By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
After the Idaho Legislature repealed the needle exchange act, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard details about the state’s investigation into the Idaho Harm Reduction Project on Tuesday in a special meeting.
Monica Young, program manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, conducted the investigation into the project after the Idaho Harm Reduction Project was raided by police on Feb. 13. The Idaho Harm Reduction Project, a nonprofit, was accused of illegally distributing drug paraphernalia, other than legal needles. The Idaho Harm Reduction Project has since closed.
Young said IDHW and the Governor’s Office needed to understand the relationship between the department and the Idaho Harm Reduction Project. The investigation included reviewing 6,300 emails between the department and IHRP, interviewing staff and leadership and conducting onsite visits to other participants in the needle exchange program. Young said she concluded that there were many opportunities for the department to do better.
She said harm reduction “supplies” was not clearly defined in the act, and invoices paid by the state were not clearly defined because bills weren’t itemized. So, the Harm Reduction Project could have purchased supplies such as drug cookers, fentanyl testing strips, and injection alternatives such as pipes.
In one case, when asked if providing syringes or needles being used for hormone replacement therapies was acceptable, program staff supported that, Young said.
The state’s needle exchange program only allowed exchanges of a used syringe for a clean syringe to reduce the spread of blood-borne illnesses, such as HIV and Hepatitis C, that can spread when drug users share needles.
Two employees at IHRP also had conflicts of interest that were not disclosed, Young said.
Recommendations from the investigation included closing the subgrants in light of the act’s repeal, training staff on paperwork, reviewing the department’s document approval policy, training contract managers, and reviewing management practices for appropriate oversight, among others.
“The level of independence the staff in the program had was very unexpected,” said Young, who’s been at the department for more than 20 years.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.