State commission says 5% budget cut leaves little operating money; seeks partners to preserve Black Barbershop Health Initiative

Virgil Giles, director of the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, told the Evansville Social Status of Black Males Commission on May 22 that the state commission’s biennial appropriation decreased roughly 5% from the prior cycle and that the commission must show measurable outcomes to retain funding.

Giles said the four state cultural commissions received smaller budgets in the recent legislative session and that the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males will enter the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, with about $128,000 in general-appropriation funding. "With out of that 128,000, 4,000 is relatively left over in our general fund to do business," Giles said, adding that much programming this year will rely on partnerships and in-kind support.

The reduced appropriation and a directive from the legislature, Giles said, mean the state commission must "prove that we're viable" within the next two years or risk elimination of the cultural commissions. He asked local commissioners for help building partnerships and community-level data to support programs.

Giles reviewed two of the commission’s priorities for the coming year: an October conference focused on chronic illness among Black males, and continued work on the Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative, a long-running screening and outreach program. Giles described the October event as aligned with the governor’s health initiatives and said the conference will address healthy eating, diabetes prevention and management, and cardiac disease prevention under the theme "Restoring the village, advancing health equity for Black males in Indiana." He invited local commissioners to participate on panels or run workshops.

On the Black Barbershop Health Initiative Giles said the program has produced raw counts of people screened each year but lacks standardized outcome data the General Assembly wants to see. "We just have that raw data that says, okay, a thousand people were tested ... but what were the actual outcomes of those tests?" he said. He described the missing details as follow-up and outcome data — for example, how many screened individuals had elevated blood pressure, how many were referred to care, and whether they received further treatment.

Commissioners raised privacy and logistical concerns. Commissioner Collins and other members noted HIPAA and the limits on what volunteer screeners can collect and report without consent. Giles said the commission uses consent/release forms and that more detailed analysis would likely require a partner to synthesize the data. He said the state commission is exploring options for a research "anchor," such as a medical school, graduate student project, or partner organization, but that analysis carries a cost.

Giles also said a small state grant program the commission previously administered is on hold by executive order; he said the information remains on the commission’s website and that the commission will notify local agencies if the program is reinstated.

Giles asked local commissioners to send ideas and let the state commission know about community events and partners so the state can provide resource tables or speakers with short notice.

The commission discussed next steps including: (1) continuing to collect screening data using current forms; (2) seeking a partner (university or research group) to analyze and synthesize outcomes data; and (3) seeking letters of support to present to state legislators to request additional funding for data analysis and program support.

Giles said Esther Lewis of Holistic Evolution has provided some numbers to the state commission and that the commission is discussing a possible partnership with the Indiana Black Expo to support future events. He emphasized that data standardization and analysis are the missing links the General Assembly is seeking when it evaluates continued support for the initiative.

"If there's someone that you may know that wanna participate in a conference, they can just reach out to me and I'll take care of that," Giles said. "But the key is having that data."