As the only subcontractor to Ryan White Technical Assistance Contractor John Snow, Inc. (JSI) from 1996-2001 and as a subcontractor to 2001-2005 TAC contractor BETAH Associates, Mosaica has:

• Prepared and updated technical assistance manuals, guides, and other materials designed to assist CARE Act grantees, planning bodies, and service providers engaged in planning and CARE Act implementation. Mosaica is known for its capacity to prepare clearly written, user-friendly materials for grantees and planning bodies. Examples of these materials: two editions of the national Needs Assessment Guide (including a post-reauthorization update in 2002), a series of three technical assistance manuals on outcomes evaluation, the national Training Guide for planning body members (also updated in 2002), two editions of the PLWH Sourcebook for people living with HIV disease caucuses and committees, a self-assessment module and a self-help guide on Priority Setting and Resource Allocation, and a guide on the role of the chief elected official (CEO) in Title I planning and implementation. Staff also prepared many of the technical assistance materials in the original Title II Manual and coordinated the rewriting of the Title I Manual in 2002.
Provided consultation to support CARE Act implementation. For example,
 

• Consultation reports: In 200I, Mosaica prepared a report on a national HIV/AIDS Bureau “MIS Day” consultation, addressing management information system needs and how to improve data systems for CARE Act program. In 2000, Mosaica prepared a report on a national consultation on unmet need that is guiding HAB activities designed to improve assessment of unmet need. In 1999, staff prepared the report for a national consultation between the HIV/AIDS Bureau and CDC on epidemiologic and related data requirements for Title I and Title II applications. Staff prepared reports on a series of annual Community Discussion Group meetings with PLWH, the 1997 Case Rate EMA Meeting, and consultations on issues related to the 1996 reauthorization of the CARE Act.
• Assistance with national meetings: Staff played a major role in the development of the program for the CARE Act all-titles meeting in January 2000. Mosaica also prepared presentations on reauthorization issues for two regional meetings of Title I and Title II grantees in 2001.
• Technical assistance call reports: Staff prepared a series of reports based on technical assistance conference calls sponsored by HAB’s Division of Service Systems (DSS) between 1995 and 2000.
• Research and analyses: Staff completed analyses of grievance procedures within CARE Act programs and how farmworkers have been served by CARE Act programs, and a major report on women and Title I and Title II of the CARE Act.
• Facilitation and training: Mosaica staff have facilitated consultations and provided training and briefings for CARE Act Project Officers on such topics as how to be an effective moderator (in preparation for the all-titles meeting) and how to use the outcomes evaluation technical assistance guide on outcomes evaluation of primary care programs, trained consultants on how to provide assistance in outcomes evaluation, and trained organizations with HAB cooperative agreements on evaluation of technical assistance activities.
 

• Served on the training team and helped refine the curriculum for regional training sessions for consumer members of Ryan White Title I planning councils. Managed by BETAH TAC subcontractor JSI, this project involved testing and refinement of curriculum materials and delivery of three-day training sessions in four regions.

 

• Provided on-site assistance and training for Ryan White CARE Act grantees and planning bodies. Mosaica has assisted Ryan White planning bodies and grantees on issues such as needs assessment and unmet need, comprehensive planning, outcomes evaluation, strengthening planning bodies, multicultural competence, and clarifying the relationship between the planning body and grantee. For example:

