State funds
help offset Florida's Ryan White federal funding loss

Health officials in Palm Beach County, Fla., are using state tax money allocated to the region to offset about 20% of the county's $1.2 million cut in federal Ryan White AIDS program funding, the Palm Beach Post reports. Federal officials say the county's Ryan White grant was cut by about 13% from last year's level due to inadequacies in the county's grant application. The funding cut will severely curtail HIV services in Palm Beach County; some AIDS agencies that receive federal funds have already reduced staff and programs in anticipating of funding shortfalls.

But Jean Malecki, director of the county health department, says she has secured about $250,000 in state funds to help offset the loss of the federal money. The state money will be used to help limit the impact of the federal cuts on case management, food provisions, mental health services, and substance abuse counseling, Malecki says.

It is unlikely the county will receive any additional federal AIDS funds, say Florida's members of Congress who recently met with Health and Human Services officials about the funding cut. Four U.S. representatives attending the meeting called it "disappointing" and said it is clear there will be no appeals process or restoration of the Ryan White cut. (The Advocate)