- HUD Guidance
Date Published: September 2018
The Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) published this document to lay out a vision for optimal data systems and data usage. The release of this strategy is part of several efforts that all federal partners have underway to obtain an even more accurate picture of the scale and scope of homelessness in our nation. Other efforts include: collaboration among the federal and other national partners to get to a better estimate of the scale and scope of youth homelessness; HUD’s addition of data sources from other federal partners in its upcoming Longitudinal System Analysis (LSA); and efforts to better define “rural homelessness.” For more information on the Federal Strategic Plan (Home, Together), please visit Home, Together.
The SNAPS strategy supports the long-term plan to base resource and policy decisions on outcomes and performance. SNAPS encourages communities to get familiar with this Strategy, as it will guide their data-oriented efforts with Continuums of Care (CoCs) over the next several years. It indicates the key markers and characteristics of a data-driven system, which CoCs can use set their own improvement goals. SNAPS understands that these goals are ambitious, and HUD is committed to providing the resources, support, and guidance necessary to CoCs so that they can continuously progress toward the goals and achieve stronger, more useful data.
To access other SNAPS data strategy resources, visit the Data Strategy and Usability page on the HUD Exchange.