Entry/Exit Date Errors: Length of Time in Program and Overlapping Stays

Entry/Exit Date Errors are based on data in the Project Start Date and Exit Date fields. These errors can occur in two ways, by how long project stays are or by overlapping stays.

Length of Time in Program

It is uncommon (but not unheard of) for individuals or families to reside in shelter for over 90 days and transitional housing projects over 730 days. When a client has an Entry/Exit record in a provider where the length of time is greater than the maximum days for that project type, reports will flag this as a data quality issue. There are a variety of things to consider with clients that appear here to alert you to potential errors. 

• For Emergency Shelter projects (ES) this maximum is 90 days. 
• For Transitional Housing projects (TH) and Rapid Re-housing projects (RRH) this maximum is 730 days.

How to resolve this error:

• This may or may not be a data entry error. Check the following things: 
  • Confirm that the Project Start and Project Exit Dates are correct for each client. If incorrect, update to the most accurate dates you can find. 
  • If an Exit Date is missing, check to see if client should be exited and, if so, add the correct Exit Date.
• Check to make sure the correct provider was used. If the incorrect provider was used, update the provider to the correct provider.
• Confirm that the program stay is recorded in line with your workflow. If your stays are not in line with your workflow, please contact the Helpdesk for further guidance.
• If the Project Start and Project End Dates are correct, there is no need for further action.

Overlapping Stays

An overlapping stay can mean a few different things. By definition, an overlapping stay is when a client has an Entry Date in one provider that is before the Exit Date from another provider. Some overlapping stays will cause errors on reports, while other overlapping stays won't. The following section will address two different situations:

• Overlapping stays in the same provider
• Overlapping stays in different providers

Overlapping stays in the same provider

To resolve an overlapping stay in the same provider, you need to delete one of the Entry/Exits if it spans the exact date range.

1. Enter EDA to the correct provider and open the Head of Household's record. (Note: You do not need to be in back date mode when correcting this error.)
2. Navigate to the Entry/Exit tab.
3. Pay attention to any Interims, Follow-ups, as well as the Client Count associated to the Entry/Exit, to ensure you maintain an Entry/Exit that accurately reflects household configuration and the client’s participation in your project.
   1. In the example below, the bottom Entry/Exit should be deleted so as not to lose the 1 Interim attached to the top Entry/Exit.
   

Important note: deleting an Entry/Exit will not delete assessment data you have added, such as disabilities, income, race, ethnicity, etc.

Overlapping stays in different providers

When a client leaves one residential provider and enters another, there should be no overlap of the stays with regard to residential dates. That is, the client should not be housed in two places at once. 

Example One

If a client's record shows two Entry records, one for a current emergency shelter (ES) stay and the other for a previous transitional housing (TH) stay, then the Exit Date for the TH provider should be either the same date or before the Project Start Date to the ES stay. 

Here is an example of an overlapping stay that will cause an error in a report: 

To fix this error, you will need to do one (or both) of the following:

• Confirm the date when the client exited the TH program. If this is your provider, you can change the date if it was not correct. If this is not your provider, you will need to contact someone at the TH program's agency for further action.
• Confirm the date when the client entered the ES program. If this is your provider, you can change the date if it was not correct. If this is not your provider, you will need to contact someone at the ES program's agency for further action.

Here is an example of how the ES and TH stays could be resolved to no longer conflict: 

Example Two

If a client's record shows two Entry records, one for a current permanent housing (PH) stay and the other for a previous emergency shelter (ES) stay, then the Exit Date for the ES provider should be either the same date as or before the PH entry's Housing Move-In Date. 

Here is an example of an overlapping stay that will cause an error in a report: 

Next, by clicking the edit pencil next to the Project Start Date to see the Entry assessment for the PH stay, you can see that the Housing Move-in Date was recorded as being before the ES stay's Exit Date: 

To fix this error, you will need to do one (or both) of the following:

• Confirm the date when the client exited the ES program. If this is your provider, you can change the date if it was not correct. If this is not your provider, you will need to contact someone at the ES program's agency for further action.
• Confirm the date when the client moved into the PH program. If this is your provider, you can change the date if it was not correct. If this is not your provider, you will need to contact someone at the PH program's agency for further action.

Here is an example of how the PH and ES stays could be resolved to no longer conflict: 

Next, by clicking the Interims icon to see the Update assessment for the PH stay, you can see that the Housing Move-in Date was recorded as being the same as the ES stay's Exit Date: