Point-in-Time Count & Housing Inventory Count (PIT/HIC)
This guide is developed to assist agencies with preparing for and submitting information to ICA for the 2025 PIT/HIC. The information on this page relates to the Sheltered Point in Time and Housing Inventory Counts which occur annually. Information about Unsheltered Point in Time counts is provided by individual CoCs.
Note, every project must submit its own data. If your agency has multiple projects, you will be submitting information for each project individually. If your agency has projects of different project types, or some new and some existing projects, or some HMIS-participating and some non-HMIS, you will be using different data collection tools for each project. See Data Collection Plan below for all the specifics.
Table of Contents
- Alphabet soup - what are all these acronyms?
- What is the PIT and HIC?
- What projects does this affect?
- Data Collection
- Timeline
- Training Resources
- Getting Support
Alphabet soup - what are all these acronyms?
| PIT | Point-in-Time Count |
| HIC | Housing Inventory Count |
| PDDE | Project Descriptor Data Element |
| BUI | Bed and Unit Inventory |
What is the PIT and HIC?
Housing Inventory Count (HIC)
The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a one-time snapshot of all beds and units available to persons experiencing homelessness and in housing programs. These data are submitted to HUD and used for decisions about federal and local funding and strategic planning.
What data is pulled into the HIC federal report?
The HIC focuses on Project Descriptor Data Elements. This includes:
- Agency and Project names
- Housing Type and Target Population
- Operating Dates
- Location information
- Funding information
- Bed Inventory
The HIC also asks for number of persons served.
Click here for more information on Program Descriptor Data Elements (PDDEs) and the Bed and Unit Inventory (BUI).
Point-in-Time Count (PIT)
What data is pulled into the PIT federal report?
The PIT focuses on demographic information on homeless persons. This includes:
- Age
- Gender
- Race and Ethnicity
- Veteran Status
- Chronic Status. This is determined from:
- Homeless History
- Disabling Conditions
- Domestic Violence history
What projects does this affect?
The PIT and HIC pull data from all projects in a CoC regardless of funding source. The chart below indicates whether the specific project type participates in each.
| Project Type | PIT | HIC |
| Street Outreach (SO) | No | No |
| Emergency Shelter (ES) - Entry/Exit (E/E) | Yes | Yes |
| Emergency Shelter (ES) - Night-by-Night (NbN) | Yes | Yes |
| Safe Haven (SH) | Yes | Yes |
| Transitional Housing (TH) | Yes | Yes |
| Rapid Rehousing (RRH) | No | Yes |
| Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) | No | Yes |
| Permanent Housing: Housing Only (PH-H) | No | Yes |
| Permanent Housing: Housing with Services (PH-S) | No | Yes |
Data Collection
Based on solicited feedback, we have decided to stick with the PIT HIC data collection process we implemented in 2024. ICA will continue to take much of the data collection and review burden off of the agencies in order to simplify the process.
All projects will still to report on two pieces of data
- Persons Served
- Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory information
How these two pieces of information are collected depend the project type and whether the project participates in HMIS or not.
HMIS-Participating Projects
Persons Served
ICA will run your Persons Served report directly from HMIS and send it to you for confirmation and review.
You do not need to submit anything. ICA will reach out to you and you must verify the information by Wednesday, February 5th, 2025.
You are also welcome to run the report on your own to review and clean up any data issues, even before the night of the PIT. This advance data review will reduce the work needed after PIT.
See here for ES/SH/TH BusinessObjects Report and here for the RRH/PSH/OPH BusinessObjects Report.
Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory Information
After your Persons Served data is complete and accurate, your System Administrator will reach out to review your Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory Information. You do not need to submit anything. You can review information on Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory Information here.
This process must be completed by Friday, February 28th, 2025.
Non-HMIS-Participating Projects
Persons Served
You will need to collect and submit your information to ICA for data quality review.
Rapid Rehousing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and Other Permanent Housing projects will use the Formstack portal.
Your Persons Served data is due to ICA by Wednesday, February 5th, 2025.
Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory Information
After your Persons Served data is complete and accurate, your System Administrator will reach out to review your Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory Information. You do not need to submit anything. You can review information on Project Descriptor and Bed Inventory Information here.
This process must be completed by Friday, February 28th, 2025.
Timeline
The timeline for data collection, validation, and submission for the 2024 PIT/HIC is below. Dates are subject to change.
Training Resources
Each data collection tool that projects have to complete on their own has a tipsheet, and each of those contain recorded training videos for you to watch whenever you need. See the section on Data Collection above.
Additionally, ICA will hold two training webinars on 1/9/25 giving a high-level overview of the PIT and HIC, what is expected, and how to find your data collection tool and how to use them. See below for slides and a recording of 2024's webinar.
Slides from the webinar can be downloaded here.
Getting Support
We know this is a lot of information. We get it! For any questions or clarifications, we encourage you to reach out to our helpdesk (mohmis@icalliances.org) for assistance.
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