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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #285 |
| Women in Need |
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| Requester: |
Derya E. Williams |
Organization: |
River Region Human Services, Inc. |
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| Project Title: |
Women in Need |
Date Submitted |
12/23/2003 3:39:16 PM |
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| Sponsors: |
Wise |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| The unmet need of targeting African American Women to reduce Substance Abuse and HIV |
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| Recipient: |
River Region Human Services, Inc. |
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Contact: |
Derya E. Williams, Chief Executive Officer |
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660 Park Street |
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Contact Phone: |
(904) 899-6300 |
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Jacksonville 32204 |
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Contact email: |
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| Counties: |
Duval |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| River Region Human Services,Inc. (RRHS)Project W.I.N. (Women In Need) is an expansion of RRHS' existing AIDS outreach/prevention and substance abuse treatment services to disadvantaged African American women with susbstance abuse problems who are living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS. Project W.I.N. will reduce the percentage of African American women testing positive for HIV/AIDS at health department sites by 2% as well as reduce the pediatric HIV/AIDS births by .5%.
The purpose of W.I.N.(Women in Need)is to reduce the spread of drug-related HIV among African American women and subsequently their children. This purpose will be met by providing gender and culturally specific risk reduction activities and engaging women into treatment through street outreach. According to the Flrodai Department of Health, of the 20,196 AIDS cases reported among women in Florida through 2002, 72% of the cases were African Americans. Locally, inner-city African American women in Jacksonville are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2001, African American women accounted for only 25% of the famale population in Duval County, but accounted for 89% of reported new AIDS cases among women and 81% of women testing positive for the HIV virus. Unemployment, poverty and drug trafficking are the underlying casual factors that affect rates of addiction and HIV (National Commission on AIDS, 1994). Sex workers, the homeless, and substance abusers are likely to be more concerned with the immediate needs of housing, food, or securing drugs than with treatment of their substance abuse or risk of exposure to HIV (Kail, et al., 1995).
Through Project W.I.N., African American women will be provided comprehensive AIDS Street Outreach Services that include a fully equipped "mobile" substance abuse treatment intake unit, HIV/AIDS Health Education/Risk Reduction (HERR), and Substance Abuse Treatment/Mental Health Services. Services will include tracking and tracing, HIV/TB risk assessments, pre and post counseling, HIV/TB testing, individual risk reduction education/awareness, referrals and linkages to community resources.
Project W.I.N. targets inner-city African American substance abusing women and partners of subtance abusers who are 1)receiving services through the Welfare to Work Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program or public health clinics; 2)identified through street outreach; 3) of referred through local organizations. Children of these women will be targeted to receive collateral HIV prevention services. African American women were chosen because AIDS rates in Jacksonville's inner-city are among the highest in the country; women are the fastest growing subgroup of new HIV/AIDS infections; and Jacksonville, ranks second in the nation for pediatric AIDS cases, with about 80% of these cases African American children.
RRHS is a non-profit corporation chartered in 1979, to provide comprehensive drug abuse treatment, intervention, and prevention services. Project W.I.N. will be delivered according to the agency's policies and procedures. This includes: an active quality improvement system to continually evaluate program outcomes, human resources, department that manages hiring, screening, and training of new employees in a timely manner; and RRHS fiscal department that monitors all programs for fiscal/contractual compliance. The organization is monitored by numerous government entities and is independently audited annually by a board selected CPA firm. RRHS is a pioneer in the field of HIV/AIDS and has been nationally recognized by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) for its HIV Outreach Model. Members of the AIDS Program staff participate and/or serve on national, state and local committees such as the Governor's Red Ribbon Panel on AIDS and the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Community HIV Network to Prevent AIDS and Substance Abuse National focus group.
Achieving the goals and objectives of WIN will significantly alleviate the local need for access to treatment, decrease the spread of substance abuse related HIV/AIDS among women, and have national significance when it proves effective in reducing the pediatric AIDS rate in the city. |
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| Is this a water project as described in Chapter 2002-291, Laws of Florida? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| 1. Increase access to susbtance abuse treatment to 3600 AA females annually; 2. Provide a risk reduction for 100 women annually; 3. Behavioral change among 70% of AA women after one year of completion. |
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$505,047 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$505,047 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
None |
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Cash Amount |
$ |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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No |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Unknown |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
Unknown |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
See project description |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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Yes |
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Hearing Body: |
Duval County Delegation |
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Hearing Meeting Date: |
11/14/2003 |
