Title X Money in the Right Hands

Things are looking hopeful for Title X recipients in Texas. The funds help 200,000 low-income women in Texas – including 6,000 Austinites – access preventive care, cancer screenings, and contraception across 100 clinics. After the state mismanaged the funds, the Obama administration placed them in the hands of the more responsible Women's Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, a nonprofit coalition. Ever since then, state officials have sought to win back control of the Title X grants. ("Women's Coalition Wins Fed Family Planning Funding," March 25, 2013).

WHFPT is the sole statewide grantee, according to a recent list posted by the U.S. Health and Human Services Commission, meaning Texas appears to be pushed out. The preliminary notice still leaves many questions unanswered including the precise amount and duration of the grant, says WHFPT CEO Kami Geoffray, but the group is cautiously optimistic. Additional info should arrive in early September. "WHFPT has supported its network of providers to reopen previously closed clinics, open new clinics, and expand capacity within existing clinics," says Geoffray. "We look forward to continuing our support of Title X providers that offer critical family planning services to nearly 200,000 women, men, and adolescents throughout Texas annually."