FY12 Request for Applications for the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Support Services for Women Partners of Incarcerated/Recently Released Men

The summary for the FY12 Request for Applications for the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Support Services for Women Partners of Incarcerated/Recently Released Men grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

FY12 Request for Applications for the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Support Services for Women Partners of Incarcerated/Recently Released Men: The purpose of this program is to establish a gender-specific, peer led HIV prevention education project for women intimate partners of incarcerated/recently released males. The project shall develop a coalition of support/transition services for women partners and their families through coordinating local/state departments of health, healthcare providers, AIDS service organizations, social services, community organizations, correctional facilities and criminal justice offices.OWH hopes to fulfill this purpose by providing funding to targeted community-based organizations to enhance their prevention and support activities to incarcerated and newly released women living with or at high risk for HIV infection. Women?s health issues are defined in the context of women?s lives, including their multiple social roles and the importance of relationships with other people to their lives. This definition of women?s health encompasses mental, dental, and physical health and spans the life course. The goals for this program are to:Develop and demonstrate a gender-specific, peer led prevention education intervention on critical HIV/AIDS information that is culturally, linguistically and developmentally appropriate. Program components shall build on the strengths of traditional and extended family support, subcultural influences and innovative coping practices of those affected by disproportionate health disparities, poverty and incarceration.Establish a coalition of services and community linkages for ensuring transitional support to women partners and their families through: HIV/AIDS care and case management, entitlement enrollment, housing, employment assistance, vocational training, substance use treatment, family counseling, parenting skills development, and life skills building. The objectives of the OWH program are:1. Increase the number of women partners receiving gender-specific prevention education (number of women partners reached is contingent upon number of targeted sites).2. Identify, educate and train women partners to serve as peer educators for prevention education (number of peer educators is contingent upon number of targeted sites). 3. Increase community linkages and networks for ensuring both care and social services for women partners, incarcerated/recently released males and their children. 4. Increase the number of women partners voluntarily testing for HIV/STDs.In order to achieve the objectives of the program the grantee shall: 1. Review local/city/county/State data on HIV incidence among women and male prison populations and explore challenges and trends, which enable risks and vulnerabilities of women partners. Please reference and use data and other demographics from the U.S. Census, CDC surveillance reports, the National Center for Health Statistics, Quick Health Data on-Line, etc. 2. Develop a model plan for outreach to women partners and facilitate group interventions to provide accurate HIV/STD prevention education and overall wellness. The model should demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and integration of traditional and extended family support, subcultural influences and innovative coping practices of those affected by disproportionate health disparities, poverty and incarceration; 3. Identify and implement an evidence-based HIV/AIDS gender-specific, multi-session prevention intervention which addresses vulnerabilities and high risk behaviors in women partners, e.g., risk factors in a prison environment, harm/risk reduction, negotiating skills, assertiveness, isolation and loneliness, social acceptability of concurrent partners, depression, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, substance use/abuse, childcare/family, transportation, confidentiality, coercion, poverty, literacy, financial dependency, and other dynamics that disproportionately impact women and girls. 4. Provide complete curricula, i.e. topics, content, facilitator?s guide, participant workbook, participant evaluation forms, and pre/post instruments. Describe the intervention format: number of sessions; session length, period of time over which the intervention will be given, etc. Describe training, teaching methods and strategies proposed to deliver modules, e.g., interactive exercises, facilitated discussion, lectures, video/films, community peers, etc. (CDC recommended interventions (DEBIs); adapted and/or newly created interventions may be used, while maintaining the internal logic of effectiveness );5. Identify women through, but not limited to visiting and waiting centers within correctional facilities and family assistance organizations serving families of incarcerated individuals, among other ways of identification;6. Coordinate HIV counseling and testing for women with unknown HIV status and link women who test HIV positive to medical care and other services; 7. Establish community partnerships through Memoranda of Understanding and provide on partner letterhead. Partnerships shall be with tribal entities, local/State departments of health, healthcare provider, social services, local small businesses, substance treatment centers, domestic violence shelters, and community and faith based organizations as to implement referral coordination for counseling, HIV testing, well woman screenings, and other social service needs. 8. Submit reports outlining program activities (e.g., outreach, recruitment, participation, retention), which reflect the implementation process and an understanding of the realities of women?s lives. 9. Develop a plan to continue the program activities and community linkages beyond OWH funding and illustrate how program performance addressed community needs and the needs of women partners; 10. Conduct local evaluation in collaboration with other Women Partner sites with common indicators and metrics of performance activities;11. Submit a minimum of two (2) abstracts for local, state, regional and national conference presentations, draft one (1) White Paper for presentation to OWH and other federal partners, and other opportunities highlighting lessons learned, best practices, and next steps directly related to efforts within this program. Reporting on or a plan to accomplish these activities is to be submitted with the first quarter progress report including a timeline for completion. 12. Ensure proficiency of staff on women?s health and HIV/AIDS by seeking and participating in relevant trainings, including training on gender responsive programming and application. Attend at least one national, regional or State HIV/AIDS Conference (e.g. U.S. Conference on AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National HIV Prevention Conference, etc.), and seek updates in HIV prevention strategies, therapies, and priority activities as advised by the CDC, Health Resources and Services Administration, and other public health experts.