In a move that has sparked controversy, a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Pennsylvania has reportedly received a substantial sum of $630,000 from federal COVID-19 relief funds.
These funds were used to organize events such as a "queer prom" and to run LGBTQ+ after-school clubs that offer a "confidential space" for children as young as 10 to discuss sexuality, according to documents.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded a Pandemic Response Job Training and Education Programs Grant titled Welcome and Safe: Strengthening the Rainbow Rooms LGBTQ+ Programming, to Planned Parenthood Keystone. This grant allocated $630,000 of COVID-19 relief funds for the development of LGBTQ+ youth programs focused on sexuality and transgenderism in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The Rainbow Room and Roy G. Biv, LGBTQ+ youth programs for minors and young adults, are run by Planned Parenthood Keystone. These programs offer "free, confidential & empowering spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and friends" and "inclusive education," as per the Rainbow Rooms social media account.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the funding for this grant was sourced directly from the American Rescue Plan Act. The grant agreement stipulates that the allocated funds were intended to "respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency or its negative economic impacts." Grantees were obligated to maintain records demonstrating how the funds mitigated these negative economic impacts.
The grant agreement did not detail the specific negative economic impacts the Rainbow Room faced due to the pandemic. However, it did highlight that the Rainbow Room had experienced a "400% increase in program participation over the past five years."
The Rainbow Room operates LGBTQ+ youth clubs for minors and young adults aged 14-21. Their social media accounts reveal a variety of events, including drag queen performances, celebrations of queer sex and masturbation, and a monthly "Queer Youth" support group.
The Rainbow Room also hosted an educator from the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia Gender and Sexuality Clinic. This individual spoke on "transition issues for trans kids" and pediatric sex-change interventions offered by the clinic, as per a social media post.
The grant allocated $325,606 for Planned Parenthood staff, covering 57% of the salary of Rainbow Room Director Marlene Pray, and fully funding the hiring of a community health educator. This individual's duties include planning and implementing "all LGBTQ+ youth programming in Bucks County."
The grant also allocated $53,835 for program materials, $23,599 for start-up costs, and $82,823 for events, which includes their annual "Queer Prom."
The grant enabled the Rainbow Room to expand to a second location in April 2023 and provides free Uber rides from local public schools to LGBTQ+ youth club thanks to a $13,500 mini-grant from Bucks County Government, funded by a statewide opioid settlement.
The grant also contributes to the salary of Amber Brown, Planned Parenthood Keystone director of education, who founded and helps facilitate a sister LGBTQ+ youth program called The Spectrum, which meets at Reading High School in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The Reading School District partnered with Planned Parenthood Keystone in March 2022, when the school board voted to approve a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) agreement. This agreement outlined that Planned Parenthood Keystone would provide comprehensive sexual education for high school students that was "inclusive of all gender identities" and run the after-school LGBTQ+ club for students and young adults aged 14-21.
The COVID-19 relief-funded grant also allowed Planned Parenthood Keystone to expand its LGBTQ+ youth programming to include a "Rainbow Room Junior" program for children ages 10-14 called Roy G. Biv. This program provides "medically accurate, social and racial justice inclusive sexuality education" and was needed as "there is no set age for recognizing ones sexual orientation or gender identity," according to the grant agreement.
The Rainbow Room is hosting a summer camp for kids ages 10-14, called Camp MEE, described as an "inclusive and affirming space for gender expansive youth," where volunteers and staff are "trained on how to properly use pronouns & respect gender expansive youth," according to the event registration page.
The Cass Review, a report on pediatric gender medicine published in 2024 by Englands National Health Service, found there was no clear evidence that socially transitioning children, which the report defines as social changes to live as a different gender such as altering hair or clothing, name change, and/or use of different pronouns, has any positive or negative mental health outcomes. However, the report found that children who socially transitioned were more likely to proceed to a medical pathway.
While the grant and its use have been met with criticism, it remains to be seen how the funds' allocation will impact the LGBTQ+ youth programs and their participants in the long term.
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