Invalid Homelessness Start Date/Number of Months Homeless

Why this happens: This warning appears when the client’s project entry assessment contains conflicting homelessness history information. The system compares the approximate homelessness start date, the number of times homeless, and the total number of months homeless in the past three years. If those responses do not create a logical timeline, the warning is triggered.

This can happen when the approximate start date is incorrect, the number of homeless episodes is inaccurate, or the selected number of months does not match the dates entered.

Examples:

o   The “Time” conflict: The assessment shows one continuous episode that began three years ago, but the number of times homeless is marked as “3 times” instead of “1 time.”

o   The “Months” conflict: The homelessness start date spans parts of three calendar months, but the selected response says the client was homeless for only two months in the past three years.

Example project entry start date: 12/30/2025 (Months homeless = October, November, and December)

How to fix this:

1.   Open the Client’s profile and navigate to the entry assessment screen. Use backdate mode when available; for shelter enrollments, backdate manually, within entry/exit assessment, because this function is locked. For PATH enrollments, switch to Enter Data As (EDA) mode. This is not required to fix errors or warnings for other project enrollments.

2.  Scroll to the Housing History section, below Prior Living Situation

3.  Locate the three pieces of information (Review intake notes):

a.       Project Entry Date

b.       Approximate date homelessness started and approximate start date of last episode of homelessness

c.       Number of Times/Months Homeless in the Past 3 Years

4.  If it is a single, continuous episode, the “approximate date this episode of homelessness started” should document, when this current stretch of homelessness began and the number of times must be set to 1 (One time) if there hasn’t been a 7-day break from literal homelessness.

5.  If the client had multiple separate episodes of homelessness, use the approximate start date for the current episode only. Record prior episodes by selecting the correct number of times homeless and totaling all homeless months from the past three years. For chronic homelessness eligibility, count any month in which the client was homeless for at least one day as a full month.

6.  Click Save & Exit at the bottom of the page.