Tuesday, August 19, 2008
What's in Their Wallets, Part II
Posted by David Winkler-Schmit on Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 8:17 PM
Following this week’s cover story, “What’s in Their Wallets?,” N’R Peace, a local HIV/AIDS agency received a “monitoring visit” from the Mayor’s Office on Health Policy and AIDS Funding. Demitre Blutcher, N’R Peace’s executive director, says the visit was in retaliation for Blutcher speaking to Gambit Weekly about federal funding for local HIV/AIDS agencies.
“I believe this is payback,” says Blutcher.
The article points out that even though the city was awarded more than $7 million in March by the feds for primary care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS, the city has yet to pay any of the local agencies that provide these services. Other cities that receive similar federal funding, Part A Ryan White funds, have been reimbursing their local service providers for months. Also in the article, Blutcher said her agency, which primarily focuses on poor African Americans, was in “critical condition” because of the delayed funding.
Fran Lawless, director of the Mayor's Office of Health Policy and AIDS Funding (MOHP), disputes Blutcher’s accusation of retaliation. She says her office scheduled the routine visits more than a month ago. She says that MOHP used to conduct yearly random visits to contracting agencies before the storm, but it isn’t something they’ve regularly done since then. She adds that MOHP does “monitor” their contractors annually, and that this is done in order to define how services are being conducted, and to ensure proper records are being kept.
Blutcher says that the MOHP’s representatives arrived at her office at about 10 a.m. this morning, and began interviewing her office staff, examining the offices’ policies and procedures and looking over N’R Peace’s records. By late this afternoon, 3 p.m., MOHP was still there. A frustrated Blutcher says she doesn’t understand why MOHP hasn’t previously visited her office.
“Where have [MOHP] all been,” Blutcher rhetorically asks. “Why don’t you know what I’m doing — what we’ve been doing on a routine basis? Suddenly you’re here after the article comes out.”
Comments (13)
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I wonder when the last yearly random visit was made to other agencies such as NO/AIDS. Sure do wish they could be as prompt at releasing the federal funds as they are at yearly random visits.
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the cover story this week made me sick to my stomach. the line about how difficult it is to find readers for, "say, 67 proposals that are 250-300 pages in length" struck me as particularly bizarre. most Requests for Proposals have very specific guidelines for grant applications, including a strict page limit. generally speaking, a long grant application would be 80 pages, including attachments. i'd be very interested to hear from an Office representative what the actual number of applicants and the actual RFP-mandated page limit were. blaming the Office's issues with funding distribution on the (apparently unreasonable?) expectation of transparency and a hyperbolic reading load is absurd.
Fran Lawless looks to have been on that South African "mission": http://www.cityofno.com/pg-1-66-press-releases.aspx?pressid=4876
It is a challenge to get funds out, but it is a challenge that can be met... people from around the country are concerned about what is happening in places like Puerto Rico and in New Orleans where good work is ending because shoe-string organizations can no longer float mounting debts. We hope that hardworking HIV/AIDS service providers can be seen as part of the solution and will be encouraged to speak out freely to help find answers
Since shortly after the HIV epidemic was acknowledged by politicians, they have managed to convert a medical condition to a political one. The political environment in New Orleans has a less than acceptable reputation for its competency and expediency. What a shame that Fran Lawless is perpetuating that condition, especially at the expense of people infected with a life-altering and life-threatening disease!
How can anyone doubt that the monitoring visit is "payback"? The timing of it makes that exquisitely clear. What the city has done by holding up the Ryan White funding is nothing short of criminal. The current administration in New Orleans is shameful. They can't seem to get anything right. And the poor and sick must suffer for their incompetence. I'm disgusted.
Nagin's negative work ethic stricks again. If you can't do the right thing first then try to correct it with yet another slap in the face of those people really suffering from his neglect. He will answer some day for his uncaring and arrogant attitude, and hopefully it will be soon.
The city's ineptitude in dispersing funds which serve those citizens who are in greatest need of help is disgusting. To retaliate against an agency which makes this incompetence public...is outrageous. Instead of hastening to fix the problem, the city causes more grief. I think this whole matter should be put before Robert Cerasoli, the inspector general. By now, it would seem that there is deliberate malfeasance on the part of the city administration.
How appalling, the comments of Ms. Lawless in the article. To state that a non-profit agency have a one year operating budget in reserve is ludicrous. I believe the federal guideline mandates a three-month operating budget in reserve. The take-it-or-leave-attitude exuded by Ms. Lawless is less than admirable. MOHP should definitely look at creating a process within the city-system to stream this process. And yes it can be done; it has been done before. If it takes three months for contracts to be routed through the system; than adjust internal timelines. The clients being served by these agencies should not be placed in this detriment situation because of incompetent administrators. It is time for HRSA to reconsider the continuation of the City of New Orleans as the grantee for this program.
"I can't tell an agency how to handle their finances," Lawless says. "But we have 12 other agencies that are in operation and if [Hickerson] can't sustain the needs of his clients, they can go elsewhere." Let pick this statement apart here for a moment. Is is not the directors job to tell agencies how to do their jobs? Maybe not on a poiny by point basis, but the over all direction is set up by the mayors Office of Health Policy and its director. How are the other agencies doing? Do all the agencies have it set up so that the CEO of a particular agency might have, let's see, 11 or 13 corporations to work under? Maybe have things set up so title I and other go vernment funds for HIV AIDS purposes, pays itself rent because that agencies CEO might own the building it uses for a branch of service for clients, get rent paid to it's company, and get money again for the service it provides? Maybe these small agencies need to take the finance courses from one of it's counterparts. Are ALL the agencies under such financial distress? I would venture that ALL of them are not. Is one in particular doing better than ALL the rest of the provider agencies? I think it is. Perhaps the OHP is more closely aligned with one agency more so than all the rest. Why it might be so is a very interesting question if it in fact the case. Hint! Hint! Maybe some greater aligned agency in favor gets funds faster? Maybe time will tell if other agencies, ALL, in order to get to a very specific agency, if tis is true and if we can see the reports of the audits. I think we are entitled under the law to see these audit reports. Now and previous ones. I know Ms. Blutcher had tried to open service in the Slidell area of St. Tammany. This was shot down from OHP. I hope this agency and ITT get through this ordeal and can get funding on time to help the very people these funds were meant to help.
I really think it's so sad what still going on in New Orleans. The Mayor need to get this issue resolved.
We have had the same problems in NC. We had to stop providing HIV case management. It is very sad for the clients. Who is making money off of the interest?
I find it ironic that while the city implores its citizens to put aside their fears and speak out against crime in their neighborhoods, they are clearly guilty of using retalitory tactics just like the street gangs in this city have to keep people's mouths shut. Next thing you know we'll be see Ray-Ray shooting a gang sign...
