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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-108 Housing - NC Housing Coalition for Continuum of Care Participation Agreement $0Rio ~ I HMIS LEAD AGENCY NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING COALITION, a North Carolina non-profit corporation By Name: CHRIS ESTES Title: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PARTICIPATING CONTINUUM OF CARE LEAD AGENCY Date: BY SIGNING BELOW, THESE PARTIES HAVE ENTERED INTO A 2010-2011 CONTINUUM OF CARE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT: Orange Countv. NC (Agency Name), A By: _ Name: (Program Type). Signature) Title: Countv Manager Address: P.O. Box 8181 Address: Hillsborough, NC 27278 E-mail: fcliftonCa~co.orange.nc.us (or Jamie Rohe irohe(a~co orange nc us) Phone : 919-245-2300 FAX : 919-644-3004 NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING C O A L I T I O N EI)UCAfING andADdOCAfING forCIiANGl NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING COALITION AND THE CAROLINA HOMELESS INFORMATION NETWORK CONTINUUM OF CARE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT This Continuum of Care Participation Agreement (this "Agreement") is entered into as of July 1, 2010 between the North Carolina Housing Coalition (collectively, "HMIs Lead Agency") and the Chapel Hill/Orange County Continuum of Care a coalition of agencies within Oranae County North Carolina sublect to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Carolina Homeless Manaaement Information System ("HMIs"1 participation requirements (collectively, "Participating Continuum of Care") regarding access and use of the Carolina Homeless Information Network ("CHIN") HMIs by its member agencies. Orange County will serve as the "Lead Agency" for the Participating Continuum of Care. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that CHIN is the continuum's HMIs. Further, the Participating Continuum of Care agrees that all agencies within the continuum, that are subject to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HMIs participation requirements, should use CHIN to help determine an unduplicated count of homeless individuals and services delivered with the continuum. I. INTRODUCTION The CHIN HMIs is a client information system that provides a standardized assessment of client needs, creates individualized service plans and records the use of housing and services. This shared database allows authorized personnel from Participating Agencies within the Participating Continuum of Care to share information about common clients. Goals of the CHIN HMIs include: 1. Unduplicated count of homeless individuals in North Carolina, 2. Highest standards for data integrity, 3. Expediting client intake procedures, 4. Increasing case management and available administrative tools, 5. Improving referral accuracy, and 6. Creating a tool to follow demographic trends and service utilization patterns. 7. Accurate federal, state, and CoC reports The Participating Continuum of Care can use CHIN data to determine the utilization of services of Participating Agencies, identify gaps in the local service network and develop outcome measurements. When used correctly and faithfully by all involved parties, the CHIN HMIs is designed to benefit the community, social service agencies, and the consumers of social services, through a more effective and efficient service delivery system. North Carolina Housing Coalition Carolina Homeless Information Network Agency Participation Agreement 118 St. Mary's Street ~ Raleigh, NC 27605 ~ (919) 827-4500 (VV) ~ (919) 881-0350 (F) The program is administered by the HMIS Lead Agency, which will serve as the liaison between the Continuum of Care, agencies within the Participating Continuum of Care and Bowman Systems, Inc., the developer of the CHIN HMIS. The Lead Agency for the Participating Continuum of Care has and assumes no responsibility for the performance of the Agencies within the Participating Continuum of Care ("Participating Agency") under this Agreement. II. HMIS LEAD AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES TO PARTICIPATING AGENCIES WITHIN THE CONTINUUM OF CARE 1. HMIS Lead Agency will provide the Participating Agency 24-hour access to the CHIN HMIS data- gathering system, via Internet connection, subject to force majeure and routine maintenance procedures. 2. HMIS Lead Agency will provide HMIS Privacy Notices, Client Release of Information, client intake, and other forms for use, in conjunction with Participating Agency forms, in local implementation of the CHIN HMIS functions. 3. HMIS Lead Agency will provide both initial training and periodic updates to that training for core staff of the Participating Agency regarding the use of the CHIN HMIS, with the expectation that the Participating Agency will take responsibility for conveying this information to all Participating Agency staff using the system. 4. HMIS Lead Agency will provide basic user support and technical assistance (i.e., general trouble- shooting and assistance with standard report generation) as described in CHIN's policies and procedures, which may be amended from time to time as needed ("Policies and Procedures"). 5. HMIS Lead Agency will not make public reports on client data that identify specific persons, without prior agency (and where necessary, client) permission. Public reports otherwise published will be limited to presentation of aggregated data within the CHIN HMIS. 6. HMIS Lead Agency's publication practices will be governed by policies established by the CHIN Steering Committee or relevant committees thereof for statewide analysis and will include qualifiers necessary to clarify the meaning of published findings. III. