What occurred? De duplicated client records Changed the consent in the Central Intake Library from organization to system Basic demographic information is now accessible to all agencies users. Removed agency silos
Why was it necessary Enhances our ability to generate unduplicated counts of the homeless and at risk population (i.e. dashboards). Improves programmatic coordination & collaboration across the state (In compliance with the HEARTH ACT) Helps improve data quality
Advantages Decrease client duplication Reduce data entry time Prepare for programmatic reporting (i.e. Homeless System Performance Measures) https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/3894/system performance measures introductory guide/ Identify trends in the homeless and at risk population Accurately numerate the scale of homelessness Inform system design and policy decisions
Advantages Identify trends in the homeless and at risk population Accurately numerate the scale of homelessness Inform system design and policy decisions
Process Followed The bulk of the records were de duplicated with code Was able to run script 24/7 with minimal impact to users Client records w/o enough Personal Protected Information (PPI) were eliminated from the database Duplicated clients were merged based on Soundex algorithm along with Full Social Security Numbers
Observations Household changes in Central Intake were seen throughout the process Different client identifiers began to be associated with the client records Data quality deficiencies were exposed Different clients sharing PPI Clients entered anonymously and by name (i.e. legal name or shorten name)
Known issues users encountered: Duplicate clients Single clients are now members of households Family structures and/or members duplicated within households (different family structures) Unable to find program records (add to my organization) Client s Central Intake Library information grayed out Clients with expiration dates Client with consent refused box checked
Why are we seeing duplicates Transposition errors & typos (misspellings) Client using a different name at different agencies (i.e. nicknames, street names, shorten names, etc.) Lack of full social security numbers Clients presenting at different agencies with different family structures
Impact of the duplicates Could cause inaccurate reporting Longer intake processing Additional verification efforts Increased problem resolution time
Next Steps Create a script to eliminate clients who were migrated and have never been touched Work with agencies & vendor to manually merge remaining duplicates Evaluate impact on reporting Modify the training to incorporate workflow changes Continue to reach out to the helpdesk Work with CoC and its committees to develop policy (i.e. legal name policy, etc.)
Working with the database Scenario 1 Current program participants with duplicate records or cannot be found in Program Client Search Search for client Add to my organization Identify the one with your program enrollment Work with the client s program record
Working with the database Scenario 2 Current program participants with duplicate records who required a new snapshot (i.e. annual assessment, income updates, tec.) Search for client Add to my organization (may be required) Identify the one with your program enrollment Confirm household structure If family structure is not correct call the helpdesk
Working with the database Scenario 3 Client has never presented at the agency Search for client Find the client with the correct family structure Add to my organization Update all central intake information Select the ready for entry button & work with the client Contact the helpdesk to report duplicates
Working with the database Scenario 4 Family structure needs to be modified If clients do not have duplicate records, we can add/remove/modify household members If there are any duplicates within the household or if any household members have duplicate records. We will need to: Verify family structure Merge the duplicates Update the household members information
Working with the database Scenario 5 Client has never presented at agency and the correct family structure cannot be found or there are duplicates within the family Family composition has duplicate clients within the household or missing family members Contact the helpdesk