This annual report covers the period October 2000 through September 2001project year 5the first year of the second grant period. Although this is a new funding period, the services and organizational structure of the project remain essentially the same as during the later years of the initial grant period. Since this is the case, in this report we have treated this year as a continuation and present achievements and results in the context of the longer period.
The Family Ties Project continues to operate on a collaborative model. The project is built on the existing case management service delivery system for HIV-affected families in the District of Columbia and is designed to maximize the use of federal, state and foundation funds without duplicating the considerable resources dedicated for case management of District residents. The project has experienced considerable stability in its collaborative arrangements. During project year 5 the Family Ties Project subcontracted with 3 direct service providersSasha Bruce Youthwork for kinship care case management, University of the District of Columbia (UDC), David A Clarke School of Law for legal services and Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, Inc. for mental health services. In addition, the project contracted with Children's National Medical Center to provide Caring in the Community, training for parents and caregivers in caring for infected children. These 4 contracts continue long standing relationships forged in the early years of the project.
In prior years subcontractors met quarterly to deal with administrative and programmatic issues. During this reporting period formal meetings were not regularly scheduled. Nevertheless, according to the project director communication with and among the 3 direct services subcontractors is frequent and informal, building upon the relationships solidified in the initial years of the project.
Referrals for client enrollments are received from a group of providers of HIV-related case management, medical care and housing services in addition to the 4 subcontractors. During this reporting period the position of life planning specialist was created and staffed to enroll clients directly, a change from earlier years when case management agencies were expected to complete client enrollment materials themselves.
The project organizational structure is tiered: the first tier consists of the clients, who typically are receiving case managed medical services; the next tier is the case managers who identify clients for enrollment in the Family Ties Project for life planning services provided through subcontractorsthe third tier; and finally, the small project staff that supports the 2 tiers of direct providers constitutes the fourth tier. The project staff now consists of 3.7 full time equivalents (FTEs) including a part time project director and administrative assistant, and a full time life planning specialist. The latter position was created this year as a strategy to work with collaborating agencies to more efficiently enroll clients and to surmount problems with underutilization of services encountered in previous years. In addition, the CCW executive director and executive assistant dedicate a portion of time to the project.
Jeffrey A. Menzer, RN, ACRN, continued in his fifth year as project director. Michelle Palmer, MSW, LISW, ACSW, who had been supervising a Vermont social welfare district, was hired in March 2001 after an extensive recruitment process. In March Sharon Hyman, MSW, LICSW, who had served as project coordinator for 4 years, resigned. With the recruitment of Ms. Palmer, some of the responsibilities of the project coordinator position were combined with the new life planning specialist position, namely convening case manager support groups and organizing several training events.
During the first quarter of this reporting period, the Family Ties Project completed and disseminated 2 publications. The Group Work with HIV/AIDS Affected Children, Adolescents and Adults and the Family Ties Project Final Report: 19962000.
Although this year's transition to the second funding cycle was a smooth one, several changes were made to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. The first is the use of a life planning specialist to enhance the enrollment process and to increase utilization of services and the second is the greater use of the internet for dissemination and updating of project materials for inter-organizational and multidisciplinary team work. Both are described separately in the following sections of this report. In addition, a third major change got underway and is scheduled for completion is year 6. A contractor was obtained to design, install and provide technical assistance for a comprehensive management information system (MIS). The MIS will be described in and used to supply data for subsequent annual reports, including summary information on client socio-demographic characteristics and service utilization.
Also in the first quarter of the year client satisfaction forms were revised and updated. Enrollment and referral forms, client record folders, care plan formats and other internal documents were also reviewed and revised to reflect changes in the project and current best practices standards.
Federal funding has continued to be important in leveraging other resources. Washington AIDS Partnership, Washington, DC provided support of $40,900 for year 5. Funds were used to: support the enactment and implementation of standby guardianship; provide legal services; and conduct a needs assessment on the HIV/AIDS-related experiences and needs of the 8 Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaboratives.
$5,000 was received from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for the support for non-infected family members. An AmeriCorps volunteer, who is placed at Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, Inc., is valued at $25,000. Sasha Bruce Youthwork hosted a second AmeriCorps volunteer. Additionally, the project has benefited from in-kind contributions from its many partners. The annual ACYF grant increased nearly 29% from year 4 to year 5 to $449,532.