ABOUT THE PLANNING COUNCIL

• The Planning Council was established in 1993, and has always been comprised of Commissioners appointed by the CEO, which is the Chief Elected Office, in this case the Mayor of the City of Paterson. The Planning Council elects a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson annually.
   

• The Planning Council is required to work together with the Office of the Recipient to assess the service needs of people with HIV (PWH) living in Bergen and Passaic Counties (New Jersey) and specify the kinds and amounts of services required to meet those needs. Based on needs assessment, utilization, and epidemiological data—the Planning Council decides what services are most needed by PWH in the TGA (also known as priority setting) and decides how much Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part A money should be used for each of these service categories (this is our resource allocations).
   

• The Paterson-Passaic County-Bergen County HIV Health Services Planning Council consists of advocates, community leaders, PWH, healthcare providers, volunteers, and people who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
   

• The Planning Council is responsible for making decisions concerning:

  • Service Priorities & Resource Allocation of Ryan White Part A grant funds

  • HIV Care Continuum Performance

  • Integrated HIV Prevention & Care Planning

  • Needs Assessment of PWH

  • Evaluation of Grant Administration
     

• The Planning Council also provides guidance to the Office of the Recipient on service standards and directives. The Planning Council is responsible for evaluating how rapidly Ryan White Part A funds are allocated and made available for care. This involves ensuring that funds are being contracted quickly and through an open process and that subrecipients are being paid in a timely manner.
   

• Part A funds are used to meet the health service needs of PWH that are not met by any other health care programs.
   

• The Planning Council takes the lead in conducting many of its legislated responsibilities and shares duties with the recipient in some areas. To guarantee that a broad range of ideas is heard, the planning council membership must reflect specific areas of expertise as well as disproportionately affected and historically underserved populations.
   

• The Planning Council completes its work through a structure of committees and subcommittees all of which are open to the public.
   

• Individuals wishing to become a member of the Planning Council must submit a nomination application, which is reviewed by the Community Development Committee (CDC). Once approved, the application is presented to the Planning Council for recommendation to the Mayor of the City of Paterson for the final appointment.​​

​

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Bergen-Passaic Counties Ryan White Part A Planning Council, please go to the Planning Council Membership page and follow the prompts to apply!

​

For additional information on all things Planning Council, download HRSA's Planning Council Primer

 

The Planning Council operates in accordance with the Ryan White CARE Act, federal legislation. We are funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), through a Ryan White Part A grant.

​

The City of Paterson (Recipient) administers and monitors the grant funds, which are awarded to subrecipients that offer core health and support services to PWH.

 

Subrecipients include hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations (CBOs), AIDS service organizations (ASOs) and other local healthcare and social service agencies located in Paterson, Passaic County, and Bergen County.

 

The Award Process

Each year Congress approves different amounts of funds for Ryan White programs, including Part A which is then divided into formula and supplemental funds.

EMA's or TGA's must submit a grant application to HAB/DSS each year to receive formula and supplemental Part A funds.

Grants are written by the Grantee and submitted each September.

EMA's or TGA's must submit a grant application to HAB/DSS each year to receive formula and supplemental Part A funds.

Grants are written by the Grantee and submitted each September.

The grant year or fiscal year runs from March 1st to February 28th each year.

The annual planning cycle, which the Planning Council operates on, is from September to August each year.