Real Alternatives, the faith-based organization based in Pennsylvania that routinely receives millions of dollars from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), has a track record of aggressively resisting attempts to be held accountable for how they spend that money.
To date, Real Alternatives has received at least $83 million in taxpayer money since 2003, including money diverted from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The total sum is even higher, given they have been funded in Pennsylvania since the early 1990s.
On Friday June 25, 2020, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records ruled that Real Alternatives must produce records detailing how they have spent taxpayer money.
“Real Alternatives only exists because of Pennsylvania taxpayers. They receive millions of dollars every year, a portion of which goes directly into their CEO’s six-figure salary,” says WLP staff attorney Susan J. Frietsche. “Of course they owe it to taxpayers to reveal how else they are spending that money.”
Real Alternatives attempted to argue they are not subject to public scrutiny, a claim pointedly rejected by the Court.
From the ruling, which you can read here:
“It is difficult to imagine information more relevant to the performance of a governmental function than information describing the services performed pursuant to a governmental function.”
While today’s ruling is a victory for believers in transparency and accountability for government programs, a stunning, deeply troubling revelation was also exposed in the ruling: Some service providers included client names and medical histories in records given to Real Alternatives.
The apparent transgression is especially appalling given we know the crisis pregnancy center movement, like the broader anti-abortion movement, targets Black and brown women.
“People’s health, sexual, and medical history should always remain highly confidential and this is a major violation of trust,” said Mary Alice Carter, Senior Advisor at Equity Forward, in a statement announcing today’s victory, which you can read here.
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
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