In a huge victory for reproductive autonomy, public health, and privacy, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Resources (DHS) will allow its contract with Real Alternatives, the controversial anti-abortion organization that oversees anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” in Pennsylvania, to expire at the end of the year.
Next, DHS will reinvest those funds into a better program.
On August 18, the state posted a Request for Applications (RFA) that invites organizations aligned with the Administration’s goals to apply for for the millions of dollars that will become available next year.
The goals are to “broaden health care access, amplify awareness, and cultivate well-informed decision-making with a particular focus on women, pregnant women, and new mothers on a regional basis.”
Applications are due Monday, October 2.
Questions regarding the RFA are due by Friday, September 1.
What will the new program look like?
The Shapiro Administration is developing a program that will:
- provide education, screening, testing, and menstrual services
- regularly evaluate the impact of initiatives targeted within the grant, including collecting data on health outcomes
- maintain integrity through the implementation of policies and procedures to detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and waste.
The RFA splits the Commonwealth into six regions: Northwest, Southwest, South Central, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast. Services providers that cover a region must offer services in every county within that region.
Background
In early August, Governor Shapiro announced he would let the state contract with Real Alternatives, a pass-through organization that has received more than $134 million from both general operating funds and money intended for children and pregnant women in poverty (TANF), expire at the end of the year.
This historic defunding comes in the wake of a state audit that determined Real Alternatives was “skimming” money, yearslong litigation wherein the organization fought to hide records from the public, and a 27-page public complaint detailing extensive allegations of financial misuse and waste.
Real Alternatives was also defunded in Michigan in the wake of a public complaint and failure to fulfill its obligations.
Meanwhile, a landmark report on the anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center industry in Pennsylvania found many CPCs in the Real Alternatives network promote misleading information and, even worse, promote a predatory and “unethical” anti-abortion snake-oil treatment “not based on science” at even higher rates than privately funded CPCs.
Are you familiar with organizations that are up to the task of providing much-needed support for pregnant Pennsylvanians? Spread the word!
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Women’s Law Project is a non-profit public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
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