COLUMBIA — The Missouri Family Health Council is still waiting on an update from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding Title X funding it was supposed to receive on April 1.
Without restored funding, clinics across the state will soon be forced to make some hard decisions when it comes to services and care they can provide.
MFHC was notified on March 31 that Health and Human Services would withhold nearly $8.5 million of Title X funding. The reason given for this was an inquiry around civil rights law, specifically the use of DEI language in a MFHC job description from 2023.
Since March 31, MFHC said it has received no contact or updates from Health and Human Services. MFHC sent out the requested documents to Heath and Human Services on April 10.
“They haven’t even acknowledged that we sent the letter. So HHS hasn’t actually been in touch with us since they sent us the letter on March 31,” said Ashely Kuykendall, MFHC director of programs.
MFHC is the sole grantee for the state of Missouri, making them the main nonprofit that distributes Title X funding to 52 clinics across the state.
“We are quickly approaching the time that our clinics are no longer going to be able to continue to operate in the absence of Title X,” Kuykendall said.
One of the clinics that is directly affected by the withdrawn funding is the Dent County Health Center.
The center provides affordable public health services like family planning and access to contraception. The center is still providing all its services, but hard decisions are just around the corner if the funding continues to be withheld.
“It’s just really hard to know what’s going to happen, and that makes it really hard as somebody who has to take care of an organization to know what to do going forward,” said Zach Moser, Dent County Health Center administrator.
The center receives about $4,500 in Title X funding each year. It is currently using cash reserves that have been built up, but that is a short-term fix — one that will not be sustainable for much longer.
“We’re trying to figure out exactly future is going to look like. We’re the only Title X provider in Dent County, so it’s really important for us to find a way to do it,” Moser said. “Now how we’re going to do that, I don’t exactly have an answer, but I am committed to finding a way.”
