LSA Frequently Asked Questions







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The following frequently asked questions provide details on the most commonly asked about pieces of the HMIS Longitudinal System Analysis (LSA) feature.  Click a question from the list here to navigate directly to the corresponding answer, or scroll through the full list of questions and answers below.

How can I tell which programs are included in the LSA?

How long will it take for the LSA export file to generate?

What tables are included when the "Generate Detailed Report Tables" option is checked?

Which projects are included in the "Projects included in this report" display in the report header? 

Why am I getting an LSA rejection error on my Inventory.CSV that says "HouseholdType has invalid value 0?"

Why do some fields on the LSAReport.csv end with "1" and others with "3"? 

Why does my LSAReport.csv file include fewer clients than I expect?

Why isn't there an on-screen display of the report contents in AWARDS?

How can I tell which programs are included in the LSA?

To see which programs are included in the LSA, use the Agency Programs ReportBuilder, or the Create Program Groupings feature.  In either instance, be sure to include the LSA Report data variable.  When that value is "Yes" for a program included in the report results, the program will be included in your LSA Report.  

When using the above method, keep in mind that the programs where the data variable LSA Report = Yes will exactly match the programs for which the LSA could be run, which would be limited to programs where client level data is included. In other words, the variable only includes projects where HMIS Participating Project equals "Yes" under Agency Program Information; however, ES/TH/SH/RRH/PH projects that are not participating in HMIS are still included in the Project and Bed/Unit Inventory counts within the report.  

  TIP: If, when using the Create Program Groupings feature to complete a check on which programs are included in the LSA, you save a custom group using that data variable it can be helpful for data quality purposes.  Specifically, running the HMIS ReportBuilder (or other reports) with an LSA-specific custom grouping will enable you to do data quality checks on the clients that will be included in the LSA Report.

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How long will it take for the LSA export file to generate?

Because the LSA is so data-intensive, it may take hours for it to run.  If you start it one day and you do not have results in your inbox the next day, please feel free to reach out to the Help Desk to inquire about the status.

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What tables are included when the "Generate Detailed Report Tables" option is checked?

The tables that are generated provide a peek behind-the-scenes at the source data for the LSA csv files. It is not necessary to examine these files, but for System Administrators with a high comfort level with the LSA Specifications, they can bridge the gap between the specs and the LSA output tables in the csv that gets uploaded to the HDX. They are meant as a troubleshooting tool only, and are not considered part of the report. 

Specific temporary files made available are:

  dq_Enrollment.csv - Can be used to troubleshoot LSAReport.csv Data Quality fields (as per section 9.1 in the LSA specs); for example, the LSAReport.csv's  RelationshipToHoH1 field. For more information on troubleshooting this field and for data quality troubleshooting in general, see LSA Report Details.

  tlsa_person.csv - Can be used to troubleshoot the LSAPerson.csv file. The tlsa_Person table has one record for each distinct PersonalID in tlsa_Enrollment where Active = 1. It is a client-level version of the aggregate LSAPerson data and is used to set values for each LSA reporting category - Gender, Race, etc. - for each client. It includes all columns from LSAPerson.csv other than RowTotal and ReportID, as well as several columns which are used as a reference to simplify business logic but do not correlate to a column in LSAPerson.

  tlsa_household.csv - Used to troubleshoot the LSAHousehold.csv file. The tlsa_Household data construct holds one record for each distinct combination of HoHID and ActiveHHType in tlsa_HHID where Active = 1. It is a household-level version of the aggregate LSAHousehold data and is used to set values for each LSA reporting category for each household. It includes all columns from LSAHousehold.csv other than RowTotal and ReportID, as well as several columns which are used as a reference to simplify business logic but do not correlate to a column in LSAHousehold. 

  Tlsa_exit.csv - Used to troubleshoot the LSAExit.csv file

  Tlsa_enrollment.csv - Used to give further details on the clients in sections 5.18 of the specs. This is where the report sets Population Identifiers for LSAPerson from Active Households. A record is created in tlsa_Enrollment for each validated EnrollmentID with columns for frequently used data, including effective/adjusted move-in and exit dates where relevant (section 3.4). Active enrollments in tlsa_Enrollment are those where:

- The HouseholdID matches a HouseholdID in tlsa_HHID (HHID) where Active = 1
- ExitDate is NULL or ExitDate >= ReportStart

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Which projects are included in the "Projects included in this report" display in the report header?

The projects included must have the following settings in Agency Program Information:

  HMIS Participating Project - Yes

  HMIS Project Type - Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Safe Haven, PH - Rapid Rehousing, or PH - Permanent Supportive Housing.

  NOTE: The projects that fit these criteria are displayed in the report header, even if there is not any data from the date range included in the zipped LSA file.

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Why am I getting an LSA rejection error on my Inventory.CSV that says "HouseholdType has invalid value 0"?

To resolve this error, please go to System Setup > Agency Program Information > HMIS Bed Inventory and fill in the Household Type for any records that are missing it.

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Why do some fields on the LSAReport.csv end with "1" and others with "3"?

The "1" and "3" refer to the time period on which the field is reporting. If a field ends in 1, for example Gender1, this means the value reported tells you how many clients within the reporting period specified are lacking an informational value for Gender. Gender3 tells you how many clients within the 3 years prior to the Report End Date specified are lacking an informational value for Gender. This is why it is important to do data cleanup going back 3 years from the report end date; for example, for the report being submitted to HUD for FY2019 in August 2020, clients in the database going back to 10/1/2016 are part of the report. 

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Why does my LSAReport.csv file include fewer clients than I expect?

There are many rules that impact which clients are included in the LSA; for example, a client is excluded if:

  he/she was discharged on the report start date

  is admitted and discharged on the same day

  was not in a household

  was not assigned at Intake/Admission to the Client Location (Continuum of Care) for which the LSA was generated

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Why isn't there an on-screen display of the report contents in AWARDS?

The LSA report contains thousands of data tables with questions often broken down into separate tables for project types, cohorts, subpopulations, geography, patterns of use, and more.  Because of the extensiveness of the content, it is not possible to display the report content on screen in AWARDS; instead, users are limited to generating an export ZIP file containing 10 CSV files to be submitted to HUD.  From within HUD's HDX 2.0, CoC Admins will be able to upload the LSA ZIP file, view a Data Quality Report and the LSA report tables, share download links of the report, and set up "Reviewers."

  NOTE: There are five CSV files specific to the LSA:

- LSAReport.csv
- LSAHousehold.csv
- LSAPerson.csv
- LSAExit.csv
- LSACalculated.csv

The LSA upload also includes five CSV files of Project Descriptor Data Elements (PDDEs) defined in the HMIS CSV specifications:

- Organization.csv
- Project.csv
- Funder.csv
- ProjectCoC.csv
- Inventory.csv

Additionally, for system administrators with access to client-level data (not Local CoC Admins), the Individual Detail Calculation Tables and CSV Source Files can be used for advanced troubleshooting in some instances.

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