Outreach Activities in 10 Adolescent-Targeted Projects for HIV/AIDS Services

Program	Location	Brief Description of Program	Major Program Characteristics	Methods of Outreach
Bay Area Young Positives, Inc. (BAY Positives)	San Francisco, California	BAY Positives is a peer-run, peer-based, non-profit organization providing psychosocial services to youth with HIV up to the age of 26. Peer-facilitated support groups reduce isolation and increase the availability of information for young people with HIV. One-on-one support is available from Member Advocates and Peer Facilitators for youth in crisis and for those with special needs. There is a heavy focus on the development of young people. BAY Positives aims to provide services to youth with HIV who are people of color, of all sexual orientations, recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, and those who have been sexually abused and have low self-esteem. Staff of the program have similar experiences as BAY Positives members (clients) - all staff were once members themselves. The program provides basic social support services for youth with HIV by other youth with HIV who are experienced in negotiating the traditional service system.	BAY Positives provides the following services: peer-facilitated support groups; one-on-one support from Member Advocates and Peer Facilitators; group workshops; development and training; one-on-one advocacy for youth who cannot advocate for themselves; and recreational activities such as weekend retreats, fun nights, and special events.	BAY Positives provides agency outreach through in-services and provider education on youth sensitivity. BAY Positives provides low-intensity individual outreach to youth with HIV by using media and by attending public activities and health fairs. BAY Positives does not provide high-intensity individual outreach.
Children’s Hospital of Boston (CHB), Boston HAPPENS Project	Boston, Massachusetts	The "Boston HAPPENS" program provides a network of care for HIV-positive, homeless, and at-risk youth. This program develops a continuum of care from street outreach to counseling and testing, to primary care and referral care, including multidisciplinary HIV specialty care. Youth engaged in the Boston HAPPENS program are supported by peers and professionals as they obtain social and medical services, risk reduction, HIV counseling and testing, and HIV services.	Boston HAPPENS consists of a SPNS support network and Community Advisory Board, outreach and coordination of services, case management, and multidisciplinary referral care. Outreach efforts are made to individuals, agencies, and in the community by professional staff and supervised peer leaders. Youth are involved in peer leadership, training, and supervision.	Boston HAPPENS conducts agency outreach by providing trainings, arranging meetings, and organizing joint activities with other agencies. Boston HAPPENS conducts low-intensity individual outreach to youth by attending health fairs and providing basic necessities at drop-in centers. Boston HAPPENS conducts high-intensity individual outreach to youth through van and street outreach.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)	Hollywood (Los Angeles), California	The CHLA SPNS program aims to link high-risk youth through outreach into HIV testing, HIV risk-harm reduction, and health care services at the Los Angeles Free Clinic. The Los Angeles Free Clinic maintains a comprehensive set of medical services in a centrally-located adolescent-youth care clinic.	Two main types of individual outreach efforts are conducted through subcontracts with the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center (GLCSC) and PROTOTYPES. Attempts are made to link at-risk youth to health care at the Los Angeles Free Clinic; a special SPNS clinic is held each Wednesday.	CHLA provides agency outreach to other Hollywood agencies through regular network meetings and interagency training. GLCSC conducts both low-intensity and high-intensity individual outreach to gay and lesbian youth in bars and clubs in the Hollywood area. PROTOTYPES conducts high-intensity individual outreach by providing street outreach in various community settings such as bus stops, outside schools, and churches. A special emphasis is placed on recruitment in the Latino community.
Greater Bridgeport Adolescent Pregnancy Project (GBAPP)	Bridgeport, Connecticut	The core part of this project is the Teen Outreach Primary Services (TOPS) center, which provides outreach to youth with HIV and high-risk-for-HIV inner-city minority youth. Additional outreach is made to agencies. Linkages to health care and social service agencies are formed. The purpose of TOPS is to identify hard-to-reach inner-city youth who are at-risk-for-HIV, or currently unidentified, to encourage testing and linkage to local medical service providers. Additional community activities ensure that the youth maintain linkages with the TOPS Project and the service network.	TOPS is a peer model for delivering services to high-risk-for-HIV youth. This project provides the following services: peer counseling; community education activities related to HIV/AIDS early intervention through group or one-to-one street outreach; training and consultation on HIV service and intervention needs of agencies; and coordination of local services for youth.	TOPS conducts agency outreach to youth programs, alternative schools, and other agencies which provide services to youth. TOPS conducts low-intensity individual outreach by using youth-developed materials to reach other young people. TOPS provides high-intensity individual outreach to youth by conducting street outreach.
Health Initiatives for Youth (HIFY)	San Francisco, California	Health Initiatives for Youth (HIFY) is an integrated set of modular, youth-centered services, resources, and skill-building programs that address the need for innovative social and practical HIV services to complement comprehensive health care services. HIFY staff, who were once clients themselves, provide education, outreach, and advocacy activities directly to youth who are at-risk-for-HIV, or currently unidentified, in order to encourage testing and linkage to services. At the same time, HIFY uses methods of information dissemination and advocacy to encourage the development of youth-appropriate and youth-sensitive services for HIV treatment. The ultimate goal of the project is to expand the available, appropriate services for youth with HIV and to cut the barriers to HIV care.	HIFY has three interconnected project teams that empower, educate, sensitize, and mobilize young people around HIV-related treatment, prevention, research, and public policy issues. For example: the Young Women’s Health Team educates and empowers at-risk young women to take control of their own health and encourages them to get tested for HIV; the National Advocacy Team develops a national network of Youth with HIV and produces quality publications by and for Youth with HIV; and the Speakers Bureau improves communication and leadership skills of youth speakers with HIV who educate thousands of at-risk youth and community members about HIV/AIDS.	HIFY conducts agency outreach by providing technical assistance and training to agencies to provide youth-focused services. HIFY conducts low-intensity individual outreach by providing presentations and conferences for youth. HIFY does not conduct high-intensity individual outreach.
Indiana Youth Access Project (IYAP)	Statewide in Indiana	The Indiana Youth Access Project (IYAP) is a statewide organization that serves youth under the age of 21 who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. IYAP provides direct services to youth as well as developing an extensive network of providers for this at-risk population. IYAP incorporates HIV education and prevention within all of its programming through direct and indirect messages.	IYAP provides the following services: an expanded risk-harm reduction counseling program; a risk assessment and health evaluation program that includes HIV prevention counseling and testing; outreach services based on a peer-counseling model; and expanding case management and referral services to identify new and existing networking resources.	IYAP conducts agency outreach by providing information and staff training to other agencies. IYAP provides low-intensity individual outreach through advertising and by making hotlines for youth. IYAP provides high-intensity individual outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender youth on the streets or in community settings.
University of Alabama, Birmingham, Teenage Access Project (TAP)	Birmingham, Alabama	The Teenage Access Project (TAP) seeks to expand and ensure access to health and support services for disadvantaged, high-risk adolescent and young adult females by: 1) preventing transmission of HIV through reduction of risk behavior; 2) identifying young women with HIV earlier in the course of their disease through outreach and HIV testing; and 3) improving access to medical and psychosocial services through tracking, identification of acute needs, and referral for services.	TAP provides the following services: staff outreach to community agencies serving high-risk, disadvantaged young women; the TAP line, a project access line for HIV information, enrollment in risk-harm reduction groups, access to TAP staff members, and access to HIV testing; Adolescent Testing Center, a clinical center for age and culturally appropriate HIV counseling and testing services, risk assessment and referrals; this service is also provided in a local juvenile detention center; and risk-harm reduction sessions specifically designed for young women.	TAP conducts agency outreach by providing staff training and risk-harm reduction sessions to youth who are clients of other agencies. TAP does not provide low- or high-intensity individual outreach.
University of Minnesota, Youth and AIDS Projects (YAP)	Statewide in Minnesota	Adolescents with HIV are identified through the existing system of mandatory, name-linked reports of HIV cases to the Minnesota Department of Health, which dispatches an Adolescent Early Intervention Specialist to assess health care needs and link youth with comprehensive care at the Youth and AIDS Project (YAP). These youth are also offered traditional public health services such as education and partner notification.	YAP provides: outreach, early intervention, and case management services for youth referred by the Minnesota Department of Health; partner notification, prevention, and risk reduction sessions for youth; and comprehensive coordinated care, and family-centered care to all Minnesota youth with HIV between the ages of 13 and 22.	HIV-positive youth are identified through the existing system of mandatory reporting to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Walden House, Inc.	San Francisco, California	The Walden House Adolescent Planetree Project (APT) offers comprehensive treatment services specifically designed to meet the substance abuse, psychiatric, and medical health needs of triple-diagnosed youth, specifically those identified as HIV-positive. The project also provides enhanced treatment services to adolescents with HIV who are participating in a therapeutic community setting. In addition, extensive screening, education, and prevention services are offered to all youth in residential substance abuse treatment.	Walden House provides the following services: education and prevention services for young people; HIV counseling and testing services; substance abuse treatment; mental health services; counseling; alternative therapy; outreach activities; and ancillary services to youth who are in the residential program.	Walden House conducts agency outreach by providing information and staff training to other agencies. Walden House generally does not conduct low- or high-intensity individual outreach to youth. Walden House does conduct high-intensity outreach to youth who are in institutional (juvenile justice and Department of Social Services) and community-based facilities.
YouthCare	Seattle, Washington	YouthCare provides outreach, referrals, anonymous HIV-test counseling, prevention case management, and early intervention case management services for street-involved, homeless, and sexual minority youth. Activities are conducted throughout Seattle.	YouthCare provides shift coverage, outreach, and referral to youth in three local drop-in centers, three needle exchange sites, and on the streets. YouthCare’s case managers help youth to navigate the adult HIV-service system.	YouthCare conducts agency outreach through agency meetings, and by providing staff training and information to other agencies. YouthCare provides low-intensity individual outreach to youth by providing staff coverage at needle exchange sites and at drop-in centers. YouthCare conducts high-intensity individual outreach through street outreach.