Back in the olden days, a lot of funding for homeless programs were funded on a per diem basis.

That means that shelter beds were paid for based on their usage. For every bed-night (one client in one bed for one night), service providers would receive a set amount ($43.00 for emergency shelters in Ontario in 2011).

When HIFIS was first developed, per diem funding was standard. Today, HIFIS Administrators can see the legacy of this type of funding if they know where to look. For example, when y…

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One of the best practices in ending homelessness is to work with a client to develop a support network of friends, loved ones, and professionals who work together to support the client. That way, an intensive case manager can ensure that the client has robust social supports for the future when the client might have a crisis and the intensive case manager might no longer be available to support the client.

Communities might also simply wish to record a client's emergency contact information or …

In HIFIS 3, the strength of users' passwords didn't matter as much, because a user had to be at the physical computer in order to login, which meant they were on site at a service provider.

In HIFIS 4, that all changed. The default configuration for HIFIS 4 is that it's hosted on a website that anyone can access if they have the URL. Then all they need is a username and password.

The Olden Days

In the olden days (i.e. a few months ago), communities could set a default password (the factory default …

Update: As of May 2019, CHPI no longer requires reporting on the number of LGBTQ clients that access shelters. 

Communities frequently ask me how to record sexual orientation in HIFIS.

There are many reasons that a community would want to collect this information. For example, since we know that LGBTQ youth account for as much as 25%-40% of youth experiencing homelessness, you might want to identify which clients need appropriate services.

In Ontario, any community receiving Community Homeles…