We are proud to report that our Automatic HIV Counseling and Testing Program continues to be recognized nationally for the extraordinary work being done to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the nation’s capital.  Over the past four years, the program has conducted HIV screening at intake for more than 42,000 inmates arriving at the DC Jail, an outcome that represents one of the largest organized testing efforts in the District of Columbia and more importantly, the country as a whole.  This is especially significant for our nation’s capital since current statistics confirm that we continue to have the highest rate of AIDS in the country while the prevalence of newly reported cases is higher than comparable urban centers such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City (DC Department of Health’s Epidemiology Annual Report).

Through our program’s unique design, each detainee entering the facility routinely undergoes a two-tiered medical evaluation which includes automatic screening for the HIV virus using Department of Health approved testing procedures.  Based on testing results, appropriate medical, counseling, and case management services are offered each impacted inmate.  The program includes a discharge planning and community case management component that ensures affected individuals maintain their post release focus on proper healthcare and medication maintenance.

We are especially proud of the fact that our program is viewed nationally as a correctional best practice with systems throughout the country seeking to emulate our operational protocols.  Based on our multi-year record of successful testing, the Department was recently asked to contribute data, along with three other large jail systems, for an abstract entitled “Implementation of Rapid HIV Testing in Large Urban Jails,” which upon acceptance will be presented at the Infectious Diseases Society of America conference in Canada this month.  This effort is especially significant because the outcomes and operational feedback will be utilized by other jail systems to effectively address HIV/AIDS in their facilities.  

The program has also been highlighted in publications and at professional conferences, including the American Correctional Association’s (ACA) 138th Annual Congress of Correction.  The program has been featured at forums sponsored by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Bar Association, the Operational Excellence in Correctional Healthcare Conference, the Forum for Collaborative Research, the CDC Corrections and Public Health Consultation, the 3rd Annual Correctional Health Care Forum, the George Washington University School of Public Health, and the Institute of Medicine Committee on HIV Screening and Access to Care.