12/13/2007 Community Planning Group Meeting Re-Cap

At Thursday's CPG meeting, members of the committee were provided the results of the DC Appleseed report. For more details, check out the blog by David. The next Report card will be issued this summer and will most likely measure the same content areas.

While at the HIV Prevention conference in Atlanta, GA, Tiffany West had the opportunity to exchange ideas with other jurisdictions regarding the development of the Community Services Assessment for DC. Bidding on the contract for the completion of the CSA will begin next year. The prevention plan will still be completed by the September/October timeline.

A. Toni Young also reports that at the UCHAPS meeting held during the prevention conference, there was discussion around the move to combining HIV, STD, TB and Hep bureaus within various levels of government within different jurisdictions. At the meeting, there was discussion around beginning to think of ways to prepare CBOs to increase their capacity to focus on more than one of the aforementioned health issues. The concern is that if local governments merge resources, that CBOs will be expected to increase their capacities, and that those who can not keep pace, may lose funding. Ms. Young also informed us that the CDC is releasing both the Latino and African-American Heightened Responses to HIV in cities across the US.

The CPG will be testing out a new meeting format that will increase CPG member activity in committee's as well as minimize volunteer hours, thus maximizing the productivity of the CPG. The CPG meeting will be still begin at 5:30, but the entire meeting time will be extended by 30 minutes. During the first 1.5 hours, the CPG members will meet with their committees, after which the full CPG will convene and go over committee reports. The new meeting format will begin in January, at which point it will be tweaked as needed (less time in committees and more time as full CPG or vice versa). Many of the CPG members present at the meeting expressed positive thoughts about the new plan as it will enable members who were not able to make committee meetings previously, to be able to more fully participate.

The next meeting of the CPG will be January 10, 2008 at 5:30 PM with various committee meetings to be held in various rooms (posted in the building lobby) of 64 New York Ave NE. The full CPG will convene at approximately 7:00 PM. All are welcome to sit on on both or either part of the meeting. Thank you.