THE RESOURCE GROUP

The mission of The Houston Regional HIV/AIDS Resource Group is to maximize all possible medical, psychosocial and educational resources to help persons affected by or at risk of HIV/AIDS nationally with primary focus in east and southeast Texas.

The Resource Group is a grants administrative agency responsible to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for HIV Care and prevention planning for Ryan White Part B and State Services Funding for the 51-county East Texas Planning area. Volunteer providers, experts, and consumers provide us with input and recommendations on HIV Care and prevention planning for Ryan White Part B and State Services funding. These recommendations assist The Resource Group in organizing and maintaining an HIV service delivery system that meets the needs of the east Texas community.

Our volunteers are located in the following six HIV Service Delivery Areas (HSDAs) that we serve: Beaumont/Port Arthur, Galveston, Houston, Lufkin/Nacogdoches, Texarkana/Paris, and Longview/Tyler. More information about these areas is located on the Planning Areas Section.

PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS (PNA)
Meetings are held annually to allow the community of providers and clients to provide in put on service rankings and funding amounts. These meetings allow community members to recommend service priorities and allocate funding resources with the goal of improving the quality, availability, and organization of prevention and care services for individuals and families living with HIV disease or at risk for infection of HIV.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
In essence, a Comprehensive Plan is like a “road map”. Imagine that you are taking a cross-country road trip. You lay out where you want to go, what cities you want to drive through, sights to see along the way, hotel stops, etc. Well, this Comprehensive Plan is a multi-year service map that aims to outline the spread of HIV and AIDS throughout East Texas, describe available resources for people to get health care, and outline how providers plan on ensuring access to these resources. This Comprehensive Plan is develop with the assistance of our providers and input gathered through annual community input meetings. The Plan is updated annually to reflect the changing needs of our regional communities.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND SPECIAL STUDIES
This activity involves having clients and providers complete surveys that provide us with useful information. Specifically, the client survey aims to collect information on services used, service barriers and information on quality-of-life issues. A different survey is also sent to social services agencies in each area.

Information reported on HIV care services used are considered during priorities and allocations meetings to rank the services that reflect the reported needs of the community. In addition, information from the needs assessment is used to decide if more tailored studies on specific populations are needed.

STANDARDS OF CARE (SOC)
Standards of Care are minimal and basic requirements for providers to carry out services to clients. Each funded agency is expected not only to comply with these Standards, but also to expand on them according to the specific needs of their clientele, and their own operational philosophy. The purpose for each Standard of Care is to ensure that recipients of funded services are receiving high quality care from providers who are fully qualified to provide it.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009

Main HRSA Program Web Page: Click here to open.

Part A: Click here to link to HRSA and read about this part

Part B: Click here to link to HRSA and read about this part

Part C: Click here to link to HRSA and read about this part

Part D: Click here to link to HRSA and read about this part

ADAP: Click here to link to HRSA and read about this part

A description of the activities listed can be viewed on the Planning Activities page. For specific dates of each activity in your area, please call The Resource Group.

MARCH
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration in the Lufkin-Nacogdoches HSDA

APRIL
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration in the Lufkin-Nacogdoches and Beaumont-Port Arthur HSDAs
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration for the Houston HSDA Needs Assessment
* Initiation of preliminary activities to update the Houston HSDA Epidemiological Profile

MAY
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration in the Beaumont-Port Arthur and Galveston HSDAs
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration for the Houston HSDA Needs Assessment

JUNE
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration in the Longview-Tyler and Texarkana-Paris HSDAs.
* Needs Assessment Survey Administration for the Houston HSDA Needs Assessment

JULY
* Needs Assessment Group (NAG) meetings for the Houston HSDA needs assessment.
* Teleconference sessions to review drafts of the Needs Assessment report for the rural East Texas HSDAs
* Completion of update to the Houston HSDA Epidemiological Profile

AUGUST
* Needs Assessment Group (NAG) meetings for the Houston HSDA needs assessment
* Complete focus groups for the Houston HSDA Needs Assessment

SEPTEMBER
* Priorities and Allocations meetings
* Focus Groups for rural East Texas Needs Assessment
* Community input meetings regarding the update of the Comprehensive Plan

OCTOBER
* Priorities and Allocations meetings
* Focus Groups for rural East Texas Needs Assessment
* Community input meetings regarding the update of the Comprehensive Plan

NOVEMBER
* Update of the East Texas Comprehensive Plan developed and submitted to regional providers and the Department of State Health Services.

DECEMBER
* Title II review and approval of the Houston HSDA Needs Assessment
* Submission of rural East Texas HSDAs Needs Assessment to the Department of State Health Services.