A By-Name List is a real-time list of all known people experiencing homelessness in your community. It includes a robust set of data points that support coordinated access and prioritization at a household level and an understanding of homeless inflow and outflow at a system level. This real-time actionable data supports triage to services, system performance evaluation and advocacy (for the policies and resources necessary to end homelessness).

For further background information about By-Name Lists:

• By-Name Lists – an overview blog by Community Solutions which includes this short 3 minute video on How By-Name List Data Helps Communities to End Homelessness
• By-Name List Question and Answer (Q&A) – CAEH provides answers to over 20 of the most commonly asked questions about By-Name Lists
• Watch this short 4 minute CAEH video on By-Name Lists and Functional Zero Chronic Homelessness
• By-Name Lists: An Essential Tool for Ending Homelessness (CAEH webinar, Feb 2021) – Recording and PDF – covers what a By-Name List is, why you would want to use one and how to get started.
• Read this CAEH blog on the Power of Real-Time Data
• See this short 3 minute OrgCode video that explains the difference between a By-Name List, Coordinated Access List and Prioritization List (and how they work together).

Click on the box below to access the three-page 10 Steps to Create and Use a By-Name List that provides you with the overall steps and links to further resources to help you develop, maintain and use a quality By-Name List. The webinar series below will walk you through the further details of the “10 Steps” and the community of practice presentations provide examples of how communities have created and use a By-Name List.

10 STEPS TO CREATE AND USE A BY-NAME LIST

Getting Started with a By-Name List – Webinar Series

• By-Name Lists – What and Why? – Recording (20 min) and Presentation
• 10 Steps to Create and Use a BNL – Recording (50 min) and Presentation
• Leadership and Governance – Recording (40 min) and Presentation
• Provider Participation Tool and Engaging Partners – Recording (48 min) and Presentation
• Leveraging a Point-in-Time Count to Kickstart or Strengthen your By-Name List – Recording (18 min) and Presentation
• Privacy and Confidentiality – Recording (30 min) and Presentation
• By-Name List Excel Workbook Series:
  • 01 – About the Excel Workbook – Recording (4 min) and Presentation
  • 02 – Overview – Recording (24 min) and Presentation
  • 03 – Workbook Setup – Recording (11 min) and Presentation
  • 04 – Adding, Updating and Storing Client Data – Recording (36 min) and Presentation
  • 05 – Capturing Monthly Data – Recording (7 min) and Presentation
  • 06 – Troubleshooting Data Balancing – Recording (6 min) and Presentation
• Adding to and Updating a By-Name List – Recording (37 min) and Presentation
• System Level Data and Data Reliability – Recording (14 min) and Presentation
• How to Use BNL Data – Recording (28 min) and Presentation

Getting started with a By-Name List – Ontario Community of Practice calls

• Community of Practice Calls 2021-2022 – includes recordings and presentation PDFs for 24 calls focused on getting started with a BNL. Hear from communities both new and experienced with BNLs. 
• Community of Practice Calls 2022-2023 – includes recordings and presentation PDFs for monthly calls focused on expanded BNL implementation and use of BNL data.
  • Halton Region – BNL Community Engagement and Communication (May 13, 2022) – Recording and PDF 1 of 2 and PDF 2 of 2 

The By-Name List (BNL) Scorecard 3.0 is the updated 11 question self-assessment tool that assists you to take a snapshot of your local progress towards a quality By-Name List and identify areas for improvement. For an overview, see the BNL Scorecard 3.0 launch webinar or PowerPoint PDF.

By-Name List Scorecard Guide

By-Name List Scorecard 3.0 Guide

Start by reviewing the By-Name List Scorecard Guide. The Guide explains what the BNL Scorecard is and walks you through each question (including a full explanation along with tips and resources).

