Enrollment: Universal Data Assessment

Author: Ran Chang | Date Created: June 25th, 2024| Date Updated: May 16th, 2025

Overview

This article explains each sub-section of the Universal Data Assessment form and shows you when and how to complete them.

Step-by-Step Video

Click here to watch the video. Press play to begin.

More About This

The Universal Data Assessment is a form used at program Enrollemnt, Update, Annual Assesment, and Exit. It asks questions about a client's current situation, such as income, health, employment, education, and disabilities or barriers.

Unlike basic client information, such as name or demographics, this information can change over time.

Completing the Universal Data Assessment helps you and case managers understand how a client's health insurance and living situation change over time, and also provides important data for your Funders.

Details

You will be completing the sections of the Universal Data Assessment within the New Assessment step of Program Enrollment in the Intake guided workflow:

Universal Assessment Details

Fill out this series of questions from the top of the page down. Be mindful that there are conditional questions that may appear depending on the answers to earlier questions.  

• Click on an (i) information icon to see additional guidance on completing certain assessment questions.
• Note: The client's answer to the Disabling Condition field on this form must match the information you enter later in the workflow when you fill out the Barriers (Disabilities) form:

Enrollment CoC

Select or enter the CoC code assigned to the geographic area in which the head of household is staying at the time of project entry. Enrollment CoC will be defaulted to the program's CoC within a workflow:

Prior Living Situation (3.917)

This series of fields identifies the type of living situation and length of stay in that situation immediately prior to project start for all adults and the Head of Household. This data element is used with other information to identify whether a client appears to meet the criteria for experiencing chronic homelessness.

Prior Permanent Residence

A permanent address is an apartment, house, or room where the client last lived for 90 days or more. Shelters and time-limited housing are not permanent addresses.

Health Insurance 

The Health Insurance sub-assessment is collected to document whether or not your client is currently covered by health insurance at the time of project enrollment.

1. Answer the Covered by Health Insurance field by selecting the most accurate menu option:

2. In the required Status column, select Yes on the correct row(s) for the type of Health Insurance your client is receiving. Note that Status is a required field:

You can sort the Health Insurance options by clicking on the column heading. This can help you stay organized if you are updating existing data.

3. Reason No is an optional field that allows you to give a reason why a client is not covered by a specific type of Health Insurance: 

4. Click Save once you have completed all sections of the form: 

Core HMIS Workflow How-to Guides:

HMIS Fundamentals

ClientTrack Basics

Client Intake

Program Enrollment

Questions? Email the Helpdesk: MNHMIS@icalliances.org