Bowman Systems is pleased to announce The City of Chicago's  New Implementation of ServicePoint for its Homeless Management Information System

Shreveport, LA - The City of Chicago Department of Human Services (Chicago DHS) is redoubling its efforts to end homelessness by implementing ServicePoint from Bowman Systems.  After a decision in early 2008 to replace its current software, Chicago DHS spent the next several months evaluating a number of the market's top HMIS solutions and chose ServicePoint as the leading edge software to further its fight against homelessness.

The City of Chicago chose this web-based application to empower human services providers, agency coalitions and the community itself to manage client and resource data in real-time and to serve individuals and families in housing crisis in the most effective and efficient manner. ServicePoint's robust client and referral tracking capabilities, its case management functions and agency and program indexing, and its reporting abilities were far greater than the software in use.  Since it combines the ease of the Internet with the performance of a powerful relational database technology, ServicePoint was seen as the easiest and most secure way to manage health and human services information.

Also in Bowman Systems' favor was the fact that nearly 70% of the nation's housing services coalitions use ServicePoint to track and manage services provided to persons in housing crisis.  Jonathan Lam, the Chicago DHS Director of Information Systems said, "ServicePoint is proven in HMIS implementations, and its use has lead to many coalitions winning HUD awards, but most important to us was the flexibility to add programs and alter data entry fields without delay or programmer involvement."

Chicago DHS was also attracted to ServicePoint's standard reports, and to its Advanced Reporting Tool.  Mr. Lam noted, "One of our goals is to utilize ServicePoint to meet a variety of reporting and planning needs, and to create efficiencies that will allow participating homeless services providers to focus more time on serving clients and less time on compiling reports."

Bowman System's Advanced Reporting Tool will permit Chicago DHS to understand and monitor community needs like never before by creating a community knowledge base that delivers timely and pertinent information which will inform policy development, funding decisions and resource allocation while also helping a large network of providers coordinate care on a daily basis.

Bowman Systems is known for its commitment to service, its outstanding products and its professionally trained and committed staff.   After a busy two month implementation schedule in August and September, the new system went live on October 6, 2008.  The magnitude of this project and the accelerated implementation pace resulted in such a positive outcome only by virtue of the excellent working partnership that was established by the Bowman Systems team and the City of Chicago DHS staff.  It was truly a positive experience for all involved.