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Homeless Care Council of NW Alabama
"Committed to Ending Homelessness"
Who We Are
The Homeless Care Council of Northwest Alabama (HCCNWAL) is a coalition of shelters, agencies, businesses, municipalities, institutions of higher learning, individuals, and other interested parties, whose purpose is to increase the capacity to solve the problems of homelessness throughout Northwest Alabama. Our service area is the counties of Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Marion, and Winston Counties of Northwest Alabama.
We also serve as the Continuum of Care for these six counties. A current list of our members is here
ABOUT US
The Homeless Care Council of Northwest Alabama (HCCNWA) is a coalition of shelters, agencies, businesses, municipalities, institutions of higher learning, private citizens, and other interested parties, whose purpose is to increase the capacity to solve the problems of homelessness throughout Northwest Alabama.
Our service area is the counties of Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Marion, and Winston Counties of Northwest Alabama.
We also serve as the HUD designated Continuum of Care for these six counties.
HMIS
The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is the information system designated by the Continuum of Care Program (CoC) to comply with HUD’s data collection, management, and reporting standards and used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk of homelessness.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other planners and policymakers at the federal, state and local levels use aggregate HMIS data to obtain better information about the extent and nature of homelessness over time. Specifically, an HMIS can be used to produce an unduplicated count of homeless persons, understand patterns of service use, and measure the effectiveness of homeless programs.
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HUD was required by the HEARTH Act to establish standards related to HMIS, including standards related to encryption of the data collected and the rights of persons receiving services under the McKinney-Vento Act. As a result, HUD published the proposed rule for HMIS Requirements in the Federal Register on December 9, 2011. This proposed rule provides for: 1) uniform technical requirements of HMIS; 2) proper collection of data and maintenance of the database; and 3) confidentiality of the information in the database. The public comment period closed on February 7, 2012.
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Our designated CoC HMIS Lead Agency is Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama. You can find further information about the HMIS process at www.caanw.org.
