Managing Changes to Head of Household Status in HMIS

When a Head of Household (HoH) leaves a project, HUD guidelines require the designation of a new HoH among the remaining household members. This guide is specific to instances when the Head of Household entered the project earlier than other members of the household. This impacts data accuracy in terms of enrollment start dates, lengths of stay, and overlapping enrollments. This guide describes how to handle these changes, based on HUD's guidance and the Data Standards Manual.

Managing Changes to Head of Household Status

1. Redesignating the Head of Household:
   • If the original HoH exits the project while other household members remain, assign a new HoH among current participants. Per HUD's guidance, backdate this new HoH designation to the start of the original household enrollment. Ensure to adjust each household member's relationship to reflect connection to the new HoH. The Head of Household and Relationships to Head of Household should be changed both on the Households tab and on each client's project entry.
2. Data Quality and Reporting Considerations:
   • Length of Stay: This change may extend the length of stay for the new HoH. While this may not fully reflect the actual participation dates of the new HoH, HUD indicates this improves the accuracy of household counts.
   • Overlapping Enrollments: Adjusting the start date to align with the household's enrollment date may create overlapping enrollments if the new HoH was enrolled in other projects simultaneously. HUD permits a small percentage of overlapping enrollments and allows a 1% threshold for such occurrences
     • Overlapping enrollments may trigger warnings or errors during data uploaded. If overlaps arise due to HoH changes and are below the 1% threshold, they will generate a warning rather than an error. Be prepared to review these records and provide a note explaining HoH changes as a special circumstance.
     • At the project level, use the Program Eligibility form or Additional comments form in the APR in SAGE to provide explanation and address any concerns about client eligibility.

Additional Notes

• HUD recognizes that real world participation dates may not align perfectly with data requirements. This approach prioritizes household consistency over exact start date of each clients.
• Warnings due to overlapping enrollments resulting from HoH changes can be resolved with an explanatory note.
• This guidance is specific to the FY 2024 standards. Future HUD guidance may update or change.
• Exercise caution in applying this guidance to different scenarios, as it may not apply to all situations involving HoH changes.