State DOH pulls funding from Pierce County AIDS Foundation. What’s next for PCAF?
There was more turmoil at the Pierce County AIDS Foundation on Thursday as the Department of Health announced it was terminating two contracts with PCAF and would not contract with the agency in the future “unless and until the organization has demonstrated a full restructuring and remediation of their financial, administrative and managerial structures and capacity.”
The decision comes less than a week after the PCAF Board of Directors announced it would be putting its CEO Ace Robinson on paid administrative leave “as the Board conducts an inquiry into personnel matters,” according to a board message obtained by The News Tribune.
The News Tribune previously reported PCAF was having issues receiving funding from the Department of Heath for a variety of services it offers to residents living with HIV/AIDS in the South Sound region. In August, four employees told The News Tribune they believe they were fired in retaliation for expressing concerns about financial mismanagement and a toxic workplace to nonprofit leadership and PCAF’s board.
PCAF interim director jill frey, who signs her name in lowercase letters due to personal preference, said there was a meeting scheduled with PCAF and the Department of Health on Thursday evening.
“We’ll have more information after that meeting this evening. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement regarding those contracts that will put us in a position to continue to offer services as PCAF,” frey said. “We are working very hard to put into place a stabilization plan which would allow us to be more financially stable, as well as firm up our structure here at PCAF, which would allow us to continue to offer services as one of the longest-running case management HIV organizations here in the South South region.”
Messages to the Department of Health communications department were not immediately answered Thursday.
PCAF Board President Will Wayburn said the organization is “still trying to figure out everything that’s going on” and had no further comments to make related to the Department of Health’s decision or the board’s decision to place Robinson on administrative leave. Wayburn said the Department of Health is one of PCAF’s main funders.
More than $1.2 million revoked
According to an email obtained by the News Tribune, the Department of Health terminated two contracts covering the period of July 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023, totaling $1,207,401.
The Department of Health evoked the “Termination for Convenience” clause of the contracts, “because it is the most efficient means of ending the current contracts and transferring necessary care services and case management of Pierce County AIDS Foundation’s clients to the Department while a new provider is secured,” according to the email.
PCAF offers a variety of case management, mental health, substance-abuse and outreach services, as well as a food bank, housing assistance, medical transportation and emergency financial assistance services to people living with HIV and AIDS. It serves about 700 clients in Tacoma and Olympia.
“The staff here at PCAF are one of the most hardworking, dedicated staff that I have been honored and privileged to be a part of for 29 years,” frey said Thursday. “I am awed by their resilience to continue to be poised to meet the needs of our clients.”
Executive director of the Rainbow Center, Quincy Tyson, said he could not speak on behalf of PCAF but said as an organization that works closely with PCAF they would continue trying to meet the needs of the local LGBTQ community.
“It’s a vital source to our community to have the resources and have the support and access to people who understand how to navigate the system,” Tyson said. “We will just continue to remind the queer community that we are resilient. Never forget that, we are resilient. We always have been resilient and will continue to be resilient no matter what.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 5:06 PM.
