ARCW extended its advocacy to Milwaukee County in 1994 which resulted in $50,000 of funding for AIDS prevention in the 1995 budget.

The 1997 budget included funding for the Stop Teen AIDS program that focused on reducing HIV infection among high risk youth. During this budget cycle, ARCW also took steps to reduce HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men and reduce public sex activity in Milwaukee County parks.

ARCW advocated for funding to support its Lifepoint clean needle exchange program in the 1999 County Budget. Despite the support of the County Executive and the Finance and Audit Committee of the County Board, the full County Board narrowly voted to remove the $100,000 funding from the budget.

The following year ARCW broadened its Milwaukee County budget request by integrating the needle exchange program with a new HIV & Hepatitis C Prevention & Drug Treatment Harm Reduction initiative. ARCW affirmed that county funding would not be used to purchase needles, but would be used to fund an increase in ARCW prevention and needle exchange staff. With this assurance, the County Executive and the County Board provided $100,000 of funding for the expanded harm reduction prevention program for injection drug users.