āThe California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Branch (STDCB) is releasing this letter to officially notify the DIS Workforce supplemental grant recipients that that the grant activities have been revised to allow more flexibility for the utilization of the DIS funds. As the DIS funding is set to expire on January 31, 2026, the CDPH-STDCB will consider requests for prevention and treatment supplies and services.
The new funding flexibility now includes screening and prevention services as well new optional activities. The inclusion and integration of services such as providing STI testing and prevention with integrated testing for HIV, HCV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and mpox vaccination are now allowable. Other optional activities now allow for providing resource material and scaling up the availability of doxy-PEP for at risk populations. A copy of the revised DIS grant activities is enclosed and will be retroactive to July 1, 2024.
Changes to the scope are notated in bold and underline and are identified as optional activities. Below are examples of allowable expenses:
Certain equipment requests may be allowed and approval will be provided on a case-by-case basis.
Doxy-PEP Implementation
With syphilis climbing at an alarming pace, the CDC is encouraging the use of DIS funds to scale-up implementation of doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis (or doxy-PEP) to prevent these bacterial STI (specifically syphilis, chlamydia, or gonorrhea) infections.
Funds may be used for, but are not limited to, the following:
Purchase of doxycycline. Doxycycline is a relatively inexpensive medication, and jurisdictions should seek alternate methods of defraying the cost for doxycycline such as public or private health insurance or GoodRx coupons. However, purchase of starter packs of doxycycline with DIS funds may be warranted and is allowable.
Development and implementation of patient and provider education and communication materials.
Contractor or other staff time to develop health jurisdictional guidelines and model standard operating procedures.
Monitoring and evaluation activities including information system improvements to allow for collection of data about doxy-PEP implementation.
Funds cannot be used for:
If you are interested in utilizing your DIS funds for STI prevention and control materials or for doxy-PEP implementation, please submit a budget revision request along with a cover letter explaining the need for these resources and how they relate to the grant activities and assist DIS in their jobs. Budget revision requests should be submitted no later than December 2, 2024 for review and approval.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Jacobson, MD, Chief
STD Control Branch
Enclosure
cc: Alexia McGonagle, Assistant Branch Chief, STD Control Branch
Rachel Piper, Chief, Contracts and Purchasing Unit, STD Control Branch
Jill Marek, Chief, DIS Section, STD Control Branchā
DIS Workforce Development Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Updated 11/1/2024
These FAQs are to address questions pertaining to the amended DIS WFD grant activities (eff. 7/1/24) which allows greater flexibility for the utilization of the DIS funds. Other pertinent FAQs about grant administration are also included as changes have occurred in this area as well.
Grant Administration
1. *UPDATED* What is the new grant term/budget cycle for this grant?
If your DIS grant agreement was amended, the new grant term period for the DIS WFD funding is July 1, 2021 through January 31, 2026. For those amended grants, the budget cycles were also changed, and the new budget cycles will be 1/1/2024 ā 1/31/2025 and 2/1/2025 ā 1/31/2026. If your grant has not been amended, the grant agreement will end on its original term date of December 31, 2025, but the shift of the grant budget cycle still applies and the new budget cycles for the unamended grants will be 1/1/2024 ā 1/31/2025 and 2/1/2025 ā 12/31/2025.
2. *NEW* Will the invoice due dates change because of the shifting budget cycle?
Yes. Due to the shift in the grant budget cycle period, the invoice reporting periods have changed slightly which has resulted in a change of the invoice due dates. Please refer to the Grant Administration and Guidelines section of the DIS Workforce Development SharePoint site to access the schedule for the new reporting periods and invoice due dates for Budget Years (BY) 4 and 5.
3. *UPDATED* Will grantees be able to roll over the funds during the grant period?
Unspent funds will remain available for carryover to conduct grant activities/objectives. The deadline for grant activities and to fully expend the remaining unspent funds is December 31, 2025 if your grant was not amended or January 31, 2026 if your grant amendment was fully executed.ā
Allowable Expenses - Non-Personnel
4. *UPDATED* Can grant funds be used for testing, treatment, and vaccination?
Yes. Items like rapid test kits or CLIA waived point-of-care tests for GC, CT, HIV, HCV, syphilis or mpox, diagnostic testing, lab reagents, STI treatment, doxy-PEP, and vaccines are now allowable expenses. To add this these items to your budget, please submit a budget revision request to your DIS grant manager for review and approval prior to purchase.
5. *New* Can grant funds be used for clinical or lab supplies (e.g., alcohol prep pads, lancets, adhesive bandages, gloves, blood collection sets or tubes, etc.)?
Yes. Clinical or lab supplies are now allowable expenses. A budget revision request is needed if interested in purchasing these items using this funding.ā
6. *UPDATED* Are incentives such as gift cards or bus passes to transport people for testing and linkage to care allowable?
Incentives/gift cards are not allowable with these grant funds; however, transportation vouchers or bus passes are allowed.
7. *NEW* Can these funds be used for media/messaging? We are hoping to do community health education/messaging in our county about STIs, prevention, and encouraging testing/treatment. Would any of this type of messaging be permitted?
Yes. Media/messaging for community health education/messaging about STIs, prevention, and encouraging testing/treatment is now an allowable expense under this grant. This also includes using funds to advertise for DIS recruitment purposes. A budget revision request to your DIS grant manager for review and approval is needed prior to implementation of these activities.
8. *NEW* Can STI prevention supplies such as condoms (male or female), lubricant, oral barriers, etc. be purchased for distribution at STI clinics or outreach events?
Yes. Funds can be used to purchase STI prevention supplies, however, the purchase of novelty type of supplies (e.g., colored, scented or textured condoms) are not allowed. If you do not currently have an approved line item in your budget for STI prevention supplies, please submit a budget revision request to your DIS grant manager for review and approval prior to purchase.
9. *NEW* Can these funds be used for the purchase and installation of vending machines? What about the supplies for the vending machines?
Yes. Funds can be used to purchase vending machines along with associated costs for delivery and installation. Funds can also be used to purchase the supplies for the vending machine but are limited to STI prevention supplies. For consideration of items not considered STI prevention (i.e., harm reduction), please contact the DIS grant manager for review and approval of requested items.
10. *NEW* Can these funds be used for the purchase of undercounter refrigerators or lab testing equipment?
Yes, funds can be used to purchase equipment. Please contact the DIS grant manager for review and approval of requested items prior to making any purchases.
11. *NEW* Can these funds be used for lab testing services or specimen shipping costs?ā
Yes. However, if you do not currently have an approved line item in your budget for these costs, please submit a budget revision request to your DIS grant manager for review and approval.
12. *NEW* Are STI brochures, posters, flyers, etc. for outreach efforts and provider detailing allowed?
Yes. These items were previously approved for distribution during investigations or client counseling. The funding flexibility now allows for the purchase of education material for outreach efforts and distribution to providers and local community organizations.
13. *NEW* Can funds be used to purchase and distribute at-home collection test kits or home self-test kits (e.g., Check Yourself test kit through the Let's Get Checked program, Simple Health Kit or First to Know self-test syphilis test) at STI clinics and/or at outreach events/health conferences/fairs?
Yes. If considering the purchase and distribution of these at-home self-collection test kits, please submit a budget revision request to the DIS grant manager for review and approval.
14. *NEW* Can funds be used for doxy-PEP?
Yes. The funding flexibility now allows the use of the DIS funds for the implementation or scaling up of doxy-PEP activities and the purchase of doxycycline.
CDPH STD Control Branch, MS 7320 l P.O. Box 997377 l Sacramento, CA 9589-7377(916) 445-9860 ā Internet Address: www.std.ca.gov