 
• Unmet need: Mosaica served as the Unmet Need Technical Assistance Center of the TAC under BETAH, Inc. It provided individualized assistance to grantees in developing and implementing strategies for estimating and assessing unmet need for primary health care, and developed models and curriculum for training grantees and planning bodies on unmet need. It provided on-site assistance to a number of Title I and Title II grantees, among them the State of Florida and Florida Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) and the Dutchess County Title I grantee (Department of Health) in how to estimate and measure unmet need, assessed all 105 unmet applications from Title I and Title II grantees, and prepared extensive “how to” materials to assist grantees and planning bodies in estimating, assessing, and addressing unmet need. It also provided training to HAB Project Officers on unmet need.
• Grantee and planning body assistance: Staff have assisted a wide range of States and eligible metro areas. Among the most intensive assignments have been work with the Norfolk and Phoenix Title I programs. Both began as TAC assignments and have continued as direct contracts with Mosaica. Among many other Ryan White assignments have been work with Indiana, New Jersey, New York City, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and Bergen-Passaic, Caguas, Chicago, New Haven, New York City, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Diego, San Jose, and Washington, DC. Included have been training sessions, facilitation of strategic planning efforts, and individualized on-site services. The Norfolk and Phoenix work has involvement efforts lasting 1-2 years to help restructure Planning Councils; strengthen working relationships between Planning Councils, grantees, and Chief Elected Officials; and improve grantee functions from contracting to quality management. Mosaica coordinates a team of five consultants in Norfolk and two in Phoenix.
• Assistance to providers: Mosaica has provided direct assistance to minority and other community-based HIV/AIDS service providers in the Denver, St. Louis, Washington, DC, and Kansas City EMAs, among others.
• Training: Mosaica also develops curricula and provides training at national CARE Act grantee meetings and other HIV-related conferences, such as training on multicultural competence and evaluation at statewide meetings.
• PLWH assistance: Senior staff have provided training to people living with HIV (PLWH) on using health services in a managed care setting, as part of the HIV/AIDS Bureau’s Managed Care Pilot Project, which provides training and technical assistance to CARE Act-funded programs to address issues associated with caring for people with HIV in a managed care environment.

Mosaica’s work in HIV prevention planning and the implementation and management of prevention services includes a wide range of assignments, such as the following:
 

• Providing consultation to HIV Prevention Community Planning Groups, as a subcontractor to the Academy for Educational Development (AED). Mosaica staff have provided training and consultation on needs assessment, gap analysis, and evaluation, and facilitated planning sessions and retreats for HIV Prevention Community Planning Groups in States including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Also through AED, Mosaica has provided technical assistance to HIV prevention groups in Guatemala in implementing the HIV Prevention Community Planning model.
• Developing technical assistance and training materials:

 

• AED: As part of its AED work, Mosaica has developed a national technical assistance guide on needs assessment and developed and tested a special module on gap analysis. Mosaica has also helped to develop trainer training curricula for two innovative HIV prevention interventions.
   
  
• NCLR: As a subcontractor to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) AIDS Center, Mosaica developed two manuals for use by HIV Prevention Community Planning Groups, one for community representatives on how to conduct needs assessments and use statistics in planning, the other on methods to ensure multicultural inclusiveness in States’ HIV/AIDS prevention planning processes. (These manuals were developed as part of NCLR’s cooperative agreement with CDC.)

 

• Evaluating the National and Regional Minority Organization (NRMO) Program and its successor Capacity-Building Assistance (CBA-1) program, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mosaica served as subcontractor to the Saint Louis University School of Public Health in a national three-year evaluation of the services and effectiveness of the National and Regional Minority Organizations (NRMOs), which provide assistance to minority-focused AIDS prevention projects. Mosaica’s responsibilities included field work to assess program processes and outcomes based on performance indicators and critical success factors related to the 22 NRMOs and the prevention programs they assist, and development of model self-evaluation materials for technical assistance providers. In the fall of 2000, Mosaica began a new three-year evaluation effort, again under subcontract to Saint Louis University School of Public Health, to evaluate the Capacity-Building Assistance (CBA) program, including implementation, process, and effectiveness evaluation over a projected four-year period.

For about five years, Mosaica assisted the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of HIV/AIDS Policy in a variety of tasks related to implementation of the Leadership Campaign on AIDS and other activities to support the Minority AIDS/Congressional Black Caucus Initiative. Some of this work was initially done directly for OHAP and later as a subcontractor to BETAH Associates. Mosaica continues to provide more limited services, directly for OHAP and as a subcontractor to ICF. Responsibilities have included:
 

• Process and quality evaluation of the Leadership Campaign on HIV/AIDS (TLCA), an initiative developed by former Surgeon General David Satcher, now a part of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy (OHAP). The project was designed to galvanize and support minority community leaders to help control and ultimately prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in their communities. Mosaica prepared evaluation forms for TLCA events and aggregated evaluation results, and carried out other special evaluation efforts including follow-up with minority leaders and organizations involved in TLCA activities, producing a twice-yearly report of TLCA activities, and conducting short-term outcomes evaluation case studies.

