Girls 4 HOPE: Building community capacity to prevent HIV infection among African American and Latina teen girls

Issues: African American and Latina adolescent girls are disproportionally represented among cases of new HIV infection in the United States and are more likely to experience health inequities due to socioeconomic disparities and lack of access to healthcare. The community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve them experience challenges that include limited organizational resources, over-extended staff, and communities under economic stress. To effectively prevent HIV in their communities, these CBOs need additional support, training, and resources. Description: The Girls 4 HOPE program, through funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health, provides long-term capacity building assistance (CBA) to CBO staff in order to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of culturally appropriate, evidence-based HIV prevention programs reaching African American and Latina adolescent girls and their families. Lessons Learned: According to four years of aggregated data, CBOs that serve adolescents at high risk for HIV demonstrate a need for CBA related to program planning/implementation and understanding youth. Girls 4 HOPE has provided CBA focused on positive youth development and cultural competence to 19 organizations across the United States. With customized assistance, CBOs can have greater impact on the health outcomes of high-risk adolescents. Recommendations: Providing CBA to organizations serving populations at high risk of HIV infection is encouraged in order to strengthen prevention programs. Effective CBA recognizes and addresses linkages between social injustices and HIV rates in the African American and Latino communities, includes long-term follow-up support, and addresses the unique assets and challenges of each CBO.