Date of Engagement

HUD HMIS Data Standards Definition

Per the HMIS Data Standards and by agreement across all federal partners, an Engagement date is defined as the date when an interactive client relationship results in a deliberate client assessment or beginning of a case plan.

The date of engagement should be entered into HMIS at the point when the client has been engaged by the outreach worker. This date may be on or after the project start date and must be prior to project exit.
If the client exits without becoming engaged, the engagement date should be left blank.
If the client was contacted on the date of engagement, a contact [Current Living Situation] must also be entered for that date.

Data Quality: Data quality for street outreach projects is limited to clients with a date of engagement. Therefore, it is important that outreach workers record the engagement date and also review all of the UDE and applicable Common Program Specific Data Elements for completeness and accuracy. The Date of Engagement coincides with the requirement for HMIS data quality, therefore all UDE should be entered into HMIS at or before the Date of Engagement. ( HUDExchange)

The Date of Engagement is located on the client's Program Enrollment Screen. Users must navigate from the client's profile page, to the Program's tab and click on the HOME tab and CLICK on the PENCIL to enter the Date of Engagement.

Add the Date and scroll to the bottom of the screen to click SAVE.