New York State HIV/AIDS Technical Assistance

About our Services   |    Activities
How To Get Help   |   Publications   |    Accomplishments

The Legal Action Center (LAC) provides education, training, and technical assistance to HIV/AIDS health, human services and other agencies on a broad range of legal issues, including confidentiality, HIV testing, discrimination, government benefits, family law and permanency planning, HIV/AIDS reporting, partner notification, syringe deregulation, and more. For a description of our HIV legal trainings, click here.

We provide individualized advice and technical assistance to more than 250 providers and train over 500 providers and consumers of HIV services on these and other HIV-related legal issues annually, with funding from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.

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Current Activities
LAC’s current work includes:

 

  • Publishing HIV/AIDS: Testing, Confidentiality & Discrimination: What You Need to Know About New York Law – an easy-to-use, comprehensive guide to New York State’s HIV testing, confidentiality, and discrimination laws.
  • Publishing and distributing a Summary, Information Sheet and sample forms on New York’s HIV Confidentiality Law and HIPAA– the new federal health privacy rules – to help HIV service providers and consumers understand both laws and how they work in New York.
  • Working with other community-based advocates to raise drug users’ awareness and use of the New York State Expanded Syringe Access Program (ESAP), allowing people to buy clean needles without prescriptions from pharmacies, through our ESAP “palm card” campaign.

To download or order these free publications, visit the Publications section of this website.

For frequently asked questions about discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS and other services LAC provides to that constituency, visit the NY HIV/AIDS Legal Services section of this web site.

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How to Get Help
Agencies located in New York that need assistance on the legal issues described above may call the Legal Action Center at (212) 243-1313, Monday through Friday between 1 and 5 and ask for the “attorney on call.” Agencies wanting information about organizing trainings should request to speak with the training coordinator.

LAC WILL NOT RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE SENT BY E-MAIL TO THE LEGAL ACTION CENTER ADDRESS OR WEB SITE AND CANNOT SERVE "WALK-IN" CLIENTS.

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Publications and Videos/DVDs
The Center publishes brochures and manuals for individuals and agencies which provide explanations in plain English of relevant laws and procedures. To download these and other free publications, visit the Publications section of this web site.

 

  • Employment Discrimination and What to Do About it (in NY) (2002) - Explains state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination against people with criminal records, histories of alcohol and drug problems, and HIV/AIDS.
  • HIV/AIDS: Testing, Confidentiality & Discrimination. What You Need to Know About New York Law (2001) - Easy-to-use, comprehensive guide to New York State's HIV testing, confidentiality, and discrimination laws.
  • Step-by-Step Guide to the Family Courts of New York City (1999) - User friendly guide for people applying for custody, guardianship, or standby guardianship.
  • Welfare As We Know It Now: What New York’s New Welfare Laws Mean for People with Criminal Records, Substance Abuse Histories and HIV/AIDS (2000) - Describes how New York State and federal welfare laws affect individuals with criminal records, alcohol and drug histories, and HIV/AIDS.
  • LAC’s set of material explaining New York’s HIV Confidentiality Law and HIPAA’s new privacy rules, including:
    · HIPAA Information Sheet for HIV Providers in New York (2003)
    · New York State’s HIV Confidentiality Law and the Federal Health Insurance and Portability Act (HIPAA): A Summary for HIV Providers (2003)
    · HIPAA Checklist: What HIV Providers Have to Do to Get Ready for HIPAA (2003)

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Accomplishments

 

  • LAC has conducted hundreds of trainings and provided technical assistance to many thousands of health and social service providers and individuals affected by HIV/AIDS on New York’s HIV testing and confidentiality laws, including information on HIV and AIDS reporting, HIV partner notification, and occupational exposure, on legal protections against HIV-based discrimination and on many other legal issues.
  • LAC has assisted the New York State Department of Health, hospitals and other service providers, and pharmacies in implementing New York’s landmark Expanded Syringe Access Program (ESAP), helping needle exchange and harm reduction programs operate smoothly in their communities, and increasing safe syringe disposal sites.

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