Los Angeles supervisors release report on AIDS investigation

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week released the results of an investigation into alleged conflicts of interest within the county's Office of AIDS Programs and Policy, and AIDS activists say the report is vague at best and inconclusive at worst, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. The investigation had been requested because of concerns of a conflict of interest involving OAPP director Chuck Henry, who also serves as the head of the county's HIV commission that determines how state and federal AIDS dollars are allocated, and because an internal OAPP audit showed that some areas of the county receive more in AIDS funds than they should. The audit also showed that OAPP could not fully account for more than $80 million spent last year. While the investigation report cites "conflict-of-interest statutes and requirements for counties to receive federal HIV/AIDS funds," it does not address whether the statutes or requirements are being violated by the commission or any of its members. "By both federal law and county ordinance, members are prohibited from being involved in the selection of specific funding," the report states. "As a result, the members should not be confronted with participating in those decisions."