2009 California Health and Safety Code - Section 121290-121290.9 :: Chapter 13.7. Statewide African-american Initiative

121290.  (a) There is hereby established the Statewide
African-American Initiative to address the disproportionate impact of
HIV/AIDS on the health of African-Americans by coordinating
prevention and service networks around the state and increasing the
capacity of core service providers. For purposes of this chapter,
"initiative" means the Statewide African-American Initiative.
   (b) The initiative shall have an executive director who shall
coordinate the initiative and report to the Office of AIDS through
the Statewide African-American HIV/AIDS Steering Committee formally
established pursuant to Section 121290.8.
   (c) The initiative shall be implemented in the following five
designated regions:
   (1) Alameda/San Francisco.
   (2) Los Angeles.
   (3) Sacramento/Central Valley.
   (4) San Bernardino/Riverside.
   (5) San Diego.
   (d) (1) The Office of AIDS shall provide initial administrative
support for the core functions of the initiative.
   (2) Until January 1, 2008, the initiative shall be housed at the
Office of AIDS. By January 1, 2008, the initiative shall establish
itself as an independent nonprofit organization for purposes of
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

121290.1.  The initiative shall sponsor and conduct an annual Summit
on African-Americans and HIV. The summit shall be funded solely by
private funds. The summit shall do all of the following:
   (a) Provide a report on the progress of the initiative.
   (b) Offer technical assistance workshops.
   (c) Provide an overview of local, regional, and national efforts
concerning health disparities relating to African-Americans and HIV.

121290.2.  The initiative shall have all of the following
responsibilities:
   (a) To design and conduct a series of complementary projects to
implement policy and planning to address the disproportionate impact
of HIV/AIDS on the African-American community, focusing on all of the
following categories:
   (1) Research.
   (2) Policy and advocacy.
   (3) Workforce development.
   (4) Organizational capacity.
   (5) Prevention and treatment information and resources.
   (b) To provide integrated leadership in developing, implementing,
evaluating, and sustaining HIV-related services and programmatic
partnerships between research institutions, community-based
organizations, the business community, and public sector agencies.
   (c) To improve the efficacy of local service providers through the
central coordination of service availability, data, and funding
sources through the development of a central coordinating body.

121290.4.  The initiative shall employ all of the following
strategies to achieve its objectives:
   (a) Serve as a community resource for technical assistance and
training in the communication and dissemination of information, and
for the synthesis, interpretation, and dissemination of HIV/AIDS data
and public health information.
   (b) Assemble a network of health experts, HIV/AIDS service
providers, community-based organizations, and relevant public and
private sector stakeholders who will be accessible through the
regional centers, to support the capacity building of community-based
programs to eliminate HIV-related health disparities for
African-Americans.
   (c) Establish the administrative, educational, and communication
infrastructure, including personnel, facilities, and technology, to
support the activities of the initiative's provider network.
   (d) Assess the availability and allocation of scientific,
governmental, and private sector resources to reduce the impact of
HIV/AIDS on African-Americans.
   (e) Evaluate community-focused interventions and demonstration
projects to eliminate disparities in the evaluation and treatment of
HIV/AIDS, based on information from the work of the initiative and
local and regional resources.
   (f) Coordinate and disseminate data, including epidemiology,
outcome assessment, and informatics, to provider networks addressing
health disparities regarding HIV/AIDS.
   (g) Facilitate the development of lasting academic and community
partnerships that promote healthy lifestyles, prevent disease, and
reduce risk factors for HIV/AIDS.
   (h) Increase ongoing access to culturally appropriate health care
for African-Americans living with HIV/AIDS.

121290.5.  (a) The initiative shall establish a central coordinating
body to provide administrative, technical, educational, and health
information dissemination services to the initiative's network of
community-based organizations.
   (b) The duties of the central coordinating body shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) Helping to provide program administration services, project
management, fiscal support, resource allocation, and program
evaluation to the initiative.
   (2) Assisting in the collection, management, and analysis of
primary and secondary data, and providing technical support and
training.
   (3) Aiding in the synthesis, interpretation, and dissemination of
information on HIV and African-Americans.
   (c) The objectives of the central coordinating body shall include,
but not be limited to, both of the following:
   (1) To achieve economies of scale in effort, expertise, and
equipment, and thereby build the capacity of the provider network and
the Office of AIDS to develop, implement, and evaluate community
programs to address HIV/AIDS among African-Americans.
   (2) To pool services, expertise, equipment, and facilities to
support several interrelated projects and collaborating
organizations, thereby leveraging greater resources than those that
would be provided separately to each project and without formal
interactions among the Office of AIDS, community-based organizations,
and public sector agencies.

121290.7.  The Office of AIDS shall appoint an internal advisory
committee composed of the office's African-American HIV specialist, a
section head from the office, and a designee to supervise the
day-to-day activities of the initiative.

121290.8.  There is hereby established the Statewide
African-American HIV/AIDS Steering Committee. The committee shall be
appointed by the Office of AIDS and shall initially consist of the
current membership of the informally established Statewide
African-American HIV/AIDS Steering Committee, which consists of
leadership from service providers, researchers, educators,
community-based organizations, and public sector agencies.

121290.9.  The requirements of this chapter shall be implemented
only after the Department of Finance makes a determination that
nonstate funds in an amount sufficient to fully support the
activities of the initiative have been deposited with the state.
Thereafter, the requirements of this chapter shall be implemented
only to the extent that nonstate funds are received for the purposes
of this chapter.