Ryan White CARE Act: Access to Services by Minorities, Women, and Substance Abusers

GAO discussed women's, minorities', and drug abusers' access to federally funded acquired immunodeficiency syndrome services funded by the Ryan White CARE Act. GAO noted that: (1) in the 5 areas visited, the groups' use of such services is proportional to their representation in the human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected population; (2) these groups may be more dependent on CARE Act services, since they may not be receiving proportional services from other community sources; (3) barriers to care for HIV-infected groups include homelessness, substance abuse, the lack of child care and transportation, the lack of knowledge, motivation, and trust of the medical community, and language and cultural differences; and (4) local outreach services are important to overcoming these barriers to prevention and care.