California officials ax funds for queer women’s health

As state officials grapple with a looming budget deficit, California health officials have reportedly axed a fund specifically established for queer women's health programs. It has sparked outrage from one of the largest providers of such services, while one gay legislative leader has suggested the decision may not be final.
 
In what advocates hailed at the time as a national first, California lawmakers six years ago established a $17.5 million Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women's Health Equity Fund. As the Bay Area Reporter had noted, the money was included in the state's 2019-2020 $214.8 billion budget, which was the first to be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
 
The Los Angeles LGBT Center had said it marked the first time a state had designated funding solely for the health needs of LBTQ women. Programs to be funded had to serve cisgender and transgender women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer, while those providing certain services for transgender men also could apply to the fund overseen by the California Department of Public Health.
 
“The LBTQ Health Equity Initiative (LBTQ Initiative) will address well-documented but largely unaddressed health inequities that result from a range of challenges including deeply rooted systemic anti-LBTQ bias, lack of culturally responsive care, and an alarming lack of medical services and research tailored to lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women as well as transgender men, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming persons,” noted the state agency in its request for proposals for the funds issued four years ago.
 
A major beneficiary of the funding had been the LA center’s Audre Lorde Health Program for lesbian and bisexual women. In 2022, in coalition with five community partners, the LA center received $1.9 million to expand the program and hire on additional staff.
 
Earlier this month at an emergency meeting state officials convened May 10 with grantees of the LBTQ fund, the service providers learned that their contracts would be terminated six months early, on June 30, the LA center disclosed this week. It also announced that the state health agency was shuttering its Office of Health Equity that had been established to oversee programs for LBTQ women, trans men, and nonbinary people but later updated its statement to clarify the office’s Gender Health Equity Section is set to be shuttered. Also on the chopping block are two of its other programs, the LBTQ Initiative and CA Reducing Disparities Project.  

In the statement released May 19, gay LA center CEO Joe Hollendoner blasted the decision to halt the “life-affirming services” and thus strip away care from individuals who are most in need of it.
 
“This reversal is not just a budget adjustment – it is a betrayal of queer and trans Californians,” stated Hollendoner.
 
He called on Newsom and legislators in Sacramento “to reverse this harmful decision” and to renew the “critical” $17 million for the LBTQ fund in the 2025-2026 state budget.
 
“Let’s be clear: balancing the state budget on the backs of vulnerable queer communities is a moral failure,” stated Hollendoner. “In cutting this funding, Governor Newsom has chosen to sacrifice the health and dignity of those already navigating intersecting barriers of misogyny, racism, transphobia, and xenophobia – including undocumented LGBTQ+ people. These cuts, along with the pausing of enrollment for adult undocumented Californians, are a clear attack on our healthcare system and the people who depend on it.”
 
With the state needing to address a projected $7.5 billion shortfall in its budget, and bracing for even larger cuts that could be required due to the negative fiscal impacts spawned by the policies and decisions made by the Trump White House and Congressional Republicans, Newsom is proposing a Medi-Cal enrollment freeze for undocumented individuals ages 19 and older as one way to shore up the state’s finances. In releasing his May revise budget last week, Newsom proposed a total of $12 billion in cuts in order to also add $4.5 billion to the state’s discretionary reserve as part of a $226.4 billion General Fund spending plan, as the California Budget & Policy Center noted.  
 
‘Deeply alarmed’
In a May 20 statement regarding the proposed axing of the Office of Health Equity and the funds for LBTQ health services, the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network said it was “deeply alarmed” about the dual decisions. It also called the proposal “devastating,” noting that the equity office has been “an instrumental partner” of its work for years.
 
“The unfortunate reality is that we saw these cuts on the horizon. They come at a time when LGBTQ+ research is being defunded, gender-affirming care is under attack, and access to life-saving services like mental health care is shrinking,” stated Dannie Ceseña, the LGBTQ network's first Two-Spirit and Native director. “These decisions hit the LGBTQ+ community first - and leave long-lasting impacts. Combined with proposed Medicaid cuts, this leaves many without alternatives to turn to, especially in rural communities. For many community-based organizations, this funding is a lifeline.”
 
Ceseña added that the defunding of the health equity office is “a deep betrayal of trust.” They reiterated the LA center’s call on Newsom and the state Legislature to reconsider cutting access to life-saving services for LGBTQ+ Californians across the state. 
 
