HIV Prevention Community Planning Group Update 6/15/2007 Meeting

At the June meeting of the CPG we discussed HAA’s request for CDC funding in clinical settings for African-American men and women. The application is for $1.5 million to be used toward partner counseling, testing and referral and will mostly be distributed to contract sites. 20% of this funding can be applied to non-clinical settings, but HAA plans to use 100% of the award in clinical settings. HAA will continue its work with the Bureau of STDs. In order to complete the application, which is due by 7/16/2007, HAA will need to also submit a letter of support from the CPG.

Brenda Kelly, Chief of the new Capacity Building and Community Outreach Bureau at HAA, met with the CPG at last nights meeting to introduce herself and exchange ideas for the development of the role of this new bureau. Kelly plans to provide internal training to HAA staff and to provide assistance with other programs at HAA. She is also currently changing HAA’s 90 Day Progress Report to a 120 Day Progress Report. This office is responsible for the online resource guide (which can be found here)- information for obtaining a hard copy of the document is listed within the first few pages.

The letter addressed to Eleanor Holmes Norton to encourage her to request DC’s fair share of $45 million in additional prevention funding to be released by the CDC has been sent out. To date, there has been no response from her office.

Currently there are some issues pertaining to the Planning Council end of the logistical support contract which provides services for the CPG and Planning Council. The specifics of these issues have not been detailed, but they have resulted in the contractor ceasing all activities for both groups. At the time the contract is to be re-negotiated, the wording will specifically indicate the contractor’s responsibilities for both groups. This should prevent the activities of the Planning Council affecting the assistance provided to the CPG and vice versa.

The Bureau of Surveillance is putting their carry over dollars to use for a research contract with George Washington University. The contractor will collect ethnographic data on youth and transgender populations. This will ensure that these populations are properly represented in the next epidemiologic profile and will be prioritized accordingly.

The next meeting of the CPG will take place on July 12, 2007 time TBA (the CPG is considering changing the time of the meeting).