Contra Costa County, Calif., AIDS Programs Reeling From Budget Cuts

Contra Costa supervisors on Sept. 15 passed along nearly $1 million in state cuts to the county's AIDS program, and as a result seven staff members have been transferred out of the department.

Due to the staff reduction, Patrick O'Leary, who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1985, said he has lost the support he had in maintaining benefits from a state-funded program that pays most of his treatment costs.

"The caseworker positions are critical," said O'Leary, who is 65 and concerned with how he will deal with all the bureaucratic obstacles. "They show people how to navigate the system."

Home nursing will be eliminated for 28 AIDS patients, and 90 of 180 people will be cut from a program that educates patients about AIDS therapies and helps with insurance matters. "We're going to be reviewing clinical records to identify those who are most in need of service and keeping them in," said Christine Leivermann, the county AIDS program director. "We're trying to figure out how we can do spot checking."

The Rainbow Community Center in Concord lost almost all of its $20,000 in county funding for HIV testing and prevention on July 1. About $10,000 a year still goes toward working with people with AIDS, including a food pantry and meal deliveries to about 50 PWAs a month. However, four to five new clients seek help each month, said Ben Barr, executive director. "As people get cut off, they'll turn to nonprofits and community groups," he said.

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