County says federal contract clause forced staff to give up prevention grant; ESD and Community Foundation bridge funding

Ellen Wilcox, deputy director in San Juan County’s health department, told the Board of Health on Dec. 10 that a small Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI) grant came with contract language requiring recipients to adhere to a presidential executive order concerning so‑called gender ideology. Wilcox said the county could not comply with that clause and therefore relinquished the award. The coalition coordinator was subsequently hired by the Northwest Educational Service District (ESD), which agreed to house the funding and keep the coalition functioning.

Wilcox said the Community Foundation stepped in to cover coalition expenses for November and December while the county worked to secure longer‑term funding. She described the situation as “a lot of bumps and twists” and urged the board to be aware of the administrative complexity and risk. Lopez’s prevention coalition lost previous funding but was awarded one year of opioid settlement funding by the county’s opioid settlement committee; Wilcox cautioned that the settlement award covers the coming year only and long‑term sustainability is uncertain.

Board and council members pressed staff on whether county leadership and the manager were being kept apprised. Councilmember Fuller urged the department to collect impact stories and to coordinate with state and federal contacts when documenting local effects of executive actions and contract clauses. Several members expressed surprise that an educational entity would accept the award under those contract conditions and emphasized the need to track funds and potential legal developments around challenged federal requirements.

The board asked staff to help collect local evidence of program impacts and to refine communications for state advocacy, while noting the value of youth voices in demonstrating the effect of prevention funding.