Client Intake: Adding a New Client & Basic Information

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

Overview

Learn how to add a new client to HMIS, start a Client Intake, and complete the Basic Client Demographics, Contact Information, and Family Information sections for their intake.

Step-by-Step Video

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More About This

You should only be adding a client to the system when you are completing an Intake and Enrollment into your program, or when making contact with Clients for your outreach programs.

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Details

1. Navigate to the Client Workspace, located in the blue main menu on the left side of  the screen. 
2. Select Intake from the menu group to begin a workflow that will generate the intake and enrollment assessments required for all household members.

3. You will now see the guided workflow steps outlined on the left of the form, which will lead you through the process of Intake. Beneath the workflow outline, notice two options available for users:

• The Pause button allows users to pause the workflow, saving any progress made for the user to easily return to later.
• The Cancel button allows users to exit the workflow and remove any progress made.

4. On the first page of the Intake process, there are three options to select a client under the Add or Edit section. Select one of the three options to begin to the intake workflow:

• Add a new client - Will direct users to an abbreviated search form that does not have the same full capabilities as the Find Client form does. It is not preferred that you use this form to do any comprehensive search for existing clients in the system. Doing so may lead to creating duplicate records in the system.
• Use the current client - Will take users to the Client Intake form and should only be selected when users are already working in the desired client's record.
• ⭐ Select another client - This is the most robust and preferred search option to choose! This option will automatically direct users to the Find Client form to perform a full search of the system to locate an existing client and link to their current HMIS record.

• Warning: Proceeding without selecting a client record from the list of search results will result in a duplicate record!

5. Once you have added the new client to the system, you will record the client's identifying information in the Basic Client Information section.

Name Quality and Social Security Number Quality allow you to indicate when a client doesn't know or declines to provide information. If the required information is collected, then HMIS automatically records that full data quality was met.

6. Proceed to the Basic Client Demographics section:

• Note both Race and Ethnicity and Gender sections both allow for multiple answers to be selected.

7. Next, complete the Contact Information section for your client:

8. In the Family Information section, if your client is already a member of an existing family in the system, link the client to the existing Family using the Family lookup field, and choose the appropriate option for the client in the Relationship to Head of Household field.

• If completing an intake for a single individual, select Self for Relationship to Head of Household.

9. Please read the next article in this series on how to complete the Transaction Visibility (ROI/Data Sharing) final section of the Basic Client Information form.

Core HMIS Workflow How-to Guides:

HMIS Fundamentals

ClientTrack Basics

Client Intake

Program Enrollment

Questions? Email the Helpdesk: MNHMIS@icalliances.org