Complete the By-Name List Scorecard

By-Name List Scorecard 3.0

Record your answers in the By-Name List Scorecard 3.0 and receive your score for Basic, Veteran and Advanced Quality. The BNL Scorecard 3.0 is part of the Scorecards & Tools Google Worksheet (view only – you can make a copy of to use for your community). The Scorecards & Tools Google Worksheet includes the following seven tabs:

• • Tab #1: Instructions
  • Tab #2: About Your Community
  • Tab #3: By-Name List Scorecard 3.0
  • Tab #4: Coordinated Access Scorecard 3.0
  • Tab #5: Provider Participation Tool
  • Tab #6: Provider Participation Tool – Instructions and Results
  • Tab #7: Work Plan
• Remember, your score is for improvement, not judgement.
• Take the Scorecard with others in your community – here are some ideas for Scorecard Group Exercises.
• Use the notes section to explain your answer and identify your next steps.
• Note:
  • BFZ-C communities complete the Scorecard in their BFZ-C Change Package.
  • Ontario BNL Support communities complete their Scorecard in the Ontario Portal.
  • Non-BFZ-C Reaching Home communities working with CAEH BNL/CA Training and Technical Assistance complete the Scorecard in the TTA Change Package.
  • Quebec and all other communities can use the Scorecard included on this page (Scorecards 3.0 will be translated and posted in the fall of 2021).

Scorecard Tools:

• BNL Scorecard Group Exercises – ideas you can use with your community when you review the BNL Scorecard together
• Coordinate Outreach Coverage – Key Considerations and Examples (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #2)
• Outreach Coverage and Coordination Tool (for BNL Scorecard Question #2) – A Google Form you can copy and use to identify unsheltered homelessness coverage and coordination in your community.
• Inactivity Policy – Key Considerations and Examples – see also Inactivity Policy Template (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #4) – a Word document you can copy and use to get started on developing your own local Inactivity Policy
• Timely and Accurate Data Policy Template (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #5) – a Word document you can copy and use to get started on developing your own local Timely and Accurate Data Policy.
• By-Name List Data Reliability Tool – this interactive tool allows communities to enter By-Name List data and determine if it is balanced and reliable. It also provides definitions, samples and calculations for each of the BNL key aggregate data points.

When we collect sensitive and personal information we have an obligation to protect the privacy, safety and dignity of the individuals whose information is collected.

canadian alliance to end homelessness resources:

• Privacy and Consent (2021) Webinar – Recording (30 min) and Presentation
• Privacy and Consent (2021) Community of Practice Call – Recording and Presentation
• Privacy Legislation in Canada – A Primer for Homeless Serving Systems (2019)
• Common Consent Template – a Word document with two customizable common consent examples
• 20,000 Homes Campaign guidelines for dealing with personal information (2015)

HIFIS 4 Guidance:

• Data Privacy and Data Security: Considerations when Implementing HIFIS (Presentation Slides, ESDC, 2019) – This presentation aims to equip service providers with the necessary information regarding how data is collected, stored, and accessed.

• HIFIS Implementation Guide V.1 (ESCD, 2019) – see pages 21-23 for privacy and legal compliance information

• Data Sharing and Privacy in HIFIS 4 (ACRE Consulting, 2018) – a 30-page document outlining what is shared and what isn’t. The introduction is a must read in order to support understanding of the full document.

Sample Consent and Data Sharing Agreements, Forms, & Materials from Communities:

Multiple Sample Documents on ACRE Website:

• Sample Community Documents on ACRE Website – including Privacy Impact Assessments, data sharing agreements, consent forms and more

Brantford:

• Procedures for Managing Users on HIFIS – includes consent form with scripts and job aid, how to create user accounts, how to handle FOI requests, HIFIS Training checklist
• HIFIS Confidentiality and User Agreement

Dufferin County:

• Privacy and Confidentiality Considerations
• Client Consent Form
• HIFIS Confidentiality & User Agreement
• Data Sharing Agreement for Service Providers

Guelph-Wellington:

• Guelph-Wellington By-Name List Ethics Review
• Guelph-Wellington Coordinated Entry Guide
  • Oath of Confidentiality (see Appendix B)
  • HIFIS Data Sharing Agreement (see Appendix C)
  • HIFIS Collection and Release of Information (see Appendix E)

Kawartha-Haliburton:

• Coordinated Entry System Process Guide:
  • Multi-Agency Consent Form (see Appendix C)
  • By-Name List Identity Protection Process (see Appendix D)
  • By-Name List Addition and Consent Form (see Appendix H)

St. John’s:

• End Homelessness St. John’s Coordinated Access Consent Form (2021)
• Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for HIFIS (2019)

Waterloo Region:

• Privacy and Consent Training Video
• HIFIS 4 Protocol: Privacy and Consent (for Service Providers)
• HIFIS 4 Consent Cheat Sheet
• Sample Housing Stability System Shared Consent Script

Windsor-Essex:

• HIFIS Acceptable Use Agreement
• HIFIS Community Data Sharing Agreement
• BNPL Oath of Confidentiality
• BNPL Consent Form

HIFIS is a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) that can be used to collect, hold, manage and report on your By-Name List. This section is intended to serve as a one-stop for all things HIFIS related. Note that HIFIS has added increased By-Name List and Coordinated Access functionality with the December 2020 release of HIFIS version 59. Here are the CAEH HIFIS v59 monthly inflow/outflow reports (and accompanying Report Guide) that can support you to pull your aggregate BNL data. Here is a webinar on communities’ early experiences using and exploring the new By-Name List and Coordinated Access functionality within HIFIS v.59.

• HIFIS on the federal Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) website
  • Most recent HIFIS General Information:
    • HIFIS Brochure
    • HIFIS Overview Presentation (Jan 2019)
    • Updates on HIFIS Use in Canada (Sept 2019)
    • Updates on HIFIS Services and Supports (Sept 2019)
    • Data Privacy and Data Security (Nov 2019)
    • See the most recent HIFIS information from the HIFIS Virtual Workshop 2021
    • HIFIS Look Up Tables – the list of data fields and drop-downs in HIFIS V.59
  • HIFIS Client Support Centre – e-mail support@hifis.ca or phone 1-866-324-2375 (open Monday to Friday 7:00 am – 5:00 pm ET)
  • HIFIS 4 Demo site – for a hands on look at what HIFIS can do
  • HIFIS Readiness Checklist – complete this prior to receiving a HIFIS license to ensure you are prepared for HIFIS
  • HIFIS Known Issues Log – to see if an issue affecting you has already been reported to the HIFIS Client Support Centre. All fixed issues can be found in the Release Notes.
  • Reaching Home Directives on HIFIS (see end of Section #4 – Coordinated Access) -requirements for Reaching Home Designated Communities
  • Sign-up for Reaching Home Newsletters:
    • Reaching Home Newsletter – for monthly information on Reaching Home, HIFIS, and other homelessness-related issues – subscribe at ESDC.ISSD.RHInfo-infoVCS.DGRSDS.EDSC@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
    • HIFIS Newsletter – with more detailed HIFIS info – subscribe at info@HIFIS.ca. See past issues of HIFIS Newsletters.
• Homelessness Learning Hub – get access to all HIFIS information – use the search function (top right) – current resources include:
  • Webinars: Case Management | User Rights | Housing Placements
  • Tutorials: Client Information Menu | Creating a Client Record | Logging In and Out of HIFIS
  • Courses: How to Use HIFIS and Its Functionalities | Get Started on HIFIS Implementation|How to Install and Configure HIFIS|Data Management e-learning
  • Guides: Implementation | Installation | Configuration | User Guide
  • Tips and Tricks: Tips and Tricks document
  • HIFIS 4 Version 59 Release: Guide | Webinar | Frequently Asked Questions
  • System Mapping Guide and Tool: Guide | Tool – Reaching Home resource that provides step-by-step guidance on mapping a homeless-serving system and using the results to inform HIFIS configuration.
• ACRE Consulting – HIFIS 4 resources including a collection of 60+ reports available for free. ACRE also occasionally posts advice about best practices, new features, and tutorials. They also offer fee-for-service training, report development and other supports to implement HIFIS 4.
  • Sign-up for ACRE Consulting mailing list to stay up to date about new resources
  • Need help with launching HIFIS? Check out the HIFIS 4 Implementation Masterclass
  • Online training is available for you and your front line staff
  • Download some free and premium reports
  • Struggling with data quality? You might be interested in the Audit Boot Camp
  • Subscribe to ACRE Consulting HIFIS Community to access the blog, a growing collection of HIFIS 4 Resources including Privacy Impact Assessments, Data Sharing Agreements, Consent forms, User Agreements, and a HIFIS FAQ section
  • Data Sharing and Privacy in HIFIS 4 (2018) – a 30-page document outlining what is shared and what isn’t.
  • Read previous recommendations reports and get involved with current projects
• Other fee-for-service supports available:
  • Dean Barnes: 20+ years experience in database programming with 3 years of ongoing HIFIS 4.0 Crystal Reports development, both in house and remotely. Federally registered and possessing IT insurance. Based out of St. John’s, NL. Email: c.dean.barnes@gmail.com Tel no.: 709.237.3123.
  • Forrest Consulting: Erin Forrest has bachelor’s degree with Honours in Computing and Information Systems with specialties in Computer Science and Software Engineering. She has years of experience in data analysis and SQL databases from her work in both the private and public sectors. Forrest Consulting offers support to communities in making the most of their HIFIS installment and the wealth of data it can provide. Email: erinjforrest@protonmail.com – Tel no: 705-768-7039, Connect on linkedIn.
• Slack HIFIS Community
  • All are welcome to join the Slack HIFIS Community and anyone from the community can invite new members. Anyone interested in joining can also contact Erin Forrest at eforrest@peterborough.ca.
• Extracting Data from HIFIS:
  • How to Extract Data from HIFIS – Webinar Recording (1 hour) or PowerPoint PDF. See also this January 2019 blog from ACRE on Understanding Volume of Data in Reports.
  • The HIFIS Reporting Writing and Data Mapping Guide explains how to use Crystal Reports in HIFIS, and provides database maps of HIFIS data tables. Report writers can refer to these maps to understand how data fields in HIFIS interact. The guide also provides guidance on how to create custom reports for analysis and reporting purposes.
  • Here is the BFZ-C HIFIS v59 monthly inflow/outflow report (and accompanying Report Guide) that can support you to use your BNL data.
  • Here is a Building Crystal Reports Webinar from the HIFIS 2021 Virtual Workshop.

