The goal of HIV counseling and testing is to assist individuals in assessing their risk, understanding their test results, and help them develop a personalized prevention plan.
Counseling includes notifying the patient of the availability of partner counseling and referral services, benefits of services, and confidentiality protections.
HIV-infected persons and those at risk for HIV are referred to needed services, including substance use disorder treatment, Healthy Start, prevention case management, and medical care.
Become a Registered HIV Testing Site
Follow the steps on the HIV test site registration protocol and use the following documents to help you register as an HIV testing site:
trainings
HIV 500 is the required four-hour training prerequisite for HIV 501 client-centered counseling, testing, and partner services training. The HIV 500 course provides specific information related to HIV history, origination, transmission modes, disease progression, testing types/options, prevention, universal precautions, laws, and statistics to prepare participants to become HIV pre- and post-test counselors.
HIV 501 counseling, testing, and partner services training is completed in one session that last two and a half days. This training provides a greater understanding of HIV/AIDS, testing protocols, HIV relevance to domestic violence, and enhancement in client-centered risk reduction counseling skills for individuals providing services in the public and private sector.
Annual participation in the Florida Department of Health’s HIV Prevention Counseling, Testing, and Linkage course (HIV 501 Annual Update) is required for recertification of all counselors and testers to continue providing and conducting HIV prevention counseling, testing, and linkage for publicly funded HIV testing services in Florida.