The Minnesota Department of Health said 20 agencies will receive $1.7 million for HIV prevention grants to reach those at highest risk.

The two-year grants, funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state, will begin in January 2013 to support 30 programs aimed at preventing the spread of HIV in at-risk adults and young people of all races and from all sexual orientations.

"The grants represent our continued commitment to target our limited resources to those communities that need it most," said Peter Carr, director of the STD and HIV Section at MDH.

The grants will help nonprofit community-based organizations, clinics and agencies to reach underserved communities with higher HIV infection rates through the following prevention service tracks:

  • HIV testing and testing outreach.
  • HIV prevention with positives to keep themselves and their partners healthy.
  • HIV prevention services to keep injection drug users healthy.
  • Prevention for youth at high-risk of HIV.

For more information, go to the MDH website.