FAQs

1. What is the HIV Community Planning Council?

2. What does the Council do?

3. When and where does it meet?

4. How does one find out about Council meeting times and agendas?

5. How does one contact Council members or staff?

6. Who is on the Council?

7. Are people with HIV/AIDS on the Council?

8. How does one join the Council?

9. Who appoints the members?

10. What is the term of office?

11. Can one participate without becoming a member?

12. How long has the Council been meeting?

13. What area does it cover?

14. What is the Ryan White CARE Act?

– What is Part A?

– What is Part B?

– What are the Parts of Ryan White programs?

– Part C Funds

– Part D Funds

– Part F

– Minority AIDS Initiative

15. Who administers the programs?

16. How much money does San Francisco get?

17. What determines how much money San Francisco gets?

18. Are there things that the funds can’t be used for?

19. Who can get services?

20. Where are Ryan White services available?

21. Who does Ryan White serve?

1. What is the HIV Community Planning Council? The San Francisco HIV Community Planning Council is a community planning group that oversees the prioritization and allocation of federal Ryan White Part A, Part B and Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) funds allocated to the San Francisco Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA) which includes San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. As a merged prevention and care council, the group also conducts needs assessments, planning, and program development related to HIV prevention services in the three-county region. The merged Council structure allows for integrated HIV care and prevention planning on a level that had not previously been possible.

2. What does the Council do? The Council has several major duties, including:determining the needs of people living with and at risk for HIV, especially persons at high risk for HIV infection and persons living with HIV who are not currently in care;setting priorities and allocating federal Ryan White funds;developing a comprehensive plan for the organization and delivery of HIV care and prevention services; andassessing the efficiency of the grant administration and the effectiveness of services.The Council continually reviews and assesses emerging data related to the HIV epidemic and the availability of HIV prevention and care services, and develops new approaches to meeting regional HIV prevention and care needs.

3. When and where does it meet? The full Council meets on the fourth Monday of every month at SFDPH- 25 Van Ness, 6th Floor Room 610 from 3:30-6:30 pm. (Please check Meeting Calendar section for up to date meeting time and location). It may schedule additional meetings as needed. Each committee usually meets once a month. The standing committees are the Community Engagement Committee, Council Affairs Committee, Membership Committee, PLWH Advocacy Group, and Steering Committee. The Council creates ad hoc work groups to address short-term projects. Meeting dates and times are subject to change. For current meeting information, please visit our calendar.

4. How does one find out about Council meeting times and agendas? The Planning Council has a website, www.sfhivplanningcouncil.org, which includes upcoming Council meeting times and agendas, committee meeting times, agendas, and locations, and minutes from Full Council and committee meetings. It links to documents such as the Integrated Five-Year HIV Prevention & Care Plan and other useful Council information. Planning Council meeting times and agendas are also posted to the Council’s Yahoo Group email list.

5. How does one contact Council members or staff? The Planning Council’s Administrative Office can be reached by phone at (415) 674-4726 or by mail to 27 Maiden Lane, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108. The fax number is (415) 674-4726. Council members and co-chairs can be reached through the Administrative Office.

6. Who is on the Council? There are fifty seats on the Council. Federal legislation prescribes a number of areas of representation such as people living with HIV, community-based organizations, housing providers, and medical providers. The membership must reflect the demographics of the epidemic in the EMA. The members of the Council represent the broad range of people involved in the fight against AIDS in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties.

7. Are people with HIV/AIDS on the Council? The legislation mandates that at least 33% of Council members be unaffiliated consumers of CARE services and that they reflect the demographics of the epidemic. An unaffiliated consumer is a consumer of Ryan White Services that is neither employed by an organization receiving Ryan White funds nor is a member of a Board of Directors of an organization receiving Ryan White funds. In addition, at least one Council co-chair must be a person living with HIV.

8. How does one join the Council? Membership application forms are available from Council staff and on the Council website. The Membership Committee reviews applications and interviews potential applicants on an on-going basis. The Membership Committee selects nominees and forwards names to the Full Council. The Council votes on the applicants, and the names are forwarded to the Mayor for appointment. The Membership Committee strongly recommends that persons thinking about applying to the Council attend several Full Council or committee meetings before applying for membership. Attendance at a full Planning Council meeting is required to be considered for an interview.

9. Who appoints the members? All members are appointed by the Chief Elected Official (CEO) of the EMA, in accordance with the legislation. The CEO is the Mayor of San Francisco.

10. What is the term of office? Council members are appointed for a two-year term. Members can re-apply for additional two-year terms, as long as they are members in good standing with the Council. Council members must meet the meeting attendance requirements to stay in good standing.

11. Can one participate without becoming a member? As per the Brown Act and the Sunshine Ordinance, all Council meetings and committee meetings are open to the public. Public comment is taken at the beginning of each full Council meeting and during the meeting on each agenda item. Members of the public are often able to participate in the discussions at committee and work group meetings. The Council also holds community events throughout the year to gather input from specific communities or neighborhoods.

12. How long has the Council been meeting? While the first care-specific HIV Planning Council was created in 1990, the newly merged HIV Community Planning Council’s new charter was approved in June of 2016.

13. What area does it cover? The Council covers the San Francisco Eligible Metropolitan Area or EMA, which includes San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties. The money is allocated between the three counties based on the proportion of living AIDS cases in each county. San Mateo and Marin have local planning groups that help set priorities and determine allocations within each county.

14. What is the Ryan White CARE Act? One of the key functions of the HIV Community Planning Council is to allocate regional HIV medical and service funds through the Ryan White CARE Act. The current legislation- formally called the Ryan White Treatment Extension Act of 2009- is federal legislation originally passed in 1990 and reauthorized in 1995, 2000, 2006, and 2009. It authorizes spending federal dollars for HIV health services through five different parts. It helps support a comprehensive continuum of HIV health services for low income people living with HIV. The individual parts of the CARE Act are described below.

What is Part A? Part A of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides emergency assistance to Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) and Transitional Grant Areas (TGAs) which are urban / suburban areas that are most severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

What is Part B? Part B of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act provides grants to all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 5 U.S. Pacific Territories or Associated Jurisdictions. Part B grants include a base grant, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) award, ADAP supplemental grants and grants to States for Emerging Communities – those reporting between 500 and 999 cumulative reported AIDS cases over the most recent 5 years.

What are the Parts of Ryan White programs? In addition to Parts A and B, the Ryan White legislation includes Parts C, D, F and Minority AIDS Initiative funding.

Part C funds comprehensive primary health care in an outpatient setting for people living with HIV disease.

Part D funds programs for services to women, infants, children, youth and families and provides family-centered care involving outpatient or ambulatory care (directly or through contracts) for women, infants, children, and youth with HIV/AIDS. Grantees are expected to provide primary medical care, treatment, and support services to improve access to health care.

Part F has three components: 1) The Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program advances knowledge and skills in the delivery of health and support services to underserved populations diagnosed with HIV infection. SPNS grants fund innovative models of care and support the development of effective delivery systems for HIV care. 2) The AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) Program of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program supports a network of 11 regional centers (and more than 130 local associated sites) that conduct targeted, multidisciplinary education and training programs for health care providers treating people living with HIV/AIDS. The AETCs serve all 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the 6 U.S. Pacific Jurisdictions. 3) Dental Programs (all Parts of Ryan White can fund dental services) under Part D specifically focus on funding the Dental Reimbursement Program (DRP) and the Community-Based Dental Partnership Program (CBDPP).

Minority AIDS Initiative grants provide funding to evaluate and address the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on women and minorities.

15. Who administers the programs? The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers the programs on the federal level. They are a part of Health and Human Services (HHS). On the local level the HIV Health Services section of the Department of Public Health (DPH) administers the funds. DPH is the grantee for Part A and the state’s allocation to the jurisdiction for Part B. Meanwhile the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) administers direct HIV prevention funding to San Francisco. CDC is also a program of HHS.

16. How much money does San Francisco get? For fiscal year (FY) 2008-2009, the San Francisco EMA was awarded $26,270,880 in Part A funding. Since 1991 San Francisco has received approximately $500 million for services for people living with HIV/AIDS.

17. What determines how much money San Francisco gets? Congress appropriates the funding for the Ryan White programs each year. Two-thirds of the money for Part A is distributed through a formula developed by the CDC to estimate the number of people living with HIV/AIDS. The other one-third is allocated through a competitive grant proposal process, often called the supplemental process.

18. Are there things that the funds can’t be used for? Yes. It must be used as the payor of last resort, meaning that if a service can be paid for somewhere else, such as billed to Medi-Cal, it cannot be paid for by Ryan White . Money also cannot be given directly to consumers. There are a number of restrictions on the use of funds for housing and prevention.

19. Who can get services? Ryan White services are for people living with HIV/AIDS who are low income and uninsured or underinsured. Some services are also available to the family members of people living with HIV/AIDS. Programs or agencies may have additional eligibility criteria, such as disability. Clients also must be a resident of the county where the service is located to receive Ryan White-funded services. Ryan White services are prioritized for those with the most severe needs, such as those who have incomes below 150% of poverty homeless have multiple diagnoses.

20. Where are Ryan White services available? Ryan White services are available at several locations throughout the city and county of San Francisco and in Marin and San Mateo Counties. For a full inventory of Ryan White services in the EMA, visit our Supporting Documents page or visit the SFDPH HIV Health Services website.

21. Who does Ryan White serve? Just under 10,000 people received CARE-funded services in the EMA in 2016. Compared to the demographics of all people living with HIV/AIDS, CARE clients are disproportionately poor, people of color, and women.