INVENTORY Overview

Introduction

Clarity Human Services offers two methods for communities to collect information about their "housing inventory," i.e. the beds and units in their system:

• In a general manner at the program level through the Bed and Unit Inventory section of the Program Resources sidebar for the program.
  
  
  
  
• In a more detailed and dynamic method through a module we call INVENTORY that is configured through MANAGE > SITES > Housing Inventory.
  
  
  

The table below describes the capabilities of each option. Both methods comply with HUD Data Standards and federal reporting guidelines.

You are not required to select one method to use for all of your housing programs; you may choose a program-by-program approach. Refer to our INVENTORY Setup Best Practices article for more information.

For programs that will not use INVENTORY, refer to our How to Set Up a Program: Detailed Instructions article for details on configuring Bed & Unit Information.

For programs that will use INVENTORY, follow the steps described below.

Configuring INVENTORY

INVENTORY Levels

The first step in the configuration process is to compile a list of the entities that will need to be configured at each level of INVENTORY: Sites, Buildings, Unit Configuration Types, Units, and Beds.

• A Site is a location consisting of one or more of an agency’s Buildings.
• A Building is a physical structure containing Units.
• A Unit Configuration Type (UCT) is a template that describes the physical attributes of a Unit – for example, a two-bedroom Unit for families, or a one-bedroom Unit for single adults.
  • You may also configure Beds for the UCTs if you want to be able to refer clients to a specific Bed within a Unit instead of referring them to a Unit as a whole.

The Unit Configuration Type is where HUD bed information such as household type and dedicated beds is captured.

• A Unit is the actual living space for a client/household.

Eligibility

The next step is to determine which eligibility criteria you wish to tie to each Site, Building, Unit Configuration Type, Unit, and Bed (if applicable). As mentioned above, eligibility criteria can be added to INVENTORY as follows:

• Attached directly to Site, Building, UCT, Unit, and Bed levels 
• Inherited through programs and/or funding sources that are assigned to a Site/Building/UCT/Unit

Eligibility that is set at one level will inherit down to all the levels beneath it. 

Each Site, Building, UCT, and Unit can have as many funding sources as needed, but can only have one program. The ability to add a new program isn’t available to the lower levels after a program is added to a level above it. 

Additional resources:

• Refer to our INVENTORY Setup Best Practices article for guidance on determining the appropriate levels for applying eligibility criteria.
• Refer to  Program Setup: Eligibility and Introduction to Funding Sources for details on adding eligibility to a program or funding source.

Attributes

Lastly, compile a list of any specific features that you would like your users to be able to consider when searching INVENTORY. For example, do some Buildings allow pets? Do some Units have washers and dryers? You will be able to create Custom Housing Fields to capture this information so that users can filter the dashboard for the desired features.

Next Steps

Once you have outlined these items, you are ready to configure the various elements of INVENTORY:

• Configure Housing Inventory Screens, adding Custom Housing Fields to the screens as needed.
• Configure Sites, Buildings, Unit Configuration Types, Units, and (if applicable) Beds.

Settings

To make sure that INVENTORY is functioning as needed for your community, turn on the settings described below.

System-Level Setting

• Turn on the Bed & Unit Management toggle to enable the Unit Queue and the ability to refer clients to a specific Unit from the Community  Queue.

Program-Level Settings

These settings are available for each program under MANAGE > PROGRAMS. Refer to our How to Set Up a Program: Detailed Instructions article for more information.

• Use Inventory Calculated Records toggle
  
  • Turn ON the toggle for each program that should use INVENTORY information for reporting.
    • If the toggle is OFF, reports will pull the Bed & Unit Information from the program level, even if you’re using INVENTORY.

• •  Refer to our How to Set Up a Program: Detailed Instructions article for more information.
    
    
• Manage Units/Beds toggle
  • Turn ON to enable the Units/Beds tab within the client's program enrollment. 

Staff Access

Once INVENTORY has been configured, communities need to consider which  access role permissions are appropriate for the various roles performed by their staff members.

Workflow

Once INVENTORY has been configured, staff members with the appropriate permissions will be able to view Unit details on the INVENTORY dashboard, and will have 3 options for assigning clients to Units:

• Direct Connection (no referral):
  • Connect a client directly to a Unit/Bed through the Units/Beds tab within a program enrollment.
  • Refer to our “Units/Beds Tab” article for details.
• Referral through Community Queue:
  • Search for Units for which a particular client is eligible.
  • Refer the client to the Unit/Bed.
  • The client will automatically be assigned to the Unit/Bed through the enrollment.
  • Refer to our “Community Queue for End Users” article for details.
• Referral through the Unit Queue:
  • Search for clients who are eligible for a particular Unit.
  • Refer the client to the Unit/Bed.
  • The client will automatically be assigned to the Unit/Bed through the enrollment.
  • Refer to our "Unit Queue" article for details.

Updated: 5/24/2023