San Francisco Receives Slight Increase in CARE Money

San Francisco's HIV Health Services Planning Council recently learned the city's Ryan White CARE Act funds for fiscal 2003-2004 were increased slightly. Last year, the city, Marin and San Mateo counties received a $2.2 million cut and enacted 6 percent reduction in services. The city will receive roughly $33.9 million, an increase of nearly $380,000 from last year's $33.5 million grant. The extra money came in the council's supplemental funding award. The city's Minority AIDS Initiative, however, received a funding decrease of nearly $78,700, and the council voted to offset that with some of its extra supplemental funds.

As the council begins its planning process for the next fiscal year, members stressed that funding for AIDS services remains a serious concern. Officials of agencies receiving Ryan White funds said their enthusiasm for this year's funding is tempered, since it does not recoup the city's funding loss last year. The service reductions are just beginning to be felt at agencies as the 2002-2003 contracts end. "There is definitely a cut to services," said Jim Illig, who works for Project Open Hand and is president of the HIV/AIDS Provider Network. "Those cuts were restored last year because of the supervisors who back filled one-third of the cuts and rollover money the council put toward the rest of the cuts."

With San Francisco facing an ever-growing budget deficit, agencies have little faith they can turn to supervisors for help. Already, the Health Department has proposed a nearly $1 million cut in AIDS services. Mayor Willie Brown has asked the Health Department for a contingency plan of an additional $27.3 million in cuts. So far, the Health Commission refused to consider a contingency plan with $16 million in cuts that department officials submitted. At its meeting Tuesday, April 8, the commission is scheduled to again address the issue.

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