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY A. Protection of Client Privacy 1. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN in monitoring agency usage within the continuum and to comply with applicable federal and state laws regarding protection of client privacy. 2. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN in monitoring agencies within the continuum to comply specifically with the requirements set forth in the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS); Data and Technical Standards Final Notice, 69 Fed. Reg. 45,903 (July 30, 2004) and related regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") with respect to Homeless Management Information Systems, specifically the March 2010 Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Data Standards. 3. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN in monitoring agencies within the continuum comply specifically with Federal confidentiality regulations as contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR Part 2, regarding disclosure of alcohol and/or drug abuse records. 4. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN in monitoring agencies within the continuum comply specifically with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 45 C.F.R., Parts 160 & 164, and corresponding regulations established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as applicable. 5. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN in monitoring agencies within the continuum comply with all Policies and Procedures pertaining to protection of client privacy. B. Client Confidentiality 1. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN to encourage Participating Agencies within the continuum to provide written and/or verbal explanation of the CHIN HMIS and to arrange for a qualified interpreter/translator in the event that an individual is not literate in English or has difficulty understanding the Privacy Notice or associated consent form(s), as applicable. 2. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN to monitor that Participating Agencies within the continuum do not solicit or enter information from clients into the CHIN HMIS unless it is essential to provide services or conduct evaluation or research. 3. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN to monitor that Participating Agencies within the continuum not to divulge any confidential information received from the CHIN HMIS to any organization or individual without proper written consent by the client, unless otherwise permitted by applicable regulations or laws. 4. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN to monitor that Participating Agencies within the continuum to ensure that all persons who are issued a User Identification and Password to the CHIN HMIS enter into a User Agreement in a form approved by the HMIS Lead Agency, and that all such persons abide by this Agreement and the Policies and Procedures, including all associated confidentiality provisions. The Participating Agency will be responsible for oversight of its own related confidentiality requirements. 5. The Participating Continuum of Care will assist CHIN to monitor that Participating Agencies within the continuum make certain that all persons issued a User ID and Password will complete a formal instruction on privacy and confidentiality and demonstrate mastery of that information, prior to activation of their User License. 6. The Participating Continuum of Care acknowledges that ensuring the confidentiality, security and privacy of any information downloaded from the system by the Participating Agency is strictly the responsibility of the Participating Agency. C. Inter-Agency Sharing of Information 1. The Participating Continuum of Care acknowledges that all forms provided by HMIS Lead Agency regarding client privacy and confidentiality are shared with the Participating Agency as the baseline forms. The forms may be modified to indicate the more stringent HMIS sharing restrictions of the Participating Agency. The modified forms must receive approval from HMIS Lead Agency before being used. The Participating Agency will review and revise (as necessary) all forms provided by the HMIS Lead Agency to assure that they are in compliance with the laws, rules and regulations that govern its organization. 2. The Participating Continuum of Care and Participating Agencies within the continuum agree to develop a plan for all routine sharing practices with partnering agencies. CHIN recommends that Participating Agencies document that plan through a fully executed [Qualified Service Organization Business Associate Agreement, hereafter known as QSOBA(s)]. 3. The Participating Continuum of Care and Participating Agencies within the continuum acknowledge that informed client consent is required before any basic identifying client information is shared with other agencies in CHIN. The Participating Agency will document client consent on a CHIN Client Release of Information Form acceptable to the HMIS Lead Agency. 