FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q. How does an ENLACES Skills Building Course take place?

A. The ENLACES Skills Building Course is one form of Capacity Building Assistance or CBA. To initiate an ENLACES training, a Department of Health Official involved in Community Planning, a Community Planning Group or a Directly funded CBO MUST put in for a CBA request via their CDC Project Officer. The USMBHA will then receive the CBA request through the CRIS system (please see the question relating to CRIS below).
There are Community Based Organizations (CBOs) that are directly funded by the CDC to provide HIV prevention interventions to Latinos. We make contact with them and offer the opportunity to host an ENLACES in their community. The host CBO works in partnership with us by providing the meeting place, recruitment of participants and other logistical details and the USMBHA provides the technical and skills-building experts and ENLACES participant manuals. During recruitment, we strive to identify Latino leaders who work with community but that are not part of a CPG. Together, we provide a three-day skill building course where participants share their knowledge and experiences about HIV Prevention Planning and learn new ways to bring more Latinos to the planning table.

Q. What do you mean by Technical Assistance or TA?

A. Technical Assistance is meant to support your Community Planning Group (CPG) and its members to accomplish the necessary steps and principles of HIV Prevention Community Planning. It is used as mechanism to assist all states in developing their State-wide Plans for HIV prevention. The Health Department, the Co-Chairs and other members of the CPG should all contribute in developing a TA request. Once consensus is reached on the CBA/TA request, the Health Department MUST put in for a CBA request via their CDC Project Officer.

Q. Is there a new way to request Capacity Building Assistance/Technical Assistance?

A. Yes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has implemented CRIS, which stands for CBA Request Information System. Eligible users include Health Departments, CDC-funded community based organizations, CDC-funded Capacity Building Providers and Project Officers. These users can access Community Planning CBA in addition to CBA for Infrastructure Development, Intervention Implementation & Evaluation, and Structural HIV prevention models. If you do not belong to one of the eligible groups, you can contact your Health Department or CDC Project Officer to make a request. CBA or TA for Community Planning is categorized under Focus Area 4: Strengthening Community Planning for HIV Prevention. You can access the CRIS at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/cba.

Q. Is the skills building course ENLACES the only means to enhance Latino participation in HIV Prevention Planning?

A . No, in addition to the ENLACES course, we also provide Technical Assistance and Materials to Community Planning Groups nationwide. Although we specialize in providing TA to CPGs that need to increase Latino Parity, Inclusion and Representation, we also provide a variety of CBA/TA described in the HIV Prevention Community Planning Section .

Q. How can I find out when the next ENLACES event will take place?

A. You can check right here on the: Training Calendar link to see more information and you can also contact the individuals on the Contact Us page . Click here for information on other Conferences and Special Events.

Q. Can a CBO that provides HIV prevention to Latinos, but not funded directly by the CDC still host an ENLACES Skills Building Course?

A. Yes! Traditionally, we work with CDC funded agencies, but we will not turn down any organization that wishes to collaborate with us in bringing the ENLACES Skills Building Course into their communities, particularly if they serve Latinos. We will encourage these organizations to collaborate with CDC funded agencies and we could also provide a list of all CDC funded CBOs.

Q. Is the USMBHA the only provider of CBA/Technical Assistance for HIV Prevention Community Planning?

A. No. There are a total of seven organizations that provide this kind of assistance and they are listed in the Our Partners link section. When we cannot provide a service, we make the appropriate referral.

Q. How can I request CBA or TA from the USMBHA's ENLACES Project?

A. First, Contact Us. Then describe the areas of TA you want for your CPG. If you don't know, don't worry-we can help you determine your needs. The only information we need from you is the name of your CDC Project Officer that works with your CPG. If you don't know, we will find out for you. We take your contact information and then leave the rest to us.

If you have any other Questions Pertaining to ENLACES, feel free to forward them to: Rosendo Corral at corralro@usmbha.org