HUD Client Activity Reporting System

From PikaDocs

By Matthew Friedlander
Pika Software (http://www.pikasoftware.com/)

HUD CARS (Client Activity Reporting System)

The HUD CARS system enables electronic reporting of the HUD9902 activities report. Previously this report has been filed via paper copy, but starting this year in October HUD will be requiring electronic filing through their CARS system. The Pika CARS module is designed to allow Legal programs using the Pika CMS to fullfil those requirements.


This module implements the HUD Agency Report v2002

For additional information on the HUD CARS system:


The following instructions concern installing the new module into an existing Pika CMS including any relevant information concerning prerequisites.

Table of contents
1 Prerequisites
2 Installation
3 Integrating into your Pika System
4 Finishing the Installation
[edit]

Prerequisites

  • Pika CMS 3.05+
  • PHP 5 including the php-xml and curls modules.
  • The PEAR SOAP (http://pear.php.net/package/SOAP) libraries.
  • The HUD9902 Pika reporting module
  • Your HUD Agency ID, HUD CARS Username & Password
  • The HUD CARS installation files Hud_cars_version0_5_2.zip (attached here)
[edit]

Installation

  • Copy the files from the install package into their respective directories. Make sure you have backups of any files that are replaced.
  • Copy the SOAP directory under your Pika /app/extralib directory.
  • Install the cars.sql script into your Pika MySQL database.

File Locations: 

cars.php
/app/lib/pikaCarsSoap.php
/subtemplates/cars.html
/subtemplates/cars_template2.xml
/subtemplates/cars.wsdl
/images/g_check.gif
[edit]

Integrating into your Pika System

  • Under cars.php there are 3 constant variables that contain the HCS ID, Username, & Password. These will need to be updated to your own HCS issued information. 
define("AGC_HCS_ID", "12345");
define("AGC_LOGIN", "Username");
define("AGC_PASSWORD", "Password");
  • There is a copy of the CARS WSDL file included in the installation package. This points to the HUD CARS test server and should be used when you first install to test out the system. Your HUD HCS Username & Password will not work on this system as you need to contact HUD to have them set up a test account for you.
  • Add the following fields to your HUD tab to allow you to edit the additional fields added by the CARS MySQL script. 
%%[hud_household_head,yes_no,checkbox]%% Household Head<br/>
%%[hud_farm_worker,yes_no,checkbox]%% Migrant Farm Worker<br/>
%%[hud_colonias,yes_no,checkbox]%% Colonias Resident<br/>
%%[hud_homeownership_voucher,yes_no,checkbox]%% Homeownership Voucher<br/>
%%[hud_housing_voucher,yes_no,checkbox]%% Housing Voucher<br/>
%%[hud_hecm_certificate,yes_no,checkbox]%% HECM Certificate<br/>
%%[hud_predatory_lending,yes_no,checkbox]%% Predatory Lending<br/>
Referred By:<br/>
%%[hud_referred_by,hud_referred_by]%%<br/>
  • Add the following line to the plBase.php file to enable large XML files to be stored in the database. The line needs to be added under the tableInit() function on line 275 following the case text declaration. 
case 'mediumtext':
case 'char':
case 'varchar':
case 'text':
case 'mediumtext':
case 'tinytext':
case 'timestamp':
  • In pikaCarsSoap.php you may need to customize the query for generating the clients list to select all clients for a given time period in your own program. If you filter HUD out by funding/problem code only then you may just be able to alter the cars.html file to include the correct funding/problem codes.
  • Under the home.html add the following line to add a link to the system on the Pika Home screen: 
<p>
	<img src="/~mattfriedlander/pika306test/images/point.gif" alt="Arrow"/>
	<a href="/~mattfriedlander/pika306test/cars.php">CARS</a>
	<br/>
</p>
  • Under the contents_form.html add the following line to add a link to the Site Map for CARS: 
<li><a href="%%[base_url]%%/cars.php">HUD CARS</a></li>
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Finishing the Installation

Once you have completed the steps above the CARS interface will be completely installed. If you have a test server account set up go ahead and create a test submission and post it to the CARS interface. The status messages it generates should help you determine if there are any issues with your data that need to be adjusted.

Additional Notes:

  • You can save time on data entry by pre-populating the cars_template2.xml file with the agency data & agency contact data fields (as these should rarely change). Once you have finished entering the fields, resave the file. The next new submission you create will default with those values.
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