DHS/HRSA: Regional AIDS Education and Training Centers

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces the opportunity to apply for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part F Regional AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) Program.

Donor Name: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 02/05/2024

Size of the Grant: More than $1 million

Grant Duration: 5 Years

Details:

The aim of the program is to build on the previous work and successes of the AETC program and their local partners and implement a modernized and strengthened program framework based on industry standards. The foundational changes include:

• The establishment of new and clearly defined goals, objectives, and data reporting requirements to promote quality improvement, and increase performance improvement across programs. The goals are:
  • Goal 1: Expand the number of health care team members providing HIV care and prevention services, including providers with different backgrounds or experiences.
  • Goal 2: Expand the ability of health care team members to provide effective HIV care and prevention services.
  • Goal 3: Improve health equity by integrating HIV care and prevention in primary care and other health care settings that provide services to underserved populations.
  • Goal 4: Enhance the capacity of the AETC Program to train health care team members to serve people at risk for or with HIV.
• An increased emphasis on building and maintaining partnerships with RWHAP recipients and health care and health professional organizations.
• The incorporation of evidenced-based strategies to inform regional programs and target training in areas of high need.
• The use of structured MAI activities that increase the Regional AETCs ability to support minority-serving providers and organizations, and ensure the HIV workforce includes providers with different backgrounds or experiences.
• Providing training programs using contemporary methods and modalities, and adult learning techniques to strengthen the HIV workforce.

There are three components to the RWHAP Part F Regional AETC Program:

• Regional Base Program
  • The Regional AETCs are responsible for implementing activities to support the following four components:
    • Foundations of HIV (FH) – The purpose of FH is to educate and train health care team members currently not involved in HIV care to increase their ability to prevent new HIV infections, identify people with HIV who are undiagnosed or out of care, and link patients not on antiretrovirals to care.
    • Practice Transformation (PT) – The purpose of PT is to implement process improvement, training, and technical assistance to increase the capability of organizations to implement system-level changes and enhance clinical practice to improve the provision of care and treatment to people with HIV and prevention of HIV in priority populations at increased risk.
    • Inter professional Education (IPE) – The purpose of IPE is to assist faculty in health professions programs to create an interactive learning environment designed to increase the number of health professionals able to effectively work in a team-based approach to improve care and treatment of people with HIV.
    • Capability and Expertise Expansion (CEE) – The purpose of CEE is to increase the ability of health care team members currently involved in HIV care to offer quality services based on current national treatment guidelines and standards and to increase the skills to offer comprehensive care to people with HIV.
• Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI)
  • The AETCs are also required to conduct workforce training and capacity building activities as part of the MAI. The purposes of this multi-year funding are to:
    • increase the training capacity of minority-serving health care team members, and minority-serving health care facilities and health-related organizations;
    • expand the number of minority-serving health care professionals with treatment expertise and knowledge about current standards of HIV-related treatments and prevention techniques; and
    • increase access to medical care for adults, adolescents, and children with HIV from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, including historically underserved individuals or groups.
• Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US (EHE) Initiative
  • The AETCs must collaborate with other RWHAP recipients and conduct activities to support the EHE initiative by implementing strategies, interventions, and approaches to address the unique training needs of the health care workforce and organizations in the EHE-funded jurisdictions in the regions.

Funding Information

• Regional AETC Base Program
  • HRSA estimates up to $19,000,000 will be available each year to fund up to eight (8) recipients to implement the Regional Base Program four core components (FHC, PT, IPE, and CEE) for the RWHAP Part F Regional AETC program. You may apply up to the published ceiling amount in annually (reflecting direct and indirect costs). Each regional AETC will cover a designated geographic area. Combined, the regions include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the six (6) U.S. Pacific Jurisdictions (Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marians Islands, The Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands).
• Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) 
  • HRSA estimates up to $9,000,000 will be available each year to implement MAI activities as part of your RWHAP Part F Regional AETC Program. You may apply for up to the published ceiling amount in selected region. The funding amounts for the MAI Initiative ranges from $620,000 – $1,810,000.
• Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) Initiative 
  • HRSA estimates that up to $9,000,000 will be available each year to implement EHE activities as part of your RWHAP Part F Regional AETC Program. You may apply for up to the published ceiling amount in selected region. The funding amounts for the EHE initiative ranges from $179,390 to $1,049,550.

Project Period

The period of performance is July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2029 (5 years)

Eligibility Criteria

You can apply if your organization is in the United States the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau, and is:

• Public or private, nonprofit
• School or academic health science center
• Community-based
• Tribal (government, organizations)

For more information, visit Grants.gov.