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Simcoe County > HIFIS Updates

Simcoe County HIFIS

​​​​​​​​​​​​​HIFIS (Homeless Individuals and Families Information System) is a voluntary information system provided by Infrastructure Canada, and is a community-level data collection and case management information system. 

Anonym​ous data from HIFIS is used nationally for the National Shelter Study and the Shelter Capacity Report. It is also used locally to gain a better understanding of the issues of homelessness in Simcoe County,​ and to better plan for services and initiatives. At the service provider level, data from HIFIS is used for case management, helping front-line staff provide coordinated services and reduce duplication for HIFIS clients. 

In Si​mcoe County, HIFIS project development and operations are led in partnership by the Children and Community Services and Information Technology departments, with input from service provider representatives known as Super Users. 

2021 Update​​​​

​​In 2021, HIFIS continued to concentrate on operations, with focus on front-end user training (i.e. service provider staff), policies and procedures, data quality, and reporting. In December 2021, there was a significant HIFIS upgrade from version 4.58 to 4.59, creating future opportunities to utilize the system.

  • ​14,280 client files (2,366 new files in 2021)
  • 233 active HIFIS users (113 new users joined in 2021)
  • 32 agencies (1 new agency joined)
  • 23 virtual training sessions 
  • 2,641 HIFIS Help Desk requests/support
  • 36 HIFIS reports available ot users (1 new report released in 2021)

2020 Update​​​​

​The focus for HIFIS in 2020 continued to be project development and refining HIFIS operations. Project development focussed on the development of reports from HIFIS, and HIFIS operations focused on training with front-end users (i.e., service provider staff), data quality,​ and policy and procedures.

  • 12,138 client files (2638 new files in 2020)
  • 251 active HIFIS users (94 new users joined in 2020)
  • 31 agencies (5 new joined in 2020)
  • 29 virtual training sessions since June 2020
  • ​1965 HIFIS Help Desk requests/support​
  • ​35 HIFIS reports available to HIFIS users (28 new reports released in 2020) ​​​

2019 Update​

In 2019, the County​​ of Simcoe launched HIFIS with its funded service providers in the homelessness sectorspecifically with the following programs: Housing Support, Housing First, Emergency Shelter, Motel Voucher, and Transitional Housing  

The following ​​​milestones were achieved in 2019: 
  • 9500+ client files 
  • 201 active HIFIS users 
  • 26 agencies ​
  • 11 in-person training sessions ​

​​​More information about HIFIS can be found at: 

For further information please contact the County of Simcoe HIFIS team by email at HIFIS@simcoe.ca​.