 

• Plain Language Training. Mosaica provides training in how to write plain language program guidances and requests for applications (RFAs) to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) personnel involved in the development of such documents. A manual provides reference materials on plain language/plain English principles and approaches. Mosaica has provided targeted sessions for staff involved with HIV/AIDS program announcements and for management staff at CDC, for staff writing RFPs and managers at SAMHSA, and for staff preparing program announcements throughout DHHS. Mosaica provides these sessions by request to various parts of DHHS. In addition to work through TLCA, Mosaica has provided training sessions funded directly by agencies such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). More than 300 HHS employees received training through TLCA-sponsored sessions.

 

•  Training and technical assistance to minority HIV/AIDS organizations, including national, State, and local groups, to strengthen their planning, needs assessment, resource development, and governance capacity. Mosaica has provided resource development training to minority community-based organizations such as New York-based organizations that are members of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) and Hispanic organizations in New York and New Jersey that are associated with the Hispanic Federation, and faith-based organizations such as the Eastern Territory of The Salvation Army and the Secretariats for African American Catholics and Hispanic Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Mosaica has also provided organizational development and planning assistance to the National Rural Health Association, the National Coalition of Pastors’ Spouses, and other minority providers and faith-based organizations located in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, DC, among other locations.

 

• The Minority Reviewer Project, initially jointly funded by the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy and the Office of Minority Health (OMH). It was designed to increase the number of minority and community-based reviewers on federal review panels for HIV/AIDS-related project. During its first year, this work was conducted as a subgrant through the National Council of La Raza; it continued through 2004 as part of TLCA. Mosaica developed an ACCESS-based computerized database for minority reviewers and made it available to federal agencies putting together review panels, in cooperation with the Office of Minority Health Resource Center, which now manages the database. Mosaica developed an extensive one-day experiential curriculum for training minority reviewers and a half-day trainer training curriculum to prepare experienced reviewers and community-based organization leaders to provide local training for reviewers. Staff planned and implemented minority reviewer and trainer training sessions in seven cities, and helped to “market” the database to federal agencies. The database includes well over 300 reviewers.

 

• Development of HIV/AIDS and Minorities: A Guide to Federal Programs, a directory of agencies within DHHS that are involved in HIV/AIDS service provision and related activities, highlighting their minority-focused HIV/AIDS programs. The Guide was posted on the OMH Resource Center website, and periodically updated.

 

• Development of written materials for minority HIV/AIDS organizations. Mosaica has developed training manuals and self-help guides on various aspects of program and resource development, including building and maintaining funder relationships, public- and private-sector proposal writing, responding to federal requests for applications, venture philanthropy, and the Board role in fundraising. It also makes available a wide range of organizational development materials on topics ranging from the roles and responsibilities of Boards of Directors to strategic planning.

 

•  Project Officer Conference Calls, which provided DHHS project officers with information that can be used to provide technical assistance to organizations providing HIV/AIDS-related services to communities of color. The calls also served as a source of information for Project Officers and other DHHS staff to hear from DHHS senior officials and community-based organizations on key HIV/AIDS topics. Information shared on the conference calls included, among other topics, new technical assistance programs, strategies, and new grant opportunities.

 

• Special assignments such as assistance in the development of a framework on HIV/AIDS for DHHS, translation of Leadership Initiative materials into Spanish, staffing and facilitation of meetings with federal agency Project Officers responsible for technical assistance contracts and cooperative agreements focusing on community-based HIV/AIDS prevention and care providers, and participation and coordination of activities around special awareness days such as National Latino AIDS Awareness Day and World AIDS Day.

Other national HIV/AIDS-related projects have included:
 

• Evaluation of the Regional Resource Network Project, now in process. This project, which began in 1999 under the Office of Population Affairs and is now  under the auspices of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, places HIV/AIDS capacity-building specialists in all ten DHHS regional offices to provide assistance to small minority-focused organizations, to help them become involved and funded as HIV/AIDS prevention and care service providers. Mosaica is providing an evaluation of program value and recommendations for the program’s future.

 

• Assistance to the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA). Mosaica most recently (2005-2006) assisted NAPWA with the transition to a new Executive Director. In the past, Mosaica helped NAPWA with its managed care consumer education project, an initiative to develop Bilingual (English-Spanish) educational materials for PLWH on how to use health care services in a managed care setting. Mosaica’s responsibilities include conducting Spanish-language focus groups with PLWH using managed care health services to identify information needs, and developing and testing Spanish language educational materials. Mosaica staff also provided evaluation training to NAPWA staff.

 

• Assistance to the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) with the CBO National Technical Assistance Needs Assessment Project, a CDC-funded project to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the technical assistance needs of minority community-based organizations providing HIV prevention and education services in the following six areas: (1) community planning, (2) use of surveillance and epidemiologic information to target and design HIV prevention programs, (3) use of behavioral science to design prevention programs, (4) evaluation of HIV prevention programs, (5) incorporation of biomedical research findings into prevention programs, and (6) coordination of prevention activities with other providers of preventive care. Mosaica had lead responsibility for the design and development of the evaluation protocol and instruments, data collection and analysis.

Mosaica has also carried out numerous State and local assignments in both prevention and care, such as the following:
 

• Evaluation of the Planning Council support function and management of an external review process for the Baltimore EMA. The Title I grantee contracted with Mosaica to develop an assessment guide, carry out an intensive on-site assessment, and prepare a report on the performance of its Planning Council support contractor in 2005. In 2006, Mosaica managed the grantee’s external review process for two program support categories, Capacity Building Assistance and Community Education.

 

• Organizational development assistance to local and State HIV/AIDS organizations, including groups engaged in providing housing for PLWH, doing harm reduction, providing substance abuse treatment, serving pediatric HIV cases, providing faith-based support and services, and providing a variety of prevention services in Washington, DC, and an emerging multicultural HIV technical assistance group in Portland, the Multicultural HIV/AIDS Alliance of Oregon. This assistance has been supported by foundations and health departments.

 

• Training for State health department grantees, such as training for both prevention and care providers and community planning groups in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida on topics including needs assessment, focus group research, evaluation, resource development, and multicultural competence.

 

• A CARE Act Title IV needs assessment and assistance in program planning for Family Connections, a grantee in Washington, DC that is a collaborative of three hospitals and the DC Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

 

• Needs Assessment focus groups for the Administration for HIV/AIDS, District of Columbia Health Department. Mosaica completed more than 20 focus groups in 1998 as part of the Title I grantee and planning council’s needs assessment process and ten focus groups and special PLWH interviews in 2000.

     

• Evaluation of a disease management program for HIV-positive women run by a women-focused HIV/AIDS program in Washington, DC.

 

• Evaluation of Ryan White Planning Council support in a large EMA. Mosaica conducted a programmatic assessment of the Planning Council Support function, provided by InterGroup Services (IGS), a management consulting corporation, for the Baltimore Ryan White Planning Council. A Mosaica team developed a tool that reflected an in-depth understanding of Planning Council legislative functions and optional activities, as specified in the Ryan White legislation (2000 Amendments) and the Title I Manual, and the types of support a /Planning Council requires in order to carry out those functions. We developed a detailed plan for reviewing materials, conducted a site visit, and prepared a detailed written final report to the Baltimore City Health Department.

 

• Assessment of a city agency’s HIV/AIDS policy. Mosaica worked with the Family Ties Project to conduct a systematic and thorough assessment of the current HIV/AIDS policy at the Washington, D.C. Child and Family Services Administration (CFSA), including staff awareness and implementation of HIV/AIDS policy. The assessment and a written report of the findings were used as the first step in a policy initiative to increase and enhance the HIV/AIDS services for children in the DC foster care system.

 

Mosaica has also provided long-term services to an HIV/AIDS funding collaborative, the Washington AIDS Partnership. Mosaica has assisted this grantmaking collaborative with organizational issues and strategic planning, and is engaged in the fifth year as the evaluator of various aspects of its grantmaking. Mosaica has also worked to strengthen the financial management systems and capacity and provided strategic planning assistance for selected HIV/AIDS organizations that are current or past grantees of the Partnership.
 
Mosaica’s staff have extensive prior experience in HIV/AIDS. A majority of Mosaica’s staff have specific HIV/AIDS research, evaluation, technical assistance, and direct service experience. They have played major roles in the development of a major national minority HIV technical assistance center, preparation of HIV/AIDS evaluation guides, development of statistical analyses and policy papers on HIV as it affects specific minority communities, capacity-building assistance to African American and Latino HIV/AIDS groups throughout the country, technical assistance to HIV Prevention Community Planning Groups and health departments, analysis of national data on CARE Act services, and direct services such as case management.
 
Through its HIV/AIDS work, Mosaica integrates its technical skills in health and HIV, its organizational development capacity, its multicultural experience, and its commitment to supporting collaboration and cooperation across sectors.