CAEH BNL Excel Workbook

See CAEH BNL Excel Workbook and CAEH BNL Excel Workbook Guide. 

The CAEH By-Name List Excel Workbook is a customizable interim approach for storing and using BNL data to end homelessness. It can be used until communities are able to fully implement a more sophisticated real-time Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) like HIFIS 4 (the Homelessness Individual and Family Information System). The workbook is intended to be customized by communities for their unique needs. As is, the workbook meets the basic quality requirements for both the CAEH chronic and veteran BNL Scorecards. It is also designed to collect monthly inflow and outflow data.

To learn how to use this workbook, please consult the CAEH By-Name List Excel Workbook Guide. For further information and instructions, please refer to our By-Name List Excel Workbook Series and tips and tricks below.

• By-Name List Excel Workbook Webinar Series:
  • 01 – About the Excel Workbook – Recording (4 min) and Presentation
  • 02 – Overview – Recording (24 min) and Presentation
  • 03 – Workbook Setup – Recording (11 min) and Presentation
  • 04 – Adding, Updating and Storing Client Data – Recording (36 min) and Presentation
  • 05 – Capturing Monthly Data – Recording (7 min) and Presentation
  • 06 – Troubleshooting Data Balancing – Recording (6 min) and Presentation
• CAEH BNL Excel Workbook Important Tips – CoP Call March 11, 2022 – Recording and Presentation

Using excel – Tips

• Excel skills are considered essential for managing BNLs in Excel and generally for further analysis of data, regardless of what database you use to hold your BNL
• While BFZ-C does not provide Excel training, we have pulled together some recommendations for familiarizing yourself with Excel:
  • Learn what makes sense – Excel has so many functions that it’s impossible to learn them all. Fun fact: there are over 450 functions! Don’t focus on learning everything about Excel, or complex formulas, but learn what you need from Excel.
  • Learn by doing – After orienting yourself to some of the basics of Excel, just get started. Most people learn it best by playing around in Excel.
  • Use it frequently – The more often you use it and devote time to it, the better you will be at remembering functions and learning new things. Use it for everything and anything that makes sense so that your regular work tasks became Excel learning opportunities.
• Excel training options you can consider
  • Day Training – take a basic and intermediate half-day or full-day training in Excel that may be offered through your organization, local college, library, or on-line. This can provide a general overall orientation to general functions.
  • YouTube – use if you learn best by watching videos, just search for whatever you are looking for.  
  • On-Line Search – whenever you get stuck or have a question, do a quick on-line search e.g., “Google it”.
  • Dedicated websites – Here are some websites you might find helpful:
    • Microsoft Support
    • The Training Lady
    • Excel Easy: #1 Excel tutorial on the net (excel-easy.com)
    • Excel Basics 1: Introduction To Excel 1: Formatting, Formulas, Cell References, Page Setup – YouTube
    • 50 Ultimate Excel Tips and Tricks for 2020 – YouTube
    • Microsoft Excel Tips & Tricks (queensu.ca) 

Its not just about having data through your BNL – its about how you display it for further analysis to help make data-driven decisions in your community. Below are sample data dashboards from a number of communities.

• Built for Zero Canada Community Dashboards (tracks monthly progress toward functional zero for chronic and veteran homelessness)
• Adelaide Zero Project (inflow and outflow data points updated on a monthly basis to track progress toward ending street homelessness)
• Edmonton (real-time updates through Tableau on emergency shelter usage, By-Name List chronic data, and overall housing and homelessness data by gender, Indigenous identity, location, and age)
• Hamilton Affordable Housing & Homelessness Dashboard (this dashboard provides annualized affordable housing data and monthly homelessness data. The dashboard uses ArcGIS and is updated on a quarterly basis)
• Toronto Shelter System Flow Data Dashboard (a Tableau dashboard showing monthly inflow, outflow and total active homeless data from the City of Toronto shelter system)
• Toronto Daily Shelter Usage and Overnight Service Usage (daily reporting includes occupancy, vacancy, and capacity data based on a snapshot at 4:00 AM)
• Chicago (real-time)
• Fort Collins (tracks progress toward Housing First program targets as well as system-level data on inflow and outflow)
• Montreal (tracks progress toward goal to house 2,000 people by 2020)
• Peterborough Report Card – an interactive report card made through Genially which is updated on a monthly basis to show inflow and outflow changes and other BNL data points
• Waterloo System (weekly)
• By-Name List Excel Workbook (data reliability tab shows inflow and outflow data for the previous and current month)

A By-Name List is the crown jewel of a strong Coordinated Access system (CA). A CA is a way for communities to design, streamline and bring consistency to the process by which people experiencing homelessness access housing and services. A strong CA uses a housing first approach along with a standardized and coordinated process for access, assessment, prioritization and referral for housing and other services across all the agencies and organizations in a local area.

This short 3 minute OrgCode video explains the difference between a By-Name List, Coordinated Access List and Prioritization List (and how they work together).

Further information and resources to support your work in developing and improving coordinated access and prioritization processes can be found on the Coordinated Access page of this website.

Webinars and Videos

• How Communities are Using BNL Data To End Homelessness (CAEH webinar, 2021) – Recording and PDF
• Using and Sharing Data to Improve Outcomes For Homeless Veterans (US) (10 min) – Recording

Community Reports and Presentations

• Moncton Councillors Offered Hopeful Outlook on Tackling Homelessness (news article, September 2021)
• Guelph-Wellington Fact Sheet to Support Permanent Supportive Housing (June 2020)
• Landlord Engagement Business Case Example Using BNL Data (2021)