Notice Details

Purpose of the Solicitation: The Request For Proposal(s) (RFP) for the New York City HMIS data environment will allow the New York City Continuum of Care (NYC CoC) and the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) to meet the minimum requirements of a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) set forth by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Furthermore, the New York City data environment will meet the emerging data needs of the NYC CoC and DSS that expand beyond the minimum requirements of HMIS. NYC CoC and DSS have taken this procurement opportunity to transform and modernize the data system that will meet the emerging and evolving needs of NYC CoC, DSS, and various other stakeholders. The current NYC CoC data system has been in place for more than 15 years and does not meet the current data needs of NYC CoC or DSS. In the past 15 years, the strategic use of HMIS data has increased significantly, but the NYC CoC data system has not been re-envisioned to keep pace with the changing need for data. First the data environment must be compliant with HUD HMIS minimum requirements. The HMIS is designed to capture client-level information over time on the characteristics and service needs of individuals at-risk of and experiencing homelessness. In response to a Congressional directive, HUD has required all Continua of Care across the country to implement an HMIS. The primary goal of the HMIS is to better understand the scope and dimensions of homelessness locally and nationally in order to address homelessness more effectively. Through the implementation of advanced technology, the HMIS also directly benefits service providers and homeless clients by providing more efficient and coordinated services. The HMIS is a valuable resource because of the capacity to integrate and de-duplicate data from all homeless assistance and homelessness prevention programs within the CoC. Aggregate HMIS data can be used to understand the size, characteristics, and needs of the homeless population at the local, state, and national levels. The HMIS enables organizations that operate homeless assistance and homelessness prevention programs to improve case management by collecting information about client needs, goals, and service outcomes. Since inception of HMIS, the data system has matured into a complex data collection and reporting tool utilized by homeless service providers across NYC CoC. HUD published the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Data and Technical Standards Final Notice on July 30, 2004. The final notice describes the types of data that HUD funded providers must collect from clients receiving homeless assistance services. The notice also presents privacy and security standards for providers, CoC and all other entities that use or process HMIS data. These data standards were revised in October 2014, September 2015, June 2016, October 2017, October 2019, and June 2020. The FY 2020 HMIS Data Standards Manual can be found at the following link: https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/HMIS-Data-Standards-Manual.pdf.

Proposed Term of the Contract(s): It is anticipated that the terms of the contract(s) awarded from this RFP will be for approximately 3 years. The contract may include an option to renew, for up to 3 years, contingent on additional funding. DHS reserves the right, prior to contract award, to determine the length of the initial contract term and each option to renew, if any.

Procurement Timeline: DHS anticipates that the RFP will be released in 11/2021. A pre-proposal conference will be held shortly after the release of the RFP. The proposal due date will be approximately six (6) weeks after the release of the RFP. DHS anticipates that contractors will be selected by 7/2022.

Use of PASSPort: PASSPort is a web-based system maintained by the City of New York to manage procurement. To submit a proposal to the upcoming RFP, all vendors must create an account within the PASSPort system. Please visit www.nyc.gov/passport to create an account or to log into the system to view this RFP.

Note on Key Dates: The key dates indicated below outline the release of the solicitation for this request for proposal, as well as the response period for proposal submissions. The solicitation response period is represented by the “Release Date” and “Due Date.”