4. If the client has given approval through a completed consent form, the Participating Agency may elect to share information according to QSOBA(s), or other document(s) that complies with applicable laws, rules and regulations, that the Participating Agency has negotiated with other partnering agencies in CHIN. 5. The Participating Agency will obtain a separate release from clients regarding release of restricted information if the Participating Agency intends to share restricted client data within the CHIN HMIS. Sharing of restricted information must also be planned and documented through a QSOBA, or other document(s) that complies with applicable laws, rules and regulations. 6. Agencies with whom information is shared are each responsible for obtaining appropriate consent(s) before allowing further sharing of client records. 7. The Participating Continuum of Care acknowledges that the Participating Agency, itself, bears primary responsibility for oversight for all sharing of data it has collected via the CHIN HMIS. 8. The Participating Agency agrees to place all client consent and authorization forms related to the CHIN HMIS in a file to be located at the Participating Agency's business address and that such forms will be made available to the HMIS Lead Agency for periodic audits. The Participating Agency will retain these CHIN-related client consent and authorization forms for a period of 7 years, after which time the forms will be discarded in a manner that ensures client confidentiality is not compromised. 9. The Participating Agency acknowledges that clients who choose not to authorize sharing of information cannot be denied services for which they would otherwise be eligible. D. Custody of Data 1. The Participating Agency acknowledges, the Continuum of Care, and HMIS Lead Agency agrees, that the Participating Agency retains ownership over all information it enters into CHIN. 2. In the event that the CHIN HMIS ceases to exist, Participating Agencies will be notified and provided reasonable time to access and save client data on those served by the Participating Agency, as well as statistical and frequency data from the entire system. Thereafter, the information collected by the centralized server will be purged or appropriately stored. 3. In the event that HMIS Lead Agency ceases to exist, the custodianship of the data within the CHIN HMIS will be transferred to another organization for continuing administration and all CHIN Participating Agencies will be informed in a timely manner. IV. DATA ENTRY AND REGULAR USE OF THE CHIN HMIS 1. The Participating Continuum of Care upholds that the Participating Agency will not permit User ID's and Passwords to be shared among users. 2. The Participating Continuum of Care upholds that if a client has previously given the Participating Agency permission to share information with multiple agencies and then chooses to revoke that permission with regard to one or more of these agencies, the Participating Agency will contact its partner agency/agencies and explain that, at the client's request, portions of that client record will no longer be shared. The Participating Agency may request that CHIN designate a client's record as "Inactive" and remove it from system-wide view or revoke existing Client Consent Form for that Participating Agency. 3. The Participating Continuum of Care upholds that if the Participating Agency receives information that necessitates a client's information be entirely removed from CHIN, the Participating Agency will work with the client to complete a form provided by HMIS Lead Agency with respect to the deletion of the record, which will be sent to HMIS Lead Agency for de-activation of the client record. 4. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency will enter all minimum required universal data elements as defined for all persons who are participating in services funded by HUD Supportive Housing Program, Shelter + Care Program, or HUD Emergency Shelter Grant Program as permitted by the client using the CHIN Client Release of Information form. 5. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency will enter data in a consistent manner, and will strive for real-time, or close to real-time, data entry. 6. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency will routinely review records it has entered in the CHIN HMIS for completeness and data accuracy in accordance with the Policies and Procedures. 7. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency will not knowingly enter inaccurate information into the CHIN HMIS. 8. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency will utilize CHIN for business purposes only. 9. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency will keep updated virus protection software on Agency computers that accesses CHIN. 10. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the transmission of material in violation of any United States Federal or state regulations is prohibited. 11. The Participating Agency will not use the CHIN HMIS with intent to defraud the Federal, State, or local government, or an individual entity, or to conduct any illegal activity. 12. The Participating Agency will incorporate procedures for responding to client concerns regarding use of CHIN into its existing grievance policy. 13. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Participating Agency agrees to abide by all Policies and Procedures. V. PUBLICATION OF REPORTS 1. The Continuum of Care and Participating Agencies within the continuum agrees that it may only release aggregated information generated by the CHIN HMIS that is specific to its own services. 2. The Continuum of Care and Participating Agencies within the continuum acknowledges that the release of aggregated information will be governed through the Policies and Procedures. VI. DATABASE INTEGRITY 1. