In This Issue

• Report Highlight & Example Usage

• ICA Website

Report Highlight & Example Usage

HUDX-228 ESG CAPER

The ESG CAPER is a HUD report that is federally required for some projects but is able to be run by anyone who has an HMIS license. You do not need an additional reporting license to run this report!

Benefits of the ESG CAPER:

*All screenshots are from a single day in October 2025 and include all active programs across the whole state of VT. All active programs include Services Only (ex. Coordinated Entry), Street Outreach, Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Permanent Housing, and Other.

• Q5a: Gives a count of how many veterans, chronically homeless persons, youth, and parenting youth you have served in the designated reporting period:

• Q5a: Gives a count of how many veterans, chronically homeless persons, youth, and parenting youth you have served in the designated reporting period:

• Q6a-d: Shows any missing data from the client records or enrollments and the percentage of issue rate

• Q11: Gives an age breakdown by household type:

• Q15: Gives information on where clients slept the night prior to enrollment and Q23c and d: Gives information on the Exit Destination of clients leaving programs.

• Q17: Gives information on Cash Income and Sources reported by the client upon enrollment. Q20a: Gives information on Non-Cash Benefits and Sources reported by the client upon enrollment. Q21 Gives information on Health Insurance reported by the client upon enrollment.

You might be wondering, ‘This is great, but what can I do with this information?’ – That’s a good question!

• You can use this information to further investigate if the clients you serve are disproportionately represented in a certain category versus the rest of the general population in your Town, County or Statewide.

• You could use this information to inform internal policies, procedures and best practices, to inform your board members, community members, etc.

• You can use formulas to help the data be more relatable in general conversations or when applying for grant opportunities.

An example could be looking at the percentage of agency participants that reported receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits upon enrollment. To do this, you would need to know the total number of persons served (Q5a, row 1) and the total number of persons who reported receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits upon enrollment (Q20a, row 1).

Let’s take a closer look at this example:

In Vermont, for all active projects on a single day in October 2025 there were 11,680 total persons served:

For the same single day in October 2025, there were 3,439 persons who reported receiving SNAP benefits:

To calculate the percentage of clients enrolled in your programs that receive this benefit you would take the benefit part and divide it by the total persons whole. Then multiply the result by 100 to convert to a percentage.

• To continue with our example:

  • Part (benefit total): 3,439

  • Whole (total persons served): 11,680

  • Calculation: (3,439 / 11,680) x 100 = 29.4434%

• Or if you’re like me, you can use a percentage calculator online, like this one.

Okay, okay – but what does this really mean?

A percentage in this case is only relevant when you are comparing it to something else, like the general population. Using our example, we would want to know what percentage of the general population in the state receive SNAP benefits. A simple internet search yields articles or resources, like this one.

• Note: when looking for information on the internet, please ensure your data is from a reputable source.

The USAFacts.org website states that in fiscal year 2024, 10.3% of Vermonters received SNAP benefits.

The results?

We can clearly see that the percentage of persons enrolled in homeless services programs are at a higher rate of receiving SNAP benefits than the general population. With persons enrolled in homeless services programs receiving SNAP benefits at 29.44% compared to the general population at 10.3% receiving the same benefits.

Vermonters enrolled in homeless services programs are almost 3x as likely (2.86x) to be receiving SNAP benefits than the general population.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us on the Help Desk!
To contact us, please e-mail: vthmis@icalliances.org

ICA Website

The ICA Vermont website has a comprehensive Knowledge Base for HMIS guidance. Take a look here: Vermont — Institute for Community Alliances

If you have any training questions or requests, please reach out to us on the Help Desk!
To contact us, please e-mail: vthmis@icalliances.org

We want to hear from you!

Whether it is a comment, a complaint, or a suggestion, we want to hear from you! Please e-mail us at VTHMIS@icalliances.org