“If these decisions move forward, the consequences to our health will be real, measurable, and long-lasting,” stated Ceseña. “This is no longer a question of if these cuts will hurt - it’s when. Other communities will be left behind and forgotten when essential resources are stripped away. California should be leading the nation — not cutting the very programs that expand access to care and save lives for LGBTQ+ people.”
 
Responding late Tuesday night to the Bay Area Reporter’s request for comment on the reasoning behind the decision to end the LBTQ fund grant, a spokesperson for Newsom called the claims made by the LA center “misleading” since the funds detailed are expiring, one-time funds from the 2019 Budget Act. Of the $17.5 million designated for queer women’s health activities, approximately $9.8 million went unspent, according to state officials.

“Governor Newsom stands with the LGBTQ+ community and has been a leader in the fight to legalize marriage equality, protect vulnerable youth, and expand transgender health care access and civil rights,” stated Elana Ross, Newsom’s deputy communications director, adding that “the budget continues other critical health and social safety nets for the LGBTQ+ community.”

For example, the 2025 May Revision reappropriates $7.2 million from the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund included in the 2022 Budget Act with availability through June 30, 2028. The funds are available to support existing programming, grant agreements, and contracts related to trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex. 
 
But other one-time investments are also expiring this year in alignment with their initial timeline. In 2022, $5 million in grants was made available through June 30 this summer to local health jurisdictions and community-based organizations for capacity and training for LGBTQ+ foster youth; approximately $4.3 million remains unspent.

The state health department sent the B.A.R. an emailed reply Thursday, May 22, stating it had “met with external partners and grant recipients to address the potential impact of the May Revision. The Governor has proposed a balanced plan making adjustments for a nearly $12 billion shortfall, and no easy decisions were made for the proposals. CDPH is committed to delivering high quality prevention services and technical assistance to communities within the budget constraints the state now faces.”

In response to a request for comment from the B.A.R., gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, indicated the decision to defund the LBTQ Health Equity Fund may be reversed by state lawmakers as they work up their own budget proposal. Lawmakers have until mid-June to do so, with the new fiscal year kicking in on July 1.
 
“The Governor’s budget proposal is not the final word on the state budget,” noted Wiener. “The Senate is working hard to protect our communities while meeting our constitutional obligation to balance the budget. Our budget proposal will be released in the coming weeks.”
 
In an emailed reply Tuesday to the B.A.R., Ceseña noted that the fund grantees were told that if the governor’s proposed budget is signed into law, all contracts would end on June 30, the last day of the current fiscal year. As for the research and data stemming from the funded programs, and if organizations could publish reports on the health disparities experienced by the community, Ceseña said they were told by the health equity office staff they needed to get legal advice about the matter since the data collected may be owned by the state entity.

After the B.A.R. published its article, a spokesperson for the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus disputed the governor’s office contention that ongoing funding for the LGBTQ programs was unneeded since some of it went unspent and the program was set to expire this year. They contended the reason the funds were unspent was due to significant delays by the health department to get organizations into contracts, in some cases up to a year, so the funded agencies were unable to bill for services until a year after the money was appropriated.

“Ending funding for behavioral health services at time of heightened attacks and erosion of LGBTQ+ rights is unacceptable,” wrote Jacob Fraker in an emailed reply May 21
 
The pending loss of the LBTQ Health Equity Fund comes as numerous programs addressing the needs of the LGBTQ community are being targeted by both state and federal officials. As the B.A.R. first reported https://www.ebar.com/story/337440/redirect in January, California health officials ended a $3 million-plus contract for a stand-alone LGBTQ youth mental health initiative that state LGBTQ lawmakers had funded last year.
 
And after the Trump administration terminated their funding for programs specifically targeted at trans and nonbinary individuals, a number of LGBTQ nonprofits sued in federal court, including the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the San Francisco Community Health Center. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is representing the nonprofits, and its motion for a preliminary injunction in San Francisco AIDS Foundation v. Trump will be heard at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 22, by District Judge Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
 
The proceeding at the courthouse in downtown Oakland happens to be taking place on the annual observance of Harvey Milk Day, held each year on the birthday of the slain gay rights leader who was a San Francisco supervisor. It will be livestreamed online at https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/tigar-jon-s-jst/ .
 
“The defunding of LBTQ, reproductive rights, California Reducing Disparities Project, and LGBTQ Foster Youth Mental Health initiatives not only causes harm to community centers with the loss of jobs, but this could lead to self-harm and possible death for those who rely on the services provided by the grantees. Access to culturally affirming health care should never be on the chopping block,” argued Ceseña.
 
UPDATED 5/21/25 with a response from Newsom's office and to clarify which health department programs are eyed for closure.