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Show Comnnnmyimnty Clinic wins direct federal funding by Nan Chalat Just hours before the Park' City Community Clinic was due to lose its federal funding through the state health department, Director Diana Maxell received word that the clinic had been awarded a $25,000 direct federal grant. The grant decision was a direct result of U.S. District Court Judge David Winder's ruling last month to disallow the distribution of federal Title X funds through the Utah State Health Department as long as it continues to require minors to have parental consent to receive family planning services. Over the next seven months of the fiscal year, the clinic will receive $3,571 per month from the federal grant. The clinic was receiving $3,000 through the state up to Dec. 6 when Winder's ruling took effect. Maxell said the clinic's operating expenses are about $5,000 per month. Between the grant money and revenues from patient fees, "We will just barely make it," she said. The decision to award funding directly to the clinic will allow it to offer family planning services to minors with or without their parents' consent, said Maxell. "We will maintain our policy of discussing family involvement with our teenage patients but lack of their parents' consent will not prevent us from serving them" she said. "We were hoping for no less than $4,000 (a month) but we are delighted to have received the direct award. It means we will have two less levels of bureaucracy (the county and the state) to deal with and I think that makes us more accountable," said Maxell. Planned Parenthood of Utah was also granted $170,000 in direct federal funding. The organization had been without federal aid for more than a year and had been forced to drop its sliding fee scale for services rendered. The Utah State Health Department was also granted a share of federal family planning funds ($105,000) with the stipulation that the agency must develop referral resources which do not require parental consent for minors before spending any of the federal money. Because of the grant to the state, Maxell said she does not see the federal decision as a total victory. "We are planning to go back to court for clarification," she said. The controversy over Utah's family planning funds was started by last year's legislative approval of Senate Bill 3 requiring state-funded family planning plan-ning agencies to have parental consent before serving minors. The state law was in direct conflict with the laws governing the distribution of Title X funds which said that the services must be offered to everyone regardless of age. According to Maxell, family planning plan-ning agencies across the country have been following the Utah case because of its precedent-setting potential. |