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Outreach Services

HIV/STD Program

HIV/STD Program

HIV Medical and Support Service Categories

Outreach Services

Service Standard

Outreach Services Service Standard print version

Texas Department of State Health Services, HIV Care Services Group – HIV/STD Program

Subcategories Service Units
Outreach services Per encounter

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Description

Outreach Services identify people living with HIV who do not know their HIV status or who do know their status but are not currently in care. 
Agencies providing Outreach Services conduct the following activities:

  • Identification of people who do not know their HIV status, or
  • Linkage or re-engagement of people living with HIV into HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) services, including providing information about health care coverage options.

Because agencies often provide Outreach Services to people who do not know their HIV status, some activities within this service category will likely reach people who are HIV-negative. People who are HIV-negative may receive Outreach Services, and agencies should refer these clients to risk reduction activities. When Outreach Services activities identify someone living with HIV, agencies should link eligible clients to HRSA RWHAP services.
Agencies providing Outreach Services must:

  • Use data to focus on reaching people with HIV who:
    • Have never been tested and are undiagnosed,
    • Have been tested and diagnosed with HIV but have not received their test results, or
    • Have been tested and know their HIV diagnosis but are not in medical care.
  • Conduct services in places where there is a high probability that they will identify people with HIV.
  • Deliver services in coordination with local and state HIV prevention outreach programs to avoid duplication of effort.

Agencies may provide Outreach Services through community and public awareness activities (e.g., posters, flyers, billboards, social media, TV, or radio announcements) that meet the requirements above and include explicit and clear links to and information about available HRSA RWHAP services. 

Program Guidance

Agencies provide Outreach Services to individuals or in small group settings. Agencies may use Outreach Services funds for HIV testing when HRSA RWHAP resources are available and where testing would not supplant other existing funding.

Limitations

Agencies may not use Outreach Services funds for activities that exclusively promote HIV prevention education. Agencies may not use Outreach Services funds for HIV testing when other resources are available. Agencies cannot deliver services anonymously, as some information is needed to facilitate required follow-up and care. 

Universal Standards

Services providers for Outreach Services must follow HRSA and DSHS Universal Standards 1-63 and 188-190.

Service Standards and Measures

The following standards and measures are guides to improving health outcomes for people with HIV throughout the State of Texas within the Ryan White Part B and State Services Program.

Standard Measure

Linkage: When an individual who was not previously aware of their status tests positive for HIV, agency staff will refer the individual to a RWHAP or non-RWHAP service provider for medical services. Outreach models vary by provider, but outreach services should increase access points to care. 
Agencies should also link people newly identified with HIV to other services that support linkage and establishment in care:

  • Early Intervention Services
  • Medical Case Management
  • Non-Medical Case Management
  • Outpatient/Ambulatory Health Services
  • Referral for Health Care and Support Services

Agency staff will follow up with the client within 10 business days of the scheduled appointment to confirm that clients newly identified with HIV attended a medical appointment.
  1. Percentage of clients newly diagnosed with HIV with documentation of a referral to an HIV medical provider.
     
  2. Percentage of clients newly diagnosed with HIV and referred to an HIV medical provider with documentation of follow-up with the client within 10 business days of the scheduled appointment to confirm the client attended the medical appointment.

Re-engagement: When an agency identifies an individual previously diagnosed with HIV but not currently in care, staff will refer the client to a RWHAP or non-RWHAP service provider for medical care and support services.

Agency staff will follow up with the client within 10 business days of the scheduled appointment to confirm that people previously diagnosed with HIV attended a medical appointment.
  1. Percentage of previously diagnosed clients not currently in care with documentation of a referral to an HIV medical service provider.
     
  2. Percentage of previously diagnosed clients referred to an HIV medical provider with documentation of follow-up with the client within 10 business days of the scheduled appointment to confirm if the client attended the medical appointment.

References

Division of Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part A Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, March 2025.

Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part B Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, March 2025.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. Policy Notice 16-02: Eligible Individuals & Allowable Uses of Funds. Health Resources & Services Administration, October 22, 2018.