Rural Warming Center (Cognito Workflow)

What to Expect as an Intake Worker at a Rural Warming Center

• If Adults are presenting together as a couple, have each person complete a separate Intake Assessment form.
• For Adults with Children, everyone in the household (parents and children) can use one Intake Assessment form.
• Required questions are marked with an asterisk (*) and almost all questions are required.
• Assessments for all guests must be entered by 8:00AM the following morning.
• Be sure that the Privacy Poster is displayed in an area where all guests can see it.
   Data you collect will be entered into the Lane County Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), but not shared to participating HMIS providers.
• Guest's Personally Identifiable Information, such as date of birth and social security number, are encrypted (protected) in Cognito Forms.
• If you are interrupted and unable to finish the Intake Assessment, you can click save at the bottom of the form and return to your partially completed application later in the evening by clicking on a link provided to you in an email.

New or Returning Guests

If this is the guest’s first stay this season then you will complete the entire form.  If the guest has previously stayed at your site this season, then you will complete just a few fields.

Submitting the Form          

Please note that there is a Save button in the bottom right corner of the form and a Submit button in the bottom left. A form is only complete once you have clicked Submit (not Save). When you submit the form you will see a note in the browser that lets you know that you have successfully submitted the form. You will not receive an email.

Data Quality

The data you are collecting is used to understand homelessness in Lane County and is reported to Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It also helps the individuals you serve by ensuring that they are identified as eligible for additional resources based on the information you provide in the Cognito form. HMIS participation requires at least 95% accurate and complete data collection.

Lane County has developed and supports a Homeless By-Name List (HBNL) for all people who receive services from HMIS participating projects. HBNL summary data (no personally identifiable information) are used in a monthly Homelessness report that is publicly available on the Lane County Human Service Division website. The dashboard is used by planners and funders to determine the need for services including shelter and housing. This dashboard will include data you enter into the Cognito forms. The actual By-Name Lists are used in case conferencing to assist individuals experiencing homelessness.

Most questions in the Cognito form have the option for the guest to refuse to give you the information or for you to document that they do not know the information. However, selecting “Doesn’t Know” or “Refused” is considered incomplete data. If you find that your guests are refusing to provide intake information to you, please reach out to your lead or to the HSD Help Desk and ask for some assistance. We have years of experience and can provide some easy to use, trauma informed techniques.  Best advice: be open about why you are collecting the information and the benefits that the information may have for the guest, other people experiencing homelessness, and to funders who want to increase the capacity of services in Lane County.

Homeless Management Information System

After you submit the Cognito form, staff will enter the data into WellSky, the Homeless Management Information System (formerly known as ServicePoint). The data will be visible to the HMIS Team and to the funders if the account is audited.

Technical Assistance

HSD Help Desk: HSDHelpDesk@lanecountyor.gov