Key contract terminated for Monroe County’s family planning clinic, will close after 18 years

The door to Monroe Count’s Futures Family Planning Clinic on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The clinic is located in the Monroe County health building at 7th Street and College Avenue.

The news out of a Friday afternoon meeting between Monroe County government officials and representatives of the IFHC (Indiana Family Health Council) is that the county health department’s Futures Family Planning Clinic will close.

Monroe County’s legal department notified a long list of county officials that the county was informed that IFCH will “terminate” the contract and that the effect will be the closure of the clinic.

IFHC has funded the Futures Clinic through Title X. Title X is a federal program for giving people family planning and reproductive health services.

IFHC has told Monroe County officials that media inquiries should be referred to IFHC. Responding to B Square emailed question, Kristin Adams, who is president and CEO of IFHC, wrote that there will be an official release on Tuesday.

[Updated Tues., Aug. 27 at 12:25 p.m. The news release from IFCH states: [T]he Indiana Family Health Council (IFHC) will assume responsibility for the clinic under its Indiana Family Planning Centers structure. The new clinic will be named Bloomington Family Planning Center.] Continue reading “Key contract terminated for Monroe County’s family planning clinic, will close after 18 years” →

Monroe County gov’t operation of family planning clinic to stop at least for now, maybe for good

Monroe County Futures Clinic at 7th and Walnut Streets in downtown Bloomington. (Aug. 22, 2024)

Monroe County government’s operation of its Futures Family Planning Clinic will be suspended for 30 days, maybe longer, even for good.

That’s the outcome of a special meeting of Monroe County’s board of health held on Wednesday afternoon.

Based on the way board president Stephen Pritchard opened Wednesday’s meeting, the crisis stems from the fact that the clinic has “failed to perform up to the standards that our Title X grant requires.” Title X is a federal program for giving people family planning and reproductive health services.

Pritchard said that a possible clinic closure had been considered for some time, but had reached a critical point, because there are no longer enough employees to keep the clinic open.

The future of the clinic will depend on the outcome of a Friday (Aug. 23) afternoon meeting between Monroe County officials and IFHC (Indiana Family Health Council)—which is the agency that helps fund the clinic through Title X.

[Updated at 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2024: Monroe County has issued a news release on the topic of the Futures Clinic.]

[Updated on Aug. 23 at 7:45 p.m. Monroe County learned on Friday at the meeting that IFHC will terminate the contract with the Futures Clinic: Key contract terminated for Monroe County’s family planning clinic, will close after 18 years]
Continue reading “Monroe County gov’t operation of family planning clinic to stop at least for now, maybe for good” →

Split vote this year on all Monroe County social services grant awards

Social services grants awarded by Monroe County

Facing the councilors are from left: Hattie Johnson and Jean Capler. Councilor Cheryl Munson is seated across the corner from Capler.

Community service grants to 38 organizations totaling $160,830 were approved by Monroe County councilors at their Tuesday evening work session.

The community service grants, which have been made annually since 2008, are named after a former county councilor, the late Sophia Travis.

In past years, councilor Marty Hawk has voted against the awards to organizations that have any connection to the provision of abortion services. This year she voted against all of the awards, citing the pressing needs of county employees for higher compensation. Continue reading “Split vote this year on all Monroe County social services grant awards” →

Bloomington OKs $323K in social services funding to nonprofits, including Planned Parenthood

Councilmember Susan Sandberg (June 15, 2023)

Sydney Zulich (June 15, 2023)

Carole Canfield (June 15, 2023)

On Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council approved the allocation of $323,000 in social services grants to 32 different agency programs.

Those were the recommended allocations made by the seven-member Jack Hopkins committee after reviewing about $965,000 in grant requests from about 45 different agency programs.

Last year the total amount requested was $557,000.

The top five awards this year were to Hoosier Hills Food Bank ($27,341), New Hope Family Shelter ($21,711), Community Justice and Mediation Center ($21,283), Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard ($17,555), and Monroe County CASA, Inc. ($17,517). Included below is a table with all the awards, with a description of the projects to be funded.

From the public mic came criticism of awards to Planned Parenthood and All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center, based on their provision abortion services or referral to such services. The grant awards to those agencies this year, as in past years, involve projects that are not abortion services.

