HIMSS December 2021 Release: Improving Communication with District Homeless Liaisons

    

The Homeless Information Management System for Students (HIMSS) December 2021 software development release improves communication with district homeless liaisons to support at-risk student groups. 

HIMSS is a data management system created for homeless program administrators and designed to help meet annual McKinney-Vento reporting requirements. A partnership with the Global Grid for Learning (GG4L) allows HIMSS to connect with a district Student Information System (SIS) and import student information.  

Identifying At-Risk Students   

When a flagged student within HIMSS eligible for support starts attending school in a different district, staff are informed immediately with an email and a message in the HIMSS system. Both notifications alert the liaison to update the student’s status in their district’s SIS.  

  • Student data automatically pulls into HIMSS through an automatic nightly process   
  • Once identified, the HIMSS software can track the assistance students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, and their families receive in and out of school   
  • No student names are listed, just the state identifier associated with that student  
  • The alert appears in the messages section of HIMSS 

HIMSS helps schools’ homeless liaisons and community service providers stay connected by providing:    

  • Automated emails to service partners for health service providers or social workers when students' homeless status or foster care status is confirmed    
  • Optional logins so service partners can access the system remotely     
  • Track enrollment and service history even if a student transfers to a different school or district    

Take a look at this webinar that highlights how our software helps school districts better serve their most vulnerable students.   

Contact a team member to learn more about these feature improvements. Or schedule a demo to learn more about HIMSS!

Alyssa Thornley

About The Author

Alyssa Thornley has spent her career working to support schools and communities in providing opportunity to all students. In positions as a teacher, professional development coordinator, and as a volunteer, she has focused on the community’s role in education, and in designing efficient programs that work for diverse needs. Alyssa leads TransACT’s customer engagement and market strategy efforts, and works to ensure innovative programs, guidance, and thought leadership from across the country’s districts are being shared and spread.