AIDS Funding Scandal in Washington, DC
City to Investigate Waste and Abuse by AIDS Groups
Nov 5, 2009
The most recent figures from the District of Columbia government reveal that 15,120 city residents have HIV or AIDS—3 percent of the population over age 12. That figure, however, covers only those DC residents who have been tested. The real prevalence is probably much worse, according to the city’s chief HIV/AIDS administrator, Dr. Shannon L. Hader.
The District government has drawn praise for expanding HIV testing and needle exchange programs. But widespread anger has greeted recent revelations that the city paid millions of dollars to nonprofit groups that in many cases delivered poor-quality services, or no services at all, to residents suffering from AIDS.
Investigation Finds $25 Million Misspent
In October 2009, the Washington Post revealed the findings of a 10-month investigation into DC government funding of nonprofit groups that serve people with AIDS. “Wasting Away: The Squandering of D.C. AIDS Dollars” documented widespread fraud, waste, and abuse.
The newspaper reported that from 2004 to 2008, the D.C. Health Department’s HIV/AIDS Administration awarded grants to more than 90 organizations, mostly with federal AIDS dollars. The investigation found that about a third of these groups had serious deficiencies in their service provision and business practices. Many of the most troubled groups were supposed to provide housing for people with AIDS in the poorest wards of the city.
A few examples:
- More than $1 million went to a housing group that sometimes left its sick AIDS patients freezing in the dark, without electricity, gas, or food.
- More than $500,000 was channeled to a housing program whose director had convictions for theft, drugs, and forgery. The money was eventually cut off—but not repaid—when city inspectors could find no evidence that the man was really running an AIDS group.
- An organization launched by a former cocaine kingpin received $400,000 for a job training center that never opened.
- A nonprofit that was supposed to pay rent for people with AIDS in subsidized housing failed to make payments, and the patients faced eviction.
- A nonprofit paid $375,000 to its executive director in salary and benefits while cutting back on the services it provided clients.
In all, the report said, the city awarded more than $25 million to groups marked by “questionable spending, a lack of clients, lapses in record-keeping and other problems.”
Lax Oversight
The city’s supervision of its AIDS grantees was found to be sporadic and loose. When monitors found problems with a group’s spending, they did not usually stop the flow of funds. There were allegations that the AIDS agency’s housing director, Debra Rowe, had improper dealings with groups she was close to. Rowe was removed from her position in April 2008.
Over three years, the Post reported, the city’s HIV/AIDS Administration paid $2 million to a fly-by-night consulting firm run by a convicted felon to manage HIV/AIDS service contracts. That contract was terminated last March amid allegations of gross improprieties.
City Announces Investigation
The day after the investigation hit the Post's front page, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that the city would launch its own inquiry into the funding of AIDS groups.
The mayor promised to hold the District government accountable. He also said that the HIV/AIDS Administration has strengthened its operations since Dr. Hader took over as head of the agency in 2007. The city is tracking AIDS monies better, the mayor said, and some of the most troubled groups have closed or are no longer receiving grants.
The city has promised to cooperate with the FBI, which has its own ongoing investigation into the city’s AIDS funding.
HIV Testing Expanded
If the District can clean up its act with respect to AIDS funding, it has a base of accomplishment on which to build.
Expanded HIV testing has helped many District residents learn of their infection while they are still healthy and can be helped by antiretroviral drugs. The number of young people tested for HIV doubled between 2007 and 2008, according to the DC government.
The District also has a needle exchange program, a large-scale condom distribution program, and a school-based screening program for sexually transmitted diseases.
And some of the city’s nonprofit AIDS grantees are doing a good job. In its series on AIDS funding, the Post profiled several DC nonprofits that are providing housing and hospice care to AIDS patients with efficiency and compassion. These groups, however, are struggling for funds to keep their programs afloat.
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