On the council’s side, speaking in defense of the awards were councilmembers Jim Sims and Susan Sandberg. Continue reading “Bloomington OKs $323K in social services funding to nonprofits, including Planned Parenthood” →

Social services funding notebook: Bloomington committee spreads $323K across $680K in requests

Jack Hopkins committee meeting clockwise from the top corner: council staff Stephen Lucas and Ash Kulak; committee members Ron Smith, Jami Scholl, Mark Fraley, Tim Mayer, Jim Sims, and Susan Sandberg. Kate Rosenbarger participated using the Zoom video conference platform. (May 11, 2023)

Recommendations on how to distribute $323,000 in funding for this year’s round of Jack Hopkins social services program have now been made by a seven-member committee appointed by Bloomington’s city council.

Pending final approval by the city council at a meeting set for June 14, the money will go to 32 nonprofits.

The biggest recommended award was $27,341 to Hoosier Hills Food Bank, to buy food. That was just 78 percent of the $35,000 that was requested in the food bank’s application.

Only five of the applications were recommended by the committee to receive the full amount in their application: Community Justice and Mediation Center ($21,283) for an eviction prevention project; New Leaf, New Life ($13,600) for an emergency and transitional housing project; Planned Parenthood ($7,500) to purchase contraceptives; All-Options ($6,900) for a diapers and potty training support program; and Community Kitchen of Monroe County ($4,079) to replace a dish sprayer and liners for cargo van beds.

The agencies receiving awards had been winnowed down from 48 that applied for funding this year. Of the agencies that applied, 35 were invited to give presentations to the committee in late April. Continue reading “Social services funding notebook: Bloomington committee spreads $323K across $680K in requests” →

After sifting requests, Bloomington social services group faces $681K in needs, has just $323K to give

On Thursday night, representatives from 35 different social services agencies in Bloomington gave presentations to a committee that is made up of councilmembers and other residents, to support their applications for project funding.

Jack Hopkins committee members from left: Tim Mayer, Jim Sims, Susan Sandberg, and Ron Smith. Not in the frame are Kate Rosenbarger and Jami Scholl. (April 27, 2023)

The 35 agencies had applied for this year’s round of Jack Hopkins social services grants.

The total amount requested by those 35 agencies is $680,530. The amount that’s appropriated in Bloomington’s 2023 budget for Jack Hopkins grants is just $323,000.

But this year’s grant cycle started off with an even bigger challenge—48 agencies had applied for a total of about $965,000. Before Thursday’s meeting, the committee had already winnowed down the 48 applications to 35.

The total requested this year is the biggest amount since the Jack Hopkins grant program was started, in 1993.

Based on B Square records, the previous high was $822,971 in 2020. Over the last decade the amount of total requests has been about $550,000. Each year the annual budget allocation, from the city’s general fund, has been around $300,000. Continue reading “After sifting requests, Bloomington social services group faces $681K in needs, has just $323K to give” →

Monroe County awards $151K in community service grants

Community service grants to 25 organizations totaling $151,220 were approved by Monroe County councilors at their Tuesday evening work session.

The community service grants, which have been made annually since 2008, are named after a former county councilor, the late Sophia Travis.

This year’s total figure is about 11.5 percent more than last year’s.

That’s more than the 5-percent increase in revenue from the property tax levy that local governments will see for 2023. An increase to the Sophia Travis grant funding that is greater than the property tax increase was something county councilor Cheryl Munson had championed when last year’s awards were made.

Munson is chair of the five-person committee that makes recommendations on the grant awards. Also serving on the committee this year were Munson’s colleagues Trent Deckard and Jennifer Crossley, as well as two community members, Jean Capler and Joshua Johnson.

By dollar amount this year, the top five awards went to: New Hope for Families ($11,480); Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington ($9,400); The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Foundation ($9,240); Girls, Inc of Monroe County ($7,700); Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monroe County ($7,400). A complete table of this year’s awards, and the projects they will fund, is included below. Continue reading “Monroe County awards $151K in community service grants” →

$130K awarded to community non-profits by Monroe County through annual grant program

Community service grants to 33 organizations totaling $130,000 were announced and approved by Monroe County’s council at its work session Tuesday evening.

The awards were made after deliberations at earlier public meetings by the Sophia Travis community service grants committee, which includes two citizen members.

The grant program was renamed six years ago in honor of Sophia Travis, who served on the county council from 2004 to 2008. She worked as a councilor to “assure the applications for the limited funds available for support would be considered in a fair, even-handed and transparent process,” according to the renaming resolution. Continue reading “$130K awarded to community non-profits by Monroe County through annual grant program” →