,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dijc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #bd1 #bjbf,mr4 ,barrasso 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,lummis1 ,mr4 ,peters1 and ,mr4 ,sullivan7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to improve the point-in-time count conducted by the ,department of ,housing and ,urban ,development1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,improvements to point-in-time count 7a7 ,in general ,section #dbg7;b77#c7 of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aachf;a7b77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,the ,secretary and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,limitation on scope ,the ,secretary 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,annual point-in-time count 7i7 ,definition ,in this subparagraph1 the term annual point-in-time count means the annual point-in-time count of homeless individuals required under clause 7ii74 7ii7 ,requirement 7,i7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall require each recipient to participate in an annual point-in-time count of homeless individuals during the last #aj days of ,april of each year beginning after the date of enactment of this subparagraph4 7,,ii7 ,supplemental counts ,authorization from the ,secretary shall not be required in order for a recipient to conduct a supplemental point-in-time count of homeless individuals during a different time of year than the annual count described in subclause 7,i74 7iii7 ,use of standardized tools ,in conducting the annual point-in-time count1 a recipient shall use a community-wide homeless management information system 7commonly known as an ,,hmis7 for client-level data collection4 7iv7 ,technical assistance and support for rural and resource-limited continuums of care ,the ,secretary shall provide training in ,,hmis integration to rural or resource-limited recipients for purposes of conducting the annual point-in-time count4 7v7 ,reporting and compliance 7,i7 ,continuum of care standardized ,,hmis reporting requirements ,the ,secretary shall establish standardized ,,hmis reporting requirements for recipients conducting the annual point-in-time count with respect to the geographic scope and spatial analysis of unsheltered and sheltered populations4 7,,ii7 ,,hud report ,the ,secretary shall submit an annual report to ,congress on-- 7aa7 compliance by recipients with the data collection1 ,,hmis reporting1 and annual point-in-time count requirements under this subparagraph2 7bb7 technical assistance and guidance provided by the ,secretary to recipients to support implementation of the requirements described in item 7aa72 and 7cc7 improvements in the consistency1 accuracy1 and quality of data collected through the annual point-in-time count4 7vi7 ,rolling ,,hmis updates and midpoint ,,hmis data 7,i7 ,,hmis updates ,a recipient shall maintain up-to-date ,,hmis data year-round regarding participation in homelessness assistance projects funded by the ,secretary1 including entries into and exits from emergency shelters1 homeless street outreach programs1 transitional housing1 and other eligible activities under this subtitle4 7,,ii7 ,midpoint ,,hmis data ,a recipient shall collect and maintain ,,hmis data on unsheltered and sheltered homeless populations as of the midway point between each annual point-in-time count 7in this subparagraph referred to as midpoint ,,hmis data74 7,,iii7 ,purposes ,the purposes of the midpoint ,,hmis data collected under subclause 7,,ii7 are to-- 7aa7 track seasonal or emerging trends2 7bb7 inform planning for programs carried out under this subtitle2 and 7cc7 supplement1 but not replace1 the annual point-in-time count4 7vii7 ,guidance for rural and resource-limited continuums of care ,the ,secretary shall provide guidance for rural or resource-limited recipients regarding-- 7,i7 standardized data collection methodologies for the annual point-in-time count2 7,,ii7 implementation and integration of ,,hmis tools for mapping sheltered and unsheltered populations2 7,,iii7 midpoint ,,hmis data collection and spatial mapping requirements under this subparagraph2 and 7,,iv7 staffing1 training1 and technology best practices necessary to comply with the requirements of this subparagraph4 7viii7 ,funding flexibility ,the ,secretary may-- 7,i7 allow a recipient to use assistance received under subtitle ,b to support the training of employees or volunteers in ,,hmis integration2 and 7,,ii7 provide guidance on ensuring that the use of assistance under subclause 7,i7 does not disrupt service delivery to homeless shelters4 4 7b7 ,,gao study 7#a7 ,definition ,in this subsection1 the term ,continuum of ,care means a recipient1 as that term is defined in section #dja of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aacfj74 7#b7 ,study ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall-- 7,a7 conduct a study of the annual point-in-time count conducted by the ,department of ,housing and ,urban ,development 7in this subsection referred to as the ,department71 including the methodology used by the ,department2 and 7,b7 submit to ,congress a report that contains-- 7i7 the results of the study conducted under subparagraph 7,a72 and 7ii7 as appropriate1 recommendations on how to modernize the annual point-in-time count in a way that leads to greater accuracy in counting the homeless1 including how the ,department can-- 7,i7 standardize collection methodology across ,continuums of ,care2 and 7,,ii7 increase consistency1 modernization1 and efficiency of data collection and reporting processes with respect to the annual point-in-time count within each ,continuum of ,care4