Demographic Information Reporting Standards

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

HSH collects information on client demographics in the Online Navigation and Entry (ONE) System. The ONE System complies with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirement to have a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).

For gender identity, race, and ethnicity, we use response options required by HUD. The federal government’s most recent requirements went into effect on October 1, 2023.
For sexual orientation, we use response options recommended by the City of San Francisco.

In our HSH public reports, we cross-map some of these response options to other terms for clarity and concision. Our reporting standards for race and ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation are laid out on this page.

Race and Ethnicity Reporting Standards

In October 2023, HUD combined race and ethnicity questions into a single field. In line with HUD’s requirements, clients may select from the following options:

American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous
Asian or Asian American
Black, African American, or African
Hispanic/Latina/e/o
Middle Eastern or North African
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
White
Client doesn’t know
Client prefers not to answer
Data not collected

Clients may select up to seven response options, except for the options “Client doesn’t know,” “Client prefers not to answer,” and “Data not collected,” which describe missing data and cannot be selected with any other options.

For analysis and reporting purposes, responses are re-categorized in HSH’s public reporting so that each client is attributed to one of the categories below.

HSH Public Reporting Category	ONE System Response Options
Asian	“Asian or Asian American” only
Latine or Hispanic	“Hispanic/Latina/e/o” only
Multiracial (incl. Latine or Hispanic)	Multiple selections, including “Hispanic/Latina/e/o”
Multiracial (not Latine or Hispanic)	Multiple selections, not including “Hispanic/Latina/e/o”
Middle Eastern or North African	“Middle Eastern or North African” only
Native American	“American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous“ only
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	“Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander” only
White	“White” only
Doesn’t know or prefers not to answer	“Client doesn’t know” or “Client prefers not to answer”
Data not collected	“Data not collected”

Gender Identity Reporting Standards

In line with HUD’s requirements, clients can select gender identity from the following options:

Woman (girl, if child)
Man (boy, if child)
Non-binary
Transgender
Questioning
Culturally specific identity (e.g. two-spirit)
Different identity
Client doesn’t know
Client prefers not to answer
Data not collected

Clients can select up to seven response options, except for the options “Client doesn’t know,” “Client prefers not to answer,” and “Data not collected,” which describe missing data and cannot be selected with any other options.

For analysis and reporting purposes, responses are re-categorized so that each client is attributed to one of the categories below.

HSH Public Reporting Category	Definition per ONE System Responses
Woman	Represents clients who selected “Woman (girl, if child)” and no other options.
Man	Represents clients who selected “Man (boy, if child)” and no other options.
Questioning	Represents clients who selected “Questioning”, including those who selected additional gender options.
Transgender	Represents clients who made one of the following selections: “Transgender,” “Transgender” and “Man (boy, if child),” or “Transgender” and “Woman (girl, if child).”
Non-binary	Represents clients who selected any other combination of the seven gender response options offered. In other words, these clients did not select “Questioning” and were not otherwise identified as Woman, Man, or Transgender per the reporting logic described above. Note that this includes clients who selected “Transgender” but also selected “Non-binary,” “Culturally specific identity (e.g. two-spirit),” “Different identity,” and/or both “Man (boy, if child)” and “Woman (girl, if child)”
Doesn’t know or prefers not to answer	Includes cases where “Client doesn’t know” or “Client prefers not to answer” were recorded.
Data not collected	Represents clients for whom “Data not collected” was recorded.

Sexual Orientation Reporting Standards

Based on guidance from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, HSH’s response options for sexual orientation are:

Straight / Heterosexual
Bisexual
Gay / Lesbian / Same-Gender Loving
Questioning / Unsure
Not Listed
Declined to Answer
Not Asked
Incomplete / Missing data

Clients can select one response option.

HSH Public Reporting Category	ONE System Response Options
Straight or heterosexual	“Straight / Heterosexual”
Gay or lesbian	“Gay / Lesbian / Same-Gender Loving”
Bisexual	“Bisexual”
Questioning or unsure	“Questioning / Unsure”
Not listed	“Not Listed”
Data not collected	“Not Asked” or “Incomplete / Missing Data”
Prefers not to answer	“Declined to answer”