The Family Planning Council of Iowa said it’s concerned that its services could be affected after unexpectedly receiving significantly less federal funding this year.
The nonprofit is one of two organizations in Iowa that receive federal funding through Title X, a 55-year-old federal program that supports reproductive heath care and family planning services at nearly 4,000 clinics nationwide for low-income people. The other is the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
Allison Smith, the executive director of the Family Planning Council of Iowa, said it had been expecting to receive $2.2 million this month as part of its allocated funding for the fourth year of a five-year project period. Instead, she said it has received just over $1 million with no explanation from federal officials.
"We've been kind of quiet, hoping there's some sort of explanation," Smith said. "It's really difficult now for our clinics. We can fund them now for six months, and after six months, I'm not sure what we're supposed to do."
The Family Planning Council of Iowa assists with contraception, sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing and treatment, pregnancy support and cancer screenings. It's been a Title X grant recipient for more than 40 years.
"This funding supports about 30,000 Iowans. And so, when we're looking at halving that amount of care, that's a pretty significant cut."Allison Smith, executive director of the Family Planning Council of Iowa
Smith said she's concerned if the organization doesn't get the rest of the funding, it could mean reducing services or even closing clinics.
"This funding supports about 30,000 Iowans. And so, when we're looking at halving that amount of care, that's a pretty significant cut," she said. "Oftentimes, it's the only way for people to see a doctor. It's their main source of care."
In March, the Trump administration announced it was freezing millions of dollars in Title X funding, sending letters to 16 of the 86 grantees stating their congressionally-appropriated funding was being withheld due to possible civil rights violations, according to the nonprofit KFF.
The move affected all nine Planned Parenthood grantees, as well as seven other nonprofit grantees. Funds have been completely withheld in seven states, according to KFF.
The Family Planning Council of Iowa didn't receive a letter and has not been able to get information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as to when it might get the rest of its funding, Smith said.
"The reality is, it's pretty difficult to come up with a million dollars on short notice," she said.
Federal HHS officials did not respond to IPR's requests for comment.
Iowa HHS spokesperson Alex Murphy told IPR in a statement that it received about $1.2 million of its allocated $1.5 million Title X award earlier this month and expects the rest with the passage of a federal budget reconciliation bill.
