Equal Protection Project Calls On HHS To Conduct “Comprehensive Review” Of Hundreds Of Potentially Discriminatory Grants

Equal Protection Project Calls On HHS To Conduct “Comprehensive Review” Of Hundreds Of Potentially Discriminatory Grants

The Equal Protection Project (EqualProtect.org) recently reached a milestone — our 100th school, college, or university challenged over DEI discrimination, covering over 400 discriminatory programs and scholarships. Most of our civil rights complaints have been filed at the Department of Education.

We recently filed a Civil Rights Complaint against the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) and Yale School of Medicine at the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), our first filing in that forum.

As detailed in our prior blog post and a Fox News story about the case, the heart of the Complaint is that the HHS grant program, while focused on “minority populations,” did not itself require discrimination as to who could participate:

AAAP, in partnership with Yale, offers REACH—a one-year training program for minority healthcare professional students focused on improving care for racially and ethnically underrepresented minorities (URMs) with substance use disorders, AAAP received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund this fellowship. Although the grant is titled the “Minority Fellowship Program” and emphasizes “outreach to URM medical students and residents,” its terms do not mandate race-based selection criteria. Instead, the stated purpose is to “serve racial and ethnic minority populations,” and participation is not limited by race.

While the grant language references an “intensive recruitment strategy” focused on underrepresented medical students and residents and institutions “with missions oriented toward the underserved,” these descriptions relate to outreach efforts—not eligibility restrictions. The goal is to build a workforce of culturally informed physicians with expertise in addiction medicine, which the grant says will “improve outcomes for minority populations.” In short, the program is framed around serving specific communities, but it does not require exclusion of individuals based on race or ethnicity.”3

Separate from the Complaint filing, we also wrote a Letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. calling on HHS to an HHS-wide audit of other “minority” focused programs to make sure that grantees were not using such focus as a basis for unlawful dicrimination:

We write on behalf of the Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring equal protection under the law and opposing all forms of unlawful discrimination. This letter concerns potentially discriminatory grantmaking practices at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”).

Earlier today, we filed the attached Complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights regarding the REACH Minority Fellowship, a joint program administered by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) and Yale School of Medicine. As detailed in the Complaint, this program is funded through an HHS grant for a “Minority Fellowship Program.” While the grant terms do not restrict eligibility to minority applicants, AAAP and Yale impose such a requirement, thereby using federal funds for discriminatory criteria. It is reasonable to assume that the title of the grant program (“Minority Fellowship Program”) encouraged such discrimination even if by its terms the grant did not impose such an unlawful requirement

A review of publicly available grant databases,1 reveals over 700 HHS grants active within the past year that reference serving “minority” communities and improving minority outcomes. While such goals may be laudable, such aspirations cannot be permitted to turn into civil rights violations when implemented.

In light of the AAAP-Yale program, we respectfully urge HHS to conduct a comprehensive review of such grants to ensure that the goal of serving “minority” communities is conducted in compliance with the civil rights laws.

The Daily Caller News Foundation covered the letter:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is still funding hundreds of potentially discriminatory grants, a civil rights group warned in a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

More than 700 active grants listed in public databases reference improving minority outcomes or serving minority communities, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) wrote in a June 24 letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

While such goals may be laudable, such aspirations cannot be permitted to turn into civil rights violations when implemented,” the letter states.

EPP Founder William Jacobson said the HHS “must not allow its grantees to engage in civil rights violations.”

“We call for an audit and administrative action for any institution found to have exploited HHS grants for discriminatory purposes,” Jacobson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “When discrimination in eligibility takes place with regard to medical related programs, it does damage not just to the people who are excluded, but also to the healthcare system.”

One grant, which the EPP challenged in a June 24 complaint filed with the HHS Office for Civil Rights, funds the REACH Minority Fellowship…..

“While the grant terms do not restrict eligibility to minority applicants, AAAP and Yale impose such a requirement, thereby using federal funds for discriminatory criteria,” EPP’s letter states. “It is reasonable to assume that the title of the grant program (“Minority Fellowship Program”) encouraged such discrimination even if by its terms the grant did not impose such an unlawful requirement.”

“In light of the AAAP-Yale program, we respectfully urge HHS to conduct a comprehensive review of such grants to ensure that the goal of serving ‘minority’ communities is conducted in compliance with the civil rights laws,” the letter continues.

Reminder: we are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated.

========================

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.