Pennsylvania Officials Refuse to Recoup Misused Taxpayer Money
03.27.18 – In case you missed it, today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured an A1 story on Real Alternatives (RA). RA is a Pennsylvania-based anti-abortion organization that misused taxpayer funds in what Auditor General Eugene DePasquale called an “egregious violation” of its grant agreement with the Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS recently revealed to the Philadelphia Inquirer that it would not seek to recoup the misused taxpayer funds, despite promising to do just that in the fall of 2017.
Equity Forward is taking DHS to Commonwealth Court in an effort to gain access to operational records for RA, an organization 99.9% funded through public monies. Pennsylvanians deserve nothing less than full transparency on how their tax dollars are spent.
To learn more about the dispute, CLICK HERE.
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Officials: State-funded anti-abortion group does not have to return fees
By Kate Giammarise, 03.27.18
Officials will not seek to recover money that an audit concluded was improperly collected by a state-funded anti-abortion group.
Real Alternatives is a state-funded nonprofit that contracts with a number of providers statewide to provide counseling and “life-affirming pregnancy and parenting support services” for women from facing unplanned pregnancies.
Following an audit by the state Department of Human Services, officials had initially said they would seek to recover some funds from the group related to a 3 percent fee service providers paid to Real Alternatives, but they’ve since reversed themselves.
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“RA management stated that the fee is used to fund expenses that are not permitted under the Grant Agreement, such as travel and other expenses to support advancement of the program in other states,” auditors wrote.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale had also sought to review these funds, but lost a court battle to be able to do so last year. Earlier this month, Equity Forward, a pro-choice group, went to court to attempt to get records from the state Department of Human Services about Real Alternatives.
Real Alternatives currently has a $12 million contract with the state through June 30, 2019.
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Nonprofit service providers do sometimes have to repay funds to the state following audits. In 2016, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence agreed to repay $148,000, as well as change the structure of their board, under the terms of a settlement with the state.