Social Welfare Policy

E-Newsletter for November 25, 2008
In this issue:
Q&A on the Legacy of the Bush Administration's Faith-Based and Community Initiative
Register Now! Roundtable Experts to Assess Legal Outlook for Faith-Based Initiatives
Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community Organization Eligibility
Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories
An update from the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, an independent research project
of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The public policy research arm of the State University of New York.




New! Q&A on the Legacy of the Bush Administration's Faith-Based
and Community Initiative

President George W. Bush launched the Faith-Based and Community Initiative in 2001 to encourage
small, grassroots religious charities to provide social services in partnership with government. As
reported in last week's Roundtable e-newsletter, the Initiative has met with mixed reviews. What is
certain is that the federal effort took hold in a fashion that went largely unrecognized by most Americans.
Lacking congressional support, President Bush advanced his plan through the issuance of executive
orders creating the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and centers in 12
federal agencies to advance government partnerships with religious and secular nonprofits. The Initiative's
activities included providing training and assistance to religious and secular nonprofits, arranging for small
grants to help grassroots nonprofits increase their organizational capacity, and advancing the use of
vouchers so government funds could support intensely religious programs.

The Roundtable has asked three experts who have been involved with some aspect of the Initiative to
assess the legacy that it leaves to the Obama Administration. Responding are John Bridgeland, who
heads the public policy firm Civic Enterprises and formerly served as the first director of the USA Freedom
Corps, created by President Bush; Robert L. Woodson Sr., president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center
for Neighborhood Enterprise, which has trained thousands of faