This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding for a new 3-year initiative entitled Strengthening Systems of Care for People Living with HIV and Opioid Use Disorder. The purpose of this initiative is to fund an estimated one (1) to four (4) entities, referred to as System Coordination Providers (SCPs), who will assist states in leveraging resources at federal, state, and local levels for people living with HIV (PLWH) and opioid use disorder (OUD). Specifically, the goal of this initiative is to strengthen system-level coordination and networks of care between the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients and other federal, state and local entities funded to respond to the opioid epidemic to ensure PLWH and OUD have access to behavioral health (BH) care, treatment, and recovery services.
This will be accomplished by identifying new and expanded resources to treat persons with OUD, identifying new and existing partners in the system of care, and building and strengthening networks of care between the RWHAP and entities receiving OUD-focused resources. This initiative will strengthen and build upon existing systems of care and treatment that will maximize cross-sector collaboration across federal, state, and local partners in order to achieve improvements in the system-level coordination and leveraging of available resources for improving the health outcomes of PLWH and OUD.
While the intent of this initiative is to strengthen systems of care to address OUD, it is likely that increasing collaboration and integration among RWHAP recipients and entities receiving OUD funding may also enhance the system of care for other comorbid conditions for PLWH, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and other BH disorders as well.
The SCP(s) awarded under this initiative will be responsible for implementing a system-wide assessment of OUD care and treatment, if none is available, and identifying the availability of resources at the federal, state, and local levels to combat the national opioid epidemic. The SCP(s) will assist RWHAP providers in leveraging the use of these resources for the care and treatment of OUD in PLWH, and should capitalize on what has already been done, if relevant. The SCP(s) will ultimately enhance the capacity of these organizations to capitalize on resources directed at addressing the opioid epidemic to improve BH treatments among PLWH and OUD.
