Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - August 14, 2002
Adrienne Sanders Of The Examiner Staff
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention representatives are investigating the Stop AIDS Project at the request of conservative congressmen who questioned the decency and effectiveness of workshops such as "Booty Call" and "Great Sex," as reported by The Examiner last week.
The CDC representatives asked good questions about appropriateness of the program, materials and curricula, said Steven Tierney, director of HIV prevention for the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
"It didn't feel at all like a witch hunt," Tierney said.
HIV prevention groups around the country, which receive federal funds, have been worried that a new era of Bush administration censorship was beginning to brew in The City since late last year.
"San Francisco has always been the favorite whipping place of conservative Republicans," Tierney said last week.
Stop AIDS -- which received $686,000, or 38 percent of its $1.8 million budget, in federal funds for 2000 -- has been under pressure since October, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first investigated the group at the urging of renegade AIDS activist Michael Petrelis.
Petrelis decried the use of taxpayers' dollars to fund Stop AIDS programs such as "The Geezer's Ball" and "The Fisting Forum," which he deemed offensive and ineffective.
HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist's initial report described some of the group's racier materials as obscene, but recognized that only community review panels have the power to set such standards.
CDC guidelines prohibit federally funded AIDS prevention programs from encouraging sexual activity and breaking locally determined obscenity standards. The City's local review panel, it turns out, had seen only some of the group's brochures, pamphlets and posters.
In response to the first investigation, DPH tightened up the local review process, which will be commented upon in HHS's follow-up report scheduled for late August.
Tierney explained the revamped review process during a two-hour meeting on Tuesday with CDC officials, who launched their own investigation last week.
Stop AIDS staffers spent four hours Tuesday explaining their program and internal surveys to federal officials.
"It was a good opportunity for us to share with them why we know our prevention works," said Shana Krochmal, spokeswoman for Stop AIDS. CDC officials will report their findings in 10 days.
*** Stop AIDS Project under scrutiny
The Castro's favorite HIV prevention program is under fire again from the CDC. It's not the first time the feds have been called in to The City for an HIV check up.
March 2001
--Renegade AIDS activist Michael Petrelis files complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services against the Stop AIDS Project, generating interest from Washington, D.C. conservatives.
October 2001
--HHS inquiry finds that some of the group's ads and curricula could be construed as obscene. Recommendation: local standards panel must review all materials.
Summer 2002
--HHS regional office plans to conclude follow-up audit. Dates for final report have been delayed.
July 3, 2002
--USCF's Julie Gerberding appointed as new CDC chief. Her first move into domestic HIV prevention focuses on the Stop AIDS Project.
August 12, 2002
--CDC team visits Stop AIDS to determine whether programs are "scientifically sound."
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