By Rob Moritz
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas AIDS Foundation will be forced to layoff three of its four employees if a grant it has overseen for 20 years is awarded to another agency, the foundation’s board president said today.

“As things are now we will no longer be providing case management services to the over 500 clients that we have served over the years, which is very much a blow to us,” Frederick Gentry said.

The Legislative Council’s Review Committee is to consider a proposal Wednesday that would award the $579,000 grant to White River Rural Health, which is based in Northeast Arkansas.

Under the proposal, White River Rural Health would not only take over the Pulaski County grant, but three of the five other regional Ryan White Part B program grants in the state.

Total value of the grants is $1.69 million.

The federal grants are distributed to the six regions through the state Department of Health.

Health Department spokesman Ed Barham said Congress in 2007 voted to change the criteria for the grants and bids were taken last year in all six regions.

“They chose vendors for the six districts that can provide more sites across the state, improve access and improve the quality of care,” Barham said. “We feel confident there won’t be any interruption in services. We will continue to provide the services we have, and if anything the services will be improved.”

Gentry said the foundation employs four people who handle the Ryan White B program and another $300,000 grant to assist people with HIV/Aids find housing.

Without the Ryan White B program, three of the four employees will have to be laid off and the foundation will have to move from its current location on Ninth Street to smaller quarters.

In January, the Little Rock-based Arkansas AIDS Foundation discontinued services to 153 clients and reduced services to other clients because the Health Department reduced the eligibility threshold by more than half.