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency should not share assigned User ID's and Passwords to access CHIN with any other organization, governmental entity, business, or individual 2. The Participating Continuum of Care agrees that the Participating Agency should not intentionally cause corruption of the network, software, or data in any manner. Any unauthorized access or unauthorized modification to computer system information, or interference with normal system operations, will result in immediate suspension of services, and, where appropriate, legal action against the offending entities. VII. HOLD HARMLESS 1. The HMIS Lead Agency makes no warranties, expressed or implied. Except to the extent arising from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the HMIS Lead Agency, the Participating Agency, and Continuum of Care at all times, will indemnify and hold HMIS Lead Agency harmless from any damages, liabilities, claims, and expenses that may be claimed against the Participating Agency; or for injuries or damages to the Participating Agency or another party arising from participation in the CHIN HMIS; or arising from any acts, omissions, neglect, or fault of the Continuum of Care and Participating Agencies within the continuum or its agents, employees, licensees, or clients; or arising from the Participating Agency's failure to comply with laws, statutes, ordinances, or regulations applicable to it or the conduct of its business. 2. The Continuum of Care and the Participating Agencies within the continuum will also hold HMIS Lead Agency harmless for loss or damage resulting in the loss of data due to delays, nondeliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruption caused by Bowman Systems, Inc., by the Participating Agency's or other Participating Agencies' negligence or errors or omissions, as well as natural disasters, technological difficulties, and/ or acts of God. 3. HMIS Lead Agency shall not be liable to the Participating Agency for damages, losses, or injuries to the Participating Agency or another party other than if such is the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct of HMIS Lead Agency. HMIS Lead Agency agrees to hold the Participating Agency harmless from any damages, liabilities, claims or expenses to the extent caused by the gross negligence or misconduct of HMIS Lead Agency. 4. The Participating Continuum of Care upholds that the Participating Agency should keep in force a comprehensive general liability insurance policy with combined single limit coverage of not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). Said insurance policy shall include coverage for theft or damage of the Participating Agency's CHIN-related hardware and software, as well as coverage of Participating Agency's indemnification obligations under this Agreement. 5. The HMIS Lead Agency,agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Participating Continuum of Care Lead Agency from all loss, liability, claims or expense, including attorney's fees, arising out of or related to this Agreement caused in whole or in part by the negligence or misconduct of the HMIS Lead Agency or the Participating Agencies, except to the extent same are caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of the Participating Continuum of Care Lead Agency. It is the intent of this provision to require the HMIS Lead Agency to indemnify the Participating Continuum of Care Lead Agency to the fullest extent permitted under North Carolina law. 6. Provisions of this Article VII shall survive any termination of the Agreement. VIII. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. The parties hereto agree that this Agreement will remain in effect forte months beginning upon acceptance of this agreement by signature. This Agreement will automatically renew for successive twelve (12) month periods unless canceled or modified within thirty (30) days of the end of the term. Any modifications must be submitted in writing to the other party and agreed to by the other party. 2. The parties hereto agree that this Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between parties and supersedes all prior proposals and understandings, oral and written, relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. 3. The Continuum of Care and the Participating Agencies within their continuum shall not transferor assign any rights or obligations under the Agreement without the written consent of HMIS Lead Agency. 4. This Agreement shall remain in force until revoked in writing by either party, with 30 days advance written notice or until the end date noted in item VI11.6; provided, however, that the HMIS Lead Agency may immediately suspend Participating Agency's access to the CHIN HMIS in the event that allegations or actual incidences arise regarding possible or actual breaches of this Agreement by Participating Agency or any users for which Participating Agency is responsible hereunder until the allegations are resolved in order to protect the integrity of the system. 5. This agreement may be modified or amended by written agreement executed by both parties. 6. HMIS Lead Agency may assign this Agreement upon written notice to the Participating Agency. Please sign this contract and return to NCHC at your earliest convenience. A signed contract must be on file in our office for compliance with HUD HMIS requirements. North Carolina Housing Coalition ~ Carolina Homeless Information Network 118 St. Mary's Street ~ Raleigh, NC 27605 Or FAX Signature Page to: (919) 881-0350