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WHO We Are. The Commission was formed in 1995 by combining two advisory bodies-the County’s Commission on AIDS and the HIV/AIDS Advisory Board-in response to federal legislative requirements outlined in the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. Aside from Medicaid/Medicare and Veteran’s Administrative (VA) services for PLWH/A, the Ryan White CARE Act-which delivers funding in the form of five different “Parts”-is the largest federal source of funding for HIV/AIDS services.
CARE Act Part A funds the most impacted urban jurisdictions in the county, called “Eligible Metropolitan Areas” (EMAs), and requires each EMA to establish a local “planning council” for the planning, allocation, coordination and delivery of HIV/AIDS services. Los Angeles County is the second largest EMA in the country, and the Commission serves as the planning council for the jurisdiction.
WHAT We Do. As both a federally-mandated Part A planning council and County-established community advisory mechanism for the Board of Supervisors, the Commission on HIV has the following responsibilities:
- Setting care/treatment priorities/allocations,
- Developing a comprehensive care plan,
- Assessing the administrative mechanism of service delivery,
- Evaluating service system effectiveness,
- Service coordination,
- Annual needs assessments,
- Setting minimum service standards/outcomes,
- Defining ways to best meet the needs,
- Resolving service system grievances,
- Promoting the availability of services,
- Evaluating other streams of funding,
- Advising the Board on all County HIV funding,
- Policy development and advocacy work, and
- Advising the Board on other HIV-related matters.
WHY It’s Important. Approximately 25,000 people access CARE Act-funded services in Los Angeles County annually. HIV/AIDS is a serious health epidemic, and the County and its citizenry are vitally impacted by local, state and federal legislation, policies, planning and service delivery addressing the epidemic.
Communities of color and women-each constituting more than half of the LA County population-continue to be the special populations most disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Currently, AIDS is the leading cause of death among African American men and the second leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 and 44. In Los Angeles County, for the first time this past year, numerically, Latinos/as with HIV/AIDS now outnumber every other population locally. While African Americans represent only 13% of the total US population, they represent 36% of reported AIDS cases. Likewise, Latinos represent 9% of the population but 17% of all AIDS cases. African American women and Latinas are infected with HIV at faster rates than any other ethnic or racial subpopulations. These varied disenfranchised populations are often accompanied by multiple other "co-morbidities": substance use, co-infections, poverty, homelessness, and a range of other life complications.
WHERE The Work Is: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 650,000 and 900,000 Americans are currently infected with HIV. California has the second highest number of AIDS cases among all states, with over 40,000 Californians currently living with AIDS. Los Angeles is ranked among the top four metropolitan cities with the highest number of AIDS cases in the United States, and accounts for 35% of California’s AIDS cases. It is estimated that approximately 57,000 people are infected with HIV in Los Angeles County-second only to New York-and that approximately 10,000 people are unaware of it.
HOW We Do It: The Commission numbers 42 members: 39 voting and three non-voting. In addition, all HIV+ members (approximately 40% of the membership) are entitled to alternates. The membership is meant to reflect the gender and ethnic ratios of the local epidemic. A minimum of one-third of the members must be HIV+ consumers of CARE Act-funded services, unaffiliated with local Part A providers. The remaining membership represents the County’s eight Service Planning Areas (SPAs) and five Supervisorial Districts, providers, services, skill sets, municipalities and other health jurisdictions/agencies.
A majority of Commission work is first conducted at the Committee level, before finally approved by the full body. There are five standing Committees-Executive; Priorities and Planning (P&P); Operations; Standards of Care (SOC); and Joint Public Policy (JPP) - and subcommittees, task forces and various working groups. The Commission’s work is supported by a staff of six, divided into three working units, Planning, Evaluation and Operations.
Community Tools
Patient and Client Bill of Rights (English)
Patient and Client Bill of Rights (Spanish)
Comprehensive Care Plan
Documents Out for Public Comment
Ryan White Reauthorization Principles
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