Evaluating the Provision of Technical Assistance to CBO's Serving Minority Populations

Statement of Problem: HIV/AIDS has rapidly increased within ethnic minority communities, forcing community-based organizations (CBOs) to serve a diverse set of clientele. Equally, PLWH/A and those at risk are presenting co-occurring disorders which make treatment and prevention services increasingly challenging for CBO's. Resulting from this context and in the increasing demands placed on CBO's, Federal agencies have adopted the strategy of Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) through Technical Assistance (TA) to assist CBOs with improving service delivery, meeting client needs, building organizational infrastructure for sustainability, and fulfilling contractual obligations.

Based on project experience, The MayaTech Corporation has developed a model to evaluate the effectiveness of TA delivered to SAMHSA CSAT-funded CBOs. This session will present the TA evaluation model, which includes: 1) Evaluation of the short- and long-term impact of the TA; 2) CBO assessment of the quality of TA provided; 3) measurement of the cultural and technical expertise of the trainer providing the TA; 4) trainer assessment of CBO needs and capacity; and, 5) identification of CBOs further TA needs.

The session will focus on organizations funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under Guidance for Applicants (GFA) No. TI 02-009: Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services to provide substance abuse treatment services to PLWH/A and to at-risk populations.