Background

California State Assembly Bill 977 (AB 977) requires grantees of state-funded homeless programs enter specific data elements related to individuals and families into their local HMIS. The data made available by these reporting standards will create a more accurate account of the individuals and families served by the homeless response system. This data will result in a more comprehensive understanding of the effects state-funded homelessness programs have on homeless populations, and will allow for better informed policy decisions. 

 

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) provides HMIS funding through the Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) Program.  The BHBH program is meant to address the immediate housing needs of people experiencing homelessness who have serious behavioral health concerns, including serious mental illness (SMI) and/or substance use disorder (SUB). 

 

Project Set Up

A table of HUD-defined HMIS Project Types and their corresponding BHBH-relevant activities are provided below to support with the selection of the appropriate project type for BHBH project setup.

 

 

HMIS Project Type	HUD Client Eligibility Restrictions	BHBH Project Activities
Emergency Shelter (ES): Entry/Exit (EE)	People Experiencing Homelessness   *Participants are still considered homeless/chronically homeless if they were considered that at BHBH project entry	Any housing assistance and service delivery for people experiencing homelessness that is temporary and doesn't include tenancy rights for clients: Interim Housing Shelter Stays Hotel/Motel vouchers Temporary housing (e.g, tiny homes) Recovery Housing Peer respite Shared Housing Short-term and Mid-term rental assistance
Permanent Housing (PH) - Rapid Rehousing (RRH)   RRH subtypes: RRH: Services Only OR RRH: Housing with or without services	People experiencing homelessness at entry, including people at imminent risk of homelessness   *Participants should still be considered homeless/chronically homeless if they were considered that at BHBH project entry. As all participants should have serious behavioral health conditions and may also need PSH without BHBH, CoCs are encouraged to prioritize BHBH participants for PSH	HUD acknowledges that people in RRH are not exempt from eligibility in PSH, but because RRH is considered permanent housing, some communities might not prioritize people living in RRH above unsheltered individuals.    This project type may be used for some assistance provided through the BHBH Program, but it is up to CoC's to decide whether they should take a client's BHBH funding into consideration for PSH: Rental assistance with tenancy rights

 

Funding

On the Agency/Project Setup Form input the following funding information as seen in the screenshot below. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency (BSCH) both provide helpful guides for determining whether certain funding sources fall under AB 977, including HCD and BCSH funding. 

 

 

Required Data Elements

All providers are required to enter Universal Data Elements (UDEs) 3.01-3.917, and Program Specific Data Elements (PSDEs) 4.02-4.20 for all clients and household members being served by the specified state-funded programs. For additional guidance, refer to the most recent HMIS Data Standards. 

 

BHBH Custom Enrollment Questions

 

CARE Court (Yes/No)

• Community Assistance Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act Program means Senate Bill (SB) 1338 (Chapter 319, Statues of 2022) established the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act (in effect Jan 1, 2023) to provide community-based behavioral health services and supports to Californians living with untreated schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders through a new civil court process. The CARE Act is intended as an intervention for the most severely impaired Californians to prevent avoidable psychiatric hospitalizations, incarceration, and Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Mental Health conservatorship prioritize CARE program participants. 

Referral Source (Internal/External) 

• Internal - Referrals are participants identified by the agency and authorized for admit by OC HCA
• External - Referrals are participants referred through the BHBH hotline with OC HCA and referred to agencies following the waitlist placement

Well-Being Data Elements: (Only for Rapid Re-Housing)

• Client perceives their life has value and worth
• Client perceives they have support from others who will listen to problems
• Client perceives they have a tendency to bounce back after hard times
• Client’s frequency of feeling nervous, tense, worried, frustrated, or afraid

Please review the Well-Being Data Element Training Resource guide for additional information. 

 

BHBH Custom Exit Questions

 

Well-Being Data Elements: (Only for Rapid Re-Housing)

• Client perceives their life has value and worth
• Client perceives they have support from others who will listen to problems
• Client perceives they have a tendency to bounce back after hard times
• Client’s frequency of feeling nervous, tense, worried, frustrated, or afraid

Please review the Well-Being Data Element Training Resource guide for additional information. 

 

BHBH Services by Project Types

The following service categories and their respective service items should be tracked at occurrence in respect to the appropriate HMIS project type.

 

Emergency Shelter

• Supportive Services
  • Behavioral Health
  • Case Management
  • Food
  • Life Skills
  • Money Management
  • Referral/Linkage
  • Transportation
• Benefits Assistance 
  • Cal Fresh
  • Medi-Cal
  • SSI/SSDI
  • Other

 

Rapid Re-Housing

• Financial Assistance 
  • Application Fees
  • Credit Report
  • Furnishings
  • Moving Fees
  • Rental Assistance
  • Security Deposit
  • Transportation
  • Utility Payments
  • Vital Documentation Fees
• Basic Needs
  • Food 
  • Hygiene Products
• Supportive Services 
  • Behavioral Health
  • Case Management
  • Food
  • Life Skills
  • Money Management
  • Referral/Linkage
  • Transportation
• Benefits Assistance
  • Cal Fresh
  • Medi-Cal
  • SSI/SSDI
  • Other
• Landlord Outreach & Mitigation 
  • Damages/Repairs
  • Holding
  • Landlord Bonus
  • Unpaid Rent
  • Vacancy

 

To access these services in HMIS, please follow the steps below.

 

1. Navigate to the Provide Services tab under the Head of Household's BHBH program enrollment.
2. Select the service category of the service you would like to enter.
3. Select the service item that you would like to enter.
4. Enter the Start and End Date of the service. In most cases, the Start and End Date should be the same date.
5. Enter any notes related to the service.
6. Select the Submit button.

 

 

 

BHBH Assessments and Reporting

The following assessments must be conducted during intake and/or during the program enrollment. Please review the assessment and their reporting requirements. 

 

For example, a participant enrolled in March 2024 must have an initial intake assessment conducted at project start. The next assessment should be conducted within the reporting period 4/1 - 6/30 and so on as long as the participant remains active in the BHBH program. 

 

To access the assessments in HMIS, please follow the steps below.

 

1. Navigate to the Assessments tab under the Head of Household's BHBH program enrollment.
2. Click Start next to the assessment you wish to complete and input the participant's responses. 

 

 

• Status and Annual Assessments
  • Status Update Assessment - conducted when a change has occurred for the 
  • Annual Assessment - conducted on the client's project start anniversary 
  • Required for Rapid Re-Housing BHBH programs
     
  • Includes custom Well Being questions
    

 

 

• BHBH Independent Living Skills Assessment
  • Conducted during intake and quarterly
  • Required for Rapid Re-Housing BHBH programs
     
  • Money Management 
  • Food Management
  • Personal Appearance
  • Health
  • Housekeeping
  • Transportation
  • Emergency & Safety Skills
  • Knowledge of Community Resources
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Legal Issues⠀⠀⠀
  • Response Options:

 

Run the following reports to submit to the Health Care Agency for quarterly reporting requirements. These reports can be located by navigating to: Reports > Data Analysis > Orange County System Reports > Behavioral Health Bridge Housing > BHBH Independent Living Skills 

 

Adjust the Programs Full Name filter to only pull your agency's data and click Run.

 

 

Reporting Period	Review and Process Corrections	Report Submission Due Date
4/1 - 6/30 (2024)	7/1/24 - 7/31/24	8/1/24
7/1 - 9/30 (2024)	10/1/24 - 10/31/24	11/1/24
10/1 - 12/31 (2024)	1/1/25 - 1/31/25	2/1/25
1/1 - 3/1 (2025)	4/1/25 - 4/30/25	5/1/25
4/1 - 6/30 (2025)	7/1/25 - 7/31/25	8/1/25
7/1 - 9/30 (2025)	10/1/25 - 10/31/25	11/1/25
10/1 - 12/31 (2025)	1/1/26 - 1/31/26	2/1/26
1/1 - 3/1 (2026)	4/1/26 - 4/30/26	5/1/26
4/1 - 6/30 (2026)	7/1/26 - 7/31/26	8/1/26
7/1 - 9/30 (2026)	10/1/26 - 10/31/26	11/1/26
10/1 - 12/31 (2026)	1/1/27 - 1/31/27	2/1/27