* It just boggles my mind that the state wasn’t funding this sort of thing…

Faced with uncertainty about the future of its ability to stay open and serve women in Illinois, the Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative (PACPI) has recently received payment for outstanding invoices for work performed under a contract with the state. This federal funding has been released through the Illinois Department of Public Health. In response, PACPI has withdrawn from the May 4 lawsuit by Pay Now Illinois against the State. This funding, for the period of July 2015 - June 2016, will support PACPI’s critical services for vulnerable women across Illinois who are living with HIV and who are pregnant or recently delivered.

PACPI was slated to receive state funding, but IDPH identified federal funds to fill the gap in the absence of a state budget. Without this infusion of funding, PACPI could have been forced to close its doors in October 2016.

“PACPI is incredibly grateful to the state for its advocacy and support in prioritizing this life-saving program. However, we remain committed in the fight with our partner agencies to repair the crumbling social service infrastructure and push for a responsible state budget that focuses on revenue,” says Anne Statton, Executive Director of PACPI. “We call upon the state’s leaders to put aside politics and agendas and resolve this fiscal impasse with a responsible budget that includes the necessary revenue to support critical services all Illinoisans need.”

Although PACPI will now be able to continue providing direct case management services to pregnant women living with HIV and their newborns, these women and their families may still need assistance with housing, child care, vocational training, counseling services — services provided by partner agencies that have not been paid by the state and whose viability is seriously threatened. Families simply cannot escape the cycle of poverty if they cannot access these critical social services.

“While the state’s action to release this federal funding is a positive step, it is a short-term solution,” said Statton. “Illinois leaders must continue to do their jobs.”

Because of the safety net and supportive services PACPI provides, there were zero reported transmissions of HIV among babies born in 2015 in all of Illinois.