how to interpret results, and best practices for coordinating corrections across agencies.
Why Review Matters in a Shared System
- APR/QPR (HUD): shared data can cause Sage validation failures that you are responsible for fixing, even if the source data was entered by another agency.
- In a shared HMIS, Global Visibility allows unlocked post‑go‑live data from other providers to appear in your APR/QPR. If any of those shared enrollments are missing universal data elements (e.g., DOB, SSN flags), annual assessments, or exit destinations, Sage’s validations will flag or reject the upload. You are still responsible for the submission meeting HUD’s standards, so you must identify cross‑agency gaps before you upload.
- VA (SSVF/GPD): shared enrollments increase the risk of Repository errors tied to missing required elements
- In a shared HMIS, services, income/benefits, and exits associated with Veterans may have been entered by different agencies. The VA Repository’s error reports often identify missing or invalid data (e.g., incomplete income/benefits, absent exit destinations, mis‑sequenced dates). You must verify counts and check that services are properly linked to the correct enrollment and occur inside the reporting window before submission.
- Performance and funding risk: federal reviewers use these reports to monitor outcomes and data quality; repeated issues can trigger corrective actions.
- APR/QPR results feed HUD monitoring and local performance management; persistent validation errors (e.g., missing exits, inconsistent household composition) reflect poorly in grant reviews. VA monthly Repository uploads are also grant requirements; recurring gaps in data quality can escalate to corrective action. Reviewing data prior to submission can help protect your project's standing and reduce avoidable errors.
Common Concerns and How to Fix Them
When reviewing federal reports in a shared HMIS system, issues can arise from multiple sources—your own data entry, shared records from other agencies, or incorrect report parameters. Below are the most frequent problems, why they happen, and how to resolve them. Each section includes practical steps and reminders about Global Visibility and privacy.
1. Missing Universal Data Elements (UDEs)
Why this matters:
Federal reports require complete UDEs such as Name, Date of Birth (DOB), Social Security Number (SSN) or SSN quality flag, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Veteran Status. Missing these fields will cause validation errors in Sage for APR/QPR and can lead to incomplete counts in PATH and VA reports.
Why it happens:
Intake staff may skip fields during enrollment, or assessments may not be updated at annual or exit points.
How to fix:
- Run a Data Quality report before generating the federal report.
- Open the client profile and complete missing fields using verified documentation.
- If SSN is unknown, apply the correct SSN data-quality flag (e.g., “Client Doesn’t Know”).
- Save changes and re-run the report to confirm the error is cleared.
2. Missing Income and Benefits Information
Why this matters:
APR/QPR and VA exports require income and benefits data at entry, annual, and exit. Missing these values will trigger validation errors and affect performance metrics.
Why it happens:
Annual assessments are overlooked, or exit assessments are not completed before closing the enrollment.
How to fix:
- Review the Income/Benefits assessment history for each client.
- Add or update assessments with accurate effective dates.
- Confirm that updates align with the reporting period.
- Re-run the report after corrections.
3. Missing Exit Destinations
Why this matters:
Exit destinations are critical for HUD performance measures and VA compliance. Missing destinations will cause Sage errors and skew housing outcome metrics.
Why it happens:
Staff close enrollments without recording where the client went after exit.
How to fix:
- Open the enrollment record and add the correct exit destination.
- Ensure the exit date and destination align with the client’s actual situation.
- Save and re-run the report.
4. Services and Referrals Not Counting
Why this matters:
PATH and VA reports rely on services and referrals being linked to the correct enrollment. If linkage is missing, services will not count toward compliance metrics.
Why it happens:
Services or referrals are entered on the client profile instead of the enrollment, or dates fall outside the reporting window.
How to fix:
- Open the service or referral record.
- Link it to the correct enrollment.
- Verify that the date falls within the reporting period.
- Save and re-run the report.
5. Incorrect Date Range
Why this matters:
Using the wrong start or end dates will exclude required data or include irrelevant records, leading to inaccurate submissions.
Why it happens:
Report prompts are set incorrectly or copied from a previous run without adjustment.
How to fix:
- Confirm the reporting period for the federal submission (e.g., fiscal year for APR, previous month for VA).
- Update the prompts before running the report.
- Validate counts against internal rosters.
6. Data from Other Agencies
Why this matters:
Global Visibility means unlocked records from other agencies can appear in your report. If those records contain errors, your totals will be affected.
Why it happens:
Shared data is incomplete or incorrect, and you cannot edit another agency’s entries.
How to fix:
- Use Assessment History to confirm ownership of incorrect values.
- Contact the source agency securely and request corrections.
- Document outreach attempts for compliance tracking.
- Re-run the report after updates.
7. Duplicate Clients or Overlapping Enrollments
Why this matters:
Duplicate profiles inflate counts and cause confusion. Overlapping enrollments distort utilization and performance metrics.
Why it happens:
Staff do not search thoroughly before creating a new client, or enrollment dates overlap due to incorrect exit dates.
How to fix:
- Search for existing clients using multiple criteria (name, DOB, SSN).
- Submit a merge request following HMIS procedures (never email PII).
- Adjust enrollment dates to remove overlaps.
- Re-run the report after corrections.