Orange County Must Repay AIDS Grant
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration has ordered Orange County to return $143,328 in funding for services targeting minorities with AIDS after it determined the money was improperly spent, the Orange County Register reports.
Orange County in 2002 awarded a two-year grant to the New Millennium Community Coalition to provide services to HIV-positive black residents. Federal officials said that county health care managers did not adequately oversee the group and that the group did not deliver services.
No federal money can be used to repay the grant, officials said.
The county challenged a federal audit of the organization, saying that although record-keeping was poor, the coalition tried to provide services and should be paid. County officials also said a 2000 federal mandate requiring AIDS minority funds to be distributed to not-for-profit organizations run mostly by minorities created problems in overseeing the grant.
County supervisors might discuss the issue publicly on Tuesday. County officials are considering whether to appeal the decision (Santana/Saavedra, Orange County Register, 3/10).