Minority AIDS Initiative/Connecticut Aids Drug Assistance Program

The Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) program is funded under the Connecticut Department of Public Health. The program works to ensure HIV positive individuals are linked to care, including identification of individuals who are currently out of care. Care includes, but is not limited to, Ambulatory Medical Care and Medical Case Management.

MAI works to ensure that clients are educated and connected to a medical health plan such as the Connecticut Aids Drug Assistance Program (CADAP), which covers prescription medication for positive individuals; and the Connecticut Insurance Premium Program (CIPA) which is a program to reimburse eligible clients up to $1500 per month toward an approved health insurance premium. MAI staff members are highly trained bilingual and multicultural individuals who will screen clients for these services as well as walk them through the process of the CADAP and CIPA eligibility process.

MAI staff members are a resource for community providers such as physicians, medical case managers and clinics to utilize for keeping a client connected to medical care. Using the referral process, providers can contact the staff of the MAI program to seek out and locate clients who have missed clinical and case management appointments. The MAI staff will work to locate clients who are lost to care, or at risk for being lost to care, and build a supportive relationship with the client with the hopes of returning them to care. The main focus of the program is to link and navigate clients back into care (reconnect) and ensure that they are educated about their condition, educate the client on the resources available to them and how to access those resources.

The goal of the MAI staff is to increase public knowledge of these service offerings in the Hartford, Middlesex and Tolland counties. Staff members collaboratd with Infectious Disease providers, medical case managers, community based organizations and Ryan White providers to provide community outreach in area transitional housing programs, half-way houses, shelters and soup kitchens and other key points of entry and to provide group level interventions for support groups offered in the communities listed. All services are free of charge and accessible to qualifying Connecticut State residents. Central AHEC staff provides long-term case management to people living with HIV/AIDS. This can be as short as 60 days or as long as five years depending on the needs of the clients.

For More Information

For more information please contact Delita Rose-Daniels at drdaniels@centralctahec.org.