Single Source Procurement: Latino Commission on AIDS

Pursuant to New York State Finance Law § 163.10(b), The New York State Department of Health is presenting the following summary of relevant circumstances, and material and substantial reasons why a competitive procurement was not feasible.

The New York State (NYS) Department of Health (DOH) AIDS Institute (AI) is adding funds to two Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) contracts to support events aimed at addressing issues related to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic among Hispanic/Latino gay men/Men who have Sex with Men (HLMSM).

NYS has one of the highest rates of Hispanic/Latino Persons Living with diagnosed HIV infection (PLWDHI) in the United States. While the rate of new diagnoses among groups of MSM has decreased 20%, the rate for Hispanic/Latino MSM has increased 1.8% from 2011 to 2015. The AIDS Institute seeks to prioritize this population and commit resources to address Hispanic/Latino gay men/MSM health needs.

The events to be funded are:

  1. A Statewide Training/Technical Assistance meeting, which will offer an opportunity for community-based organizations, medical institutions, and state and local government entities to discuss innovative and technical approaches to address topics that intersect HIV prevention and care and impact HLMSM.
  2. Two high-impact prevention workshops which will utilize science-based approaches to address the relationship between self-esteem, internalized homophobia and HIV among Latino/Hispanic gay and bisexual men living in NYC.

Funding to support these initiatives was originally awarded to Harlem United Community AIDS Center for the Community Mobilization (CM) Program approved in 2013. Harlem United's contract was aimed at supporting a peer-driven outreach, education and harm reduction services targeting African American and Latino MSMs through one-on-one interventions, community events, and extensive outreach to churches and bath houses. However, on April 18, 2017, Harlem United informed the AIDS Institute of its intention to voluntarily end this contractual relationship as of June 30, 2017.

The AIDS Institute is reallocating these funds to two contracts currently awarded to LCOA to continue this work aimed at providing services to this vulnerable NYS population.

The AIDS Institute selected LCOA for this work because the agency is now the only CM provider that has the statewide infrastructure to effectively reach Hispanic/Latino communities, particularly Hispanic/Latino gay men/MSM who are disproportionately impacted by HIV and STDs. The agency has demonstrated experience in providing capacity building assistance on issues impacting the Hispanic/Latino community to community-based organizations, health departments, health care providers and other groups. The agency has the necessary credibility with the communities that they serve, in part due to its stability and continuous presence.

Work funded through the CRER will enhance existing coalition building and capacity building efforts for this priority community, which continues to be disproportionally impacted by HIV. The agency has partnered with the AIDS Institute to develop recommendations related to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Ending the AIDS Epidemic initiative and serves in an advisory capacity as we advance the Ending the Epidemic goals.

The funds are being apportioned to the two contracts below to maximize impact. The statewide training meeting will be funded under contract C02845, which focuses on broader community-level environmental and societal changes that impact Latino/Hispanic gay men/MSM. The two client-centered retreats will be funded under contract C30967GG, which focuses on enhancing the individual's capacity in support of healthy behaviors. This two-prong approach ensures that behavior changes at the client level are supported by the community as a whole.

Procurement / Program Name Latino Commission on AIDS
Contractor Name(s) Latino Commission on AIDS
Contract Period 7/1/2017 – 2/28/2019
Contract Number(s) C028451, C30967GG