Gov. Scott Walker's health secretary has declined to make or back applications for federal public health grants that could have totaled more than $9 million over the next five years.
Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith hasn't signed onto grants that would have focused on fighting drug and alcohol abuse; assessing health impacts of public policies; and signing up state residents who qualify for state health programs, officials at the agency and other health groups said.
The changes reflect a marked difference in the way the new Republican administration approaches questions of public health and federal grants compared with the administration of former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
The disclosures by the state Department of Health Services come after the Walker administration reversed an earlier rejection by Smith and backed grants totaling roughly $30 million over five years for public health initiatives to stop smoking, reduce obesity and promote healthier lifestyles.
Bevan Baker, commissioner of health for the City of Milwaukee, said he was particularly surprised that the Walker administration would not support applications for two federal grants together worth up to $8.6 million over five years for fighting alcohol and drug abuse.
"I, for the life of me, cannot understand why at a time when there is a proliferation of illicit drugs and documentation of binge drinking and drunken driving in the state . . . Wisconsin would put its head in the virtual sand and not go after this funding," Baker said, adding that Wisconsin is already near the bottom of states for public health funding.
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