Kansas opens bidding to run $2 million abortion alternative fund. Here's what to know

Kansas is one step closer to sending taxpayer money to anti-abortion counseling centers across the state.

The contract bidding process began last week with a request for proposals for a contractor to run the new $2 million Alternatives to Abortion Program.

"We are looking forward to the launch of the program, which will expand compassionate support for women facing unexpected pregnancies," said Danielle Underwood, a Kansans for Life spokesperson. "Too many women feel that abortion is their only choice and pregnancy resource centers offer judgment-free support both before a baby is born and for years after."

Kansans for Life and other supporters of anti-abortion counseling centers, commonly referred to as pregnancy resource centers or crisis pregnancy centers, say they provide helpful resources to pregnant people to help them choose to bear a child to term.

But opponents, such as Planned Parenthood, say they often spread medical misinformation about abortion and pressure vulnerable people not to get an abortion.

The funding comes as Wichita and Kansas City area abortion clinics see an influx of out-of-state patients in the wake of Kansas voters protecting abortion rights here while other states banned the procedure. But the taxpayer money can also be used to provide services to Kansas residents, though facilities may use other funding sources to serve out-of-state people.

"To see such an extreme spike in abortions in our state is truly heartbreaking, but it also strengthens our commitment to support mothers and their babies throughout an unplanned pregnancy," House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said last month after the state's annual abortion statistics were released.

How will Alternatives to Abortion Program spend taxpayer money?

The purpose of the Alternatives to Abortion Program and a related public awareness program is to promote childbirth instead of abortion, particularly for women and girls facing unplanned pregnancies.

That can take the form of various approved services, such as counseling, coordinating prenatal care, referrals to social service programs, life skills classes and providing material support, such as car seats, diapers and baby formula.

It also means a public relations campaign to make people aware of those resources, including the creation of a website with a list of providers.

Taxpayer-supported services are available only to Kansas residents. During a pregnancy, both the pregnant mother and the biological father are eligible. After a pregnancy, the legal parents or guardians are eligible, as is someone who has lost a child or is the parent of a pregnant child. Services are available during pregnancy and up to 24 months after birth.

The organizations may use other funding sources to provide other services, except for abortion-related services.

The law explicitly bans funding from going to abortions or organizations that assist people in getting an abortion. That means that under the program, if a pregnant woman or girl at a counseling center does choose abortion, the taxpayer-funded organization cannot refer her to a clinic.

Legislature overrode governor's veto of anti-abortion program

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, line-item vetoed funding for the Alternatives to Abortion program in the budget bill, House Bill 2184. At the time, she questioned having the state treasurer oversee such a program.

"This proviso creates a sole source contract for an unknown entity to provide taxpayer funding for largely unregulated pregnancy resource centers," Kelly said. "This is not an evidence-based approach or even an effective method for preventing unplanned pregnancies."

The Republican-led Legislature ultimately overrode Kelly's veto.

State Treasurer Steven Johnson, a Republican, said that his office could perform the limited contracting function as delegated by the Legislature.

"The language of the bill merely directs our office to conduct a request for proposals process and contract with a nonprofit organization to promote and provide the services enumerated in the bill," Johnson said. "Our office has talented staff with many years of experience in the state procurement process who can easily manage the selection of an organization to fulfill the requirements of this provision."

What is Kansas looking for in a contractor?

The Treasurer's Office reached the request for proposals portion of the contract procurement process last week when the Kansas Department of Administration posted a 26-page RFP to solicit bids from potential contractors to run the program.

The bidding period closes Aug. 16, after which the names of bidders will become public. Additional bid details won't become public until after a contract is awarded.

There is no timeline for when a contract would be finalized with the winning bidder, though bidders must include a timeline for implementing services.

"The Treasurer is particularly interested in identifying potential bidders located within or outside the state of Kansas that are qualified to perform the duties set forth in statute and this statement of work," the document said.

Kansas is looking for an established firm with a proven track record of doing similar work, references from that work and a preference for five years of experience in the industry. The contractor must be a nonprofit organization.

Kansans for Life, which was a major proponent of legislation creating the Alternatives to Abortion program, will not be bidding on the contract.

"Our mission is focused on life-affirming education, legislation and political action," Underwood said.

Kansas Treasurer will oversee fiscal compliance

The contract will be awarded through June 30, 2024, with the option to renew for four additional 12-month period. The renewals are subject to continued funding in state budgets, setting up the potential for budget showdowns over the program.

The $2 million this year will be paid to the contractor in quarterly installments, subject to the contractor making its required quarterly reports. The money then goes from the nonprofit to subcontractors of existing counseling centers, adoption agencies, maternity homes and social service organizations.

More: Taxpayer funding would boost anti-abortion counseling and ads under Kansans for Life plan

While the contractor will propose how to use the money in its bid documents, the Treasurer's Office expectation is that at least 90% of the funding will go to services. That would leave less than $200,000 for promotional expenses, such as television advertisements and interstate highway billboards.

The Treasurer's Office will oversee fiscal compliance. It may assess an administrative fine for failure to satisfy requirements, including the regular reporting, or for "intentional or reckless misuse of any funds." The fine would be 10% of the the awarded funds.

Regular reporting will be required

By law, the contractor must report fiscal year measurables to the Legislature and the Treasurer by June 30. The RFP also requires quarterly status reports to the Treasurer throughout the year to monitor progress.

The annual report must include information on how many clients were served through various activities as well as the number of babies born from clients, among other required data, plus "any other information that shows the success of the Contractor's administration of the program."

Client confidentiality must be protected under the contract, though the Treasurer is allowed to inspect unredacted records.

The RFP does not explicitly say whether the reports will be made public.

More: Abortion patients streamed to Kansas after Roe was overturned. Here's what numbers show.

State funding comes as abortion patients flock to Kansas

Increasing financial resources for anti-abortion counseling centers — whether through tax breaks for private donations or direct taxpayer funding — was a major political priority of Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion lobbyists last legislative session following the defeat of the Value Them Both amendment.

While the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision last summer overturned federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade, Kansas voters elected to preserve the Kansas Supreme Court's 2019 Hodes decision protecting access to abortion.

The result has been women and girls from states that banned or severely restricted abortion have turned to abortion providers in Kansas to terminate the pregnancies.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment data released last month showed a 57% increase in the number of abortions performed in 2022. The increase was entirely due to out-of-state patients, particularly from Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma. All three of those states have banned or heavily restricted abortion.

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jtidd@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas looks for nonprofit to run $2 million anti-abortion program