There is a critical need for coordinated mental health services for Atlanta's AIDS/HIV community. We propose establishing a consortium of academic, state, and community-based AIDS/HIV service organizations as the Emory Center for AIDS/HIV Mental Health Services (Emory CAMS). Through this network Emory CAMS will: (1) afford clients with AIDS/HIV greater access to a wide range of high quality mental health services; (2) comprehensively deliver psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, and social services; (3) standardize approaches to assessing and changing HIV risk behaviors and maximizing treatment adherence; and (4) evaluate the infrastructure, personnel, activities, and client involvement systematically. We will develop the network infrastructure over the four year period to include other services and to expand to rural areas. Currently, the central component to Emory CAMS is the Mental Health Service at the Grady Health System's Infectious Disease Program, a primary care facility devoted to AIDS/HIV services. Emory CAMS will also involve seven community based agencies that work with diverse clients affected by AIDS/HIV. These include Georgia's largest HIV antibody testing site (Fulton County Health Department), and agencies focusing on outpatient psychotherapy (Positive Impact), and the specific needs of Persons Living With AIDS (AIDS Survival Project), African American women (SisterLove), clients with addiction (Our Common Welfare), and the homeless (Mercy Mobile Health Care). We will evaluate the network, its staff and services, and its impact upon clients' quality of life through ongoing process and outcome evaluations. We will contract with EMSTAR Research, Inc. to assist in these assessments. This is a local consulting firm with extensive evaluation experience, whose Director has a proven track record of consultation to grants funded by CSAP, OSAP, NSF, and NIAAA. We will also coordinate Emory CAMS training objectives with the Emory HIV/AlDS Mental Health Training Project, a CMHS funded program. Through this formal network of linkages, Emory CAMS will provide mental health providers with an open forum to exchange information pertaining to high quality HIV- related mental health care, and offer a mechanism to train and educate staff about the mental health challenges posed by HIV and AIDS. Through this effort we seek to improve clients' access to a range of quality, culturally sensitive mental health service.
