Strengthening Systems of Care for People with HIV and Opioid Use Disorder

The HRSA-funded initiative Strengthening Systems of Care for People with HIV and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) provides coordinated technical assistance (TA) across HIV and behavioral health/substance use service providers. The project aims to enhance system-level coordination and networks of care among Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients and other federal, state, and local entities. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that people with HIV and OUD have access to care, treatment, and recovery services that are coordinated, client-centered, and culturally responsive.

We have been funded to work with the following nine states participating in the initiative: Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. The project period is September 2019 through August 2022. JSI is partnering with NASTAD to implement this initiative, with subject matter expertise from Boston Medical Center.

The project has four main components:

1. Conduct a landscape analysis of all nine states, assessing current funding, policies, and systems of care for HIV and OUD. 
2. Develop and implement state-specific TA plans to convene cross-sector stakeholders.
3. Evaluate project activities and impacts.
4. Disseminate project resources, products, and evaluation results.

Through new partnerships and innovative responses, this project will contribute to the following outcomes within the nine participating states:

• Strengthened systems of care to address HIV and OUD treatment, care, and recovery needs
• Increased cross-sector collaboration across federal, state, and local partners
• Improved system-level coordination and leveraging of available resources
• Enhanced care and treatment services to deliver optimal patient-centered and culturally responsive care
• Improved health outcomes for people with HIV and OUD