In light of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reducing funding for community-based HIV-prevention programs and shifting their priorities to those already known to be living with HIV/AIDS, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) along with its partner group, the HIV Prevention Planning Group (HPPG), has changed its focus as well. But the good news is, in the unveiling of their new Request for Programs (RFP) the CDPH will eventually grant more than $5 million to those organizations that support the priorities as established by the HPPG.
'The HPPG first completed its recommendations in December 2003 after the CDC released its plans for a different strategy in the area of HIV-prevention,' said David Kern, director of HIV Prevention Planning & Services. 'But then it was decided that with the change in the HIV-prevention landscape, that perhaps it would be wise to consider changing our priorities as it related to funding certain populations.'
According to the newest CDC mandates, those living with HIV/AIDS, whether youth or adults, should 'have their needs met first.' But unfortunately the shift in national priorities suggests that prevention is no longer the main focus.
'When the CDC talks about needs being met, they're talking about those who can transmit the virus to another person or one who has the virus and could have a different strain passed on to them,' Kern said.
Kern added that the shift from prevention funding comes at a difficult time for many Chicagoland CBOs [Community-Based Organizations] because most have just reached the end of the previous funding cycle.
'We delayed the process of releasing the requirements for the new RFP by one year because we simply did not know what the directly funded CBO awards would look like,' he said. 'This decision was supported by the HPPG in June 2003 as well so we could collectively get a look at the CDC's newly funded CBOs and what that did to previous funding in the city.'
Some organizations are clearly scrambling to find other financial streams, particularly those whose grants were not accepted and funded by the CDC. Still, Kern says waiting was the appropriate move.
'We're talking about $2.5 million dollars [70 percent of the requested amount based on an analysis conducted by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago] awarded in the Chicago area under the new program announcement,' Kern stated. Now with our own RFP [referred to CDPH as 04064] we are offering a cooperative agreement of up to five years of funding.'
Kern added that while the RFP 'is the purview of the health department,' they [CDPH] work very closely with the HPPG.
'We wanted the community's blessing prior to making any final decisions,' he said. One example of how CDPH and HPPG collaborate is based on a late recommendation by HPPG; five percent of funding from the city was reallocated from the adult high-risk heterosexual population to the adult MSM (Men Who Have Sex with Other Men) population.
Kern summarized what the new RFP looks like: 1) the more than $5 million will be awarded in support of priorities established by HPPG; and 2) funding will be for two years, 2005-2006, rather than the normal three-year cycle.
'Our process for receiving funds has clearly become more competitive because there aren't any new funding sources being made available,' he said. 'Smaller CBOs are having a really difficult time, especially if they haven't already started to diversify their funding sources. We're seeing a real drop both in the amounts raised in fundraising efforts and in the amounts of supplemental grants. Some CBOs have even seen a decrease in their grant amounts by as much as 50 percent from the previous funding period. With a 50 percent hit, we're wondering if some will be able to survive.'
Among the eight CBOs who received CDPH funds, HIV Care Program did the best, receiving 90 percent of its requested amount, or $356,707. Access Community Health Network was awarded $200,000 but that amount equals only 40 percent of the requested funds. Other recipients (with their grant amounts included) are Better Existence with HIV ($286,000), Chicago House and Social Service Agency ($434,000), CALOR ($142,216), Midwest Hispanic Health Coalition ($261,000), Roseland Christian Health Centers ($413,000) and South Side Help Center ($356,000).