CMS Guide | Housing Action Illinois

Announcing the Release of CMS Guide 3.0

admin — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 16:42:07 +0000

Housing Action Illinois is pleased to announce the release of the latest edition of our Guide to HUD-Approved CMSs (version 3.0), which profiles HUD-approved Client Management Systems (CMSs) for housing counseling agencies. This digital resource is available for free online and aims to help users assess their options through an at-a-glance comparison chart and detailed individual system profiles.

CMSs are crucial tools for housing counseling agencies to track clients and outcomes in their work helping families and individuals to find and keep good homes, repair credit, and budget for the future. Choosing an appropriate CMS can be intimidating, especially since many agencies don’t have an IT department to evaluate or maintain a system.

Our last version of the guide was published in 2019, and in the rapidly evolving landscape of CMS solutions, key changes have occurred in the market since then. These include the launch of Agency Reporting Module (ARM) 6.0, a national collaborative effort to develop a Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) compliant Housing Counseling Data Set (HCDS), and the launch of new CMSs. Our CMS Guide 3.0 is designed to be compatible across desktop and mobile devices and more easily updated to provide the most current information to agencies exploring CMS products.

While creating version 3.0 of our CMS Guide, Housing Action Illinois reached out to every publicly available CMS approved by HUD through a survey, then conducted interviews and product demonstrations with each provider who responded. No single CMS is being endorsed.

View the guide here »

For questions, contact cms@housingactionil.org.

Thank you to Freddie Mac for making this guide possible.

CMS Guide 2.0 Released to Help Housing Counseling Agencies Replace HCO

admin — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:00:37 +0000

Housing Action Illinois has just published an updated version of its Guide to HUD-approved Client Management Systems (CMSs). The digital resource, which is available for free online, helps users assess their options through an at-a-glance comparison chart and detailed individual system profiles.

Housing counseling agencies rely on CMSs to track clients and outcomes with helping families and individuals find and keep good homes, repair credit, and budget for the future. These systems are a critical tool, but choosing one can be intimidating, especially since many agencies don’t have an IT department to evaluate or maintain a system.

Housing Action Illinois updated the guide to aid agencies as they replace Home Counselor Online (HCO), the most commonly used CMS, which will be discontinued at the end of May 2019. Figuring out which system is best for an agency can be difficult, especially as features, pricing, and customization vary widely.

“Trying to compare these complicated systems can be daunting, and there is pressure to choose one quickly now that HCO is being discontinued,” says David Young, Director of Capacity Building at Housing Action Illinois. “We want to help agencies learn about all of their options and invest in a system that is a good fit for them. In addition to sharing this updated guide, we’ll be working one-on-one with agencies to help them choose a CMS to invest in.”

While updating the guide, Housing Action Illinois reached out to every publicly available CMS approved by HUD through a survey, then conducted interviews and product demonstrations with each provider who responded. No single CMS is being endorsed.

For questions, contact cms@housingacionil.org.