Performance Monitoring
Overview
Monitoring and evaluating the Homelessness Response System is critical to ensuring that the Austin / Travis County community is making meaningful strides towards ending homelessness. Performance Monitoring refers to the means by which our crisis response system tracks efficiency and effectiveness in establishing sustainable solutions for all persons experiencing a housing crisis in our community. Evaluators utilize several standardized performance monitoring tools tailored by program type and funding sources, each composed of a variety of program-based performance metrics.
CoC-Funded Project Performance Monitoring
Austin / Travis County Homelessness Dashboard
The Austin / Travis County Continuum of Care Dashboard allows users to explore Homelessness Response System data. Users can interact with various tabs on the dashboard to gain a deeper understanding of trends in the Austin / Travis County Homelessness Response System. Data come from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a database that service providers use to collect data on the services they provide people experiencing homelessness, and from capacity updates that housing programs report to ECHO on a quarterly basis.
The Austin / Travis County Continuum of Care Dashboard contains data on key performance measures and system flow through the pathways clients take from homelessness to housing. Metrics included in the Dashboard include length of enrollment, length of homelessness prior to Coordinated Assessment (CA), time between CA, program referral, and enrollment, and move-in, as well as system capacity, permanent housing move-ins, current homelessness estimates, annual enrollments into programs, and returns to homelessness.
Data used in this dashboard will be updated regularly, and users are encouraged to revisit the dashboard as new data are added. Permanent housing move-ins, current homelessness, and returns data will be updated monthly and system capacity data will be updated quarterly. System capacity data reflects homelessness programs’ bed counts as of January of the latest year for which the Housing Inventory Count (HIC) report has been finalized.
Want more data? Other data visualizations and reports can be found on the Homelessness in Austin page and the Data and Reports pages of our website.
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CoC Performance Scorecard Submission Process
Continuum of Care funded projects must submit Quarterly Performance Scorecards via email to scorecards@austinecho.org by the submission deadline of each quarter.
Each project must attach to the submission email the completed Quarterly Performance Scorecard associated with their project type and all reports and supporting documents referenced in the Scorecard.
Comments on discrepancies between metrics on reports and the metrics reported in the Scorecard must be provided in the “Comments” section in the Scorecard spreadsheet to ensure that they will be reviewed in the Scorecard revision process. Reviewed Quarterly Performance Scorecards will be returned to projects within ten business days following the submission deadline. If a project wishes to appeal the score assigned to their project after review, the project must follow the CoC Scorecard Appeal Policy.
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Continuum of Care Funded Project Performance Monitoring
Leadership Council, as the CoC Board of the TX-503 Austin / Travis County Continuum of Care, is required to “establish performance targets appropriate for population and program type, monitor recipient and subrecipient performance, evaluate outcomes, and take action against poor performers.” (24 CFR 578.7 (a)(6))
As the TX-503 CoC Collaborative Applicant and Lead Agency, ECHO is responsible for collecting, reviewing, and compiling performance data on CoC-funded projects through the CoC Quarterly Performance Scorecard process. Once the quarterly review process is completed, the performance of all projects are compiled into a report called the CoC Performance Scorecard Summary and presented to Leadership Council.
The CoC Performance Scorecards submitted for the Quarter 1 reporting period are used during the annual CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) competition to inform project rankings for the CoC NOFO Priority Listing.
The policies and procedures below govern the collection and submission of the CoC Quarterly Performance Scorecard.
CoC Quarterly Performance Scorecard Report Timeline
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| Quarter Periods | January 1 - March 31 | April 1 - June 30 | July 1 - September 30 | October 1 - December 31 |
| Reporting Period Start Date | April 1 (Previous Year) | July 1 (Previous Year) | October 1 (Previous Year) | January 1 (Previous Year) |
| Reporting Period End Date | March 31 (Current Year) | June 30 (Current Year) | September 30 (Current Year) | December 31 (Previous Year) |
| Scorecard Submission Deadline | April 30 | July 31 | October 31 | January 31 |
Email completed CoC Quarterly Performance Scorecards, along with associated reports and supporting documents, to scorecards@austinecho.org.
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Blank CoC Quarterly Performance Scorecard Forms
Permanent Supportive Housing Project Scorecard (2019)
Rapid Rehousing Project Scorecard (2019)
Transitional Housing Project Scorecard (2019)
Joint Transitional Housing – Rapid Rehousing Project Scorecard (coming soon)
Diversion (SSO) Project Scorecard (coming soon)
HMIS Project Scorecard (2017)
CoC Quarterly Performance Scorecard Policies and Procedures
The policies and procedures below govern the collection and submission of the CoC-Funded Project Quarterly Performance Scorecards.
Performance Improvement Plan Policy (2019)
Performance Improvement Plan Agreement (2019)
Scorecard Timeliness Policy (2020)
Scorecard Appeal Policy (2020)
Scorecard Appeal Form
Policy on Special Projects Entering the CoC
Annual Performance Report (APR) Support
All projects that receive Continuum of Care funds must submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) to HUD through the Sage HMIS Repository website within 90 days of the end of their grant period. CoC Recipients can reach out to ECHO staff to request support and analysis of their APR before submission.
ECHO will receive a notification from Sage when a new user is added to an account. ECHO recommends that each agency ensure that they have an Admin Account. If needed, ECHO can provide support with updating user accounts or adding new Admin accounts.
Sage APR Guidebook for CoC Funded Programs
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Non-CoC Project Performance Monitoring
Some projects, as a requirement of their funding or for continued improvement and transparency, submit Non-CoC Funded Quarterly Performance Scorecards. This document assists agencies, funders, and stakeholders in building a process to collect data used for a variety of purposes: continuous quality improvement initiatives, project monitoring and compliance, and the alignment of project outcomes with system goals. Participating in the Non-CoC Funded Project Monitoring provides a tool to clear measure progress towards reaching performance goals and informs successes beyond those monitored by funders.
Project funders can reach out to scorecards@austinecho.org for more information about the Project Performance Monitoring Process or to discuss the creation of custom Quarterly Performance Reports.
Non-CoC Standard Performance Measures Form (coming soon)
Diversion Standard Performance Measures Form (coming soon)