May 2007

Below is a memo from Ruth Román, the Director of the Program Support Division with HUD's Housing Counseling Program. She issued this memo at the request of advocates who were concerned about maintaining client confidentiality while complying with HUD's requirements for capturing client data under the Housing Counseling Program.

From: Roman, Ruth [mailto:Ruth.Roman@hud.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The purpose of this email is to explain the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Counseling Program requirements concerning the collection of client level data, and HUD’s solution to allow legal services agencies to comply with the requirement without having to identify actual service recipients.

Pending publication of a final rule [Docket No. FR-4798-F-02], beginning October 1, 2007, Housing Counseling Agencies (HCAs) participating in HUD’s Housing Counseling Program will be required to use a Client Management System (CMS) that interfaces with HUD’s databases in order to collect and submit agency and client level data. A CMS is an existing online tool that automates much of the housing counseling process, including client intake, file maintenance, financial and credit analysis, outreach, client notification, and reporting.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved HUD to collect client level data, including data which uniquely identify counseling service recipients, such as names and addresses. Part of the rationale for collecting client level data of this nature is that it will help HUD to be able to study and demonstrate the long term impact of housing counseling on recipients and therefore justify the program and its appropriation. For example, as the current nationwide default and foreclosure crisis makes clear, it is impossible to evaluate whether a decision to purchase a home was a smart one without knowing what the impact of that decision was for a household over time.

However, we recognize that there are legal services agencies that participate in the Housing Counseling Program that believe that state bar and other rules prohibit them from identifying clients in Housing Counseling program activity reporting. In order to avoid jeopardizing their participation in the Program, HUD will exempt legal services agencies from the Housing Counseling Program requirement to report client level data that identifies the individual service recipient specifically. These agencies would still be required to utilize a CMS that interfaces with HUD’s database to submit all other required client level data fields.

To facilitate the submission of client level data without uniquely identifying the service recipient, HUD is collaborating with the various CMS vendors to build functionality that would allow a legal services agency to use a CMS product to build their files, including names and addresses and other identifying fields for their purposes, but then on submission to HUD have those fields transformed so identifying data would remain hidden to HUD. Cases would still be anonymously identified, for example by a file number, so the data could be tied to an actual individual for later audit or other purposes, if applicable.

I recommend you visit HUD’s web site to learn about the CMS vendors that are working on interfacing with HUD’s databases, sample their products, and question them regarding the functionality that will allow you to satisfy HUD’s requirements for the submission of client level data while not identifying any service recipients individually. Contact and other information concerning the CMS vendors is available at:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hccprof21.cfm

My staff is always available to offer technical assistance and answer any questions regarding this topic and HUD’s other housing counseling program requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact George Grotheer at 202 402-2294, your HUD point of contact, or me, should you have questions or comments regarding this or any other Housing Counseling Program issue.

Sincerely,
Ruth Román, Director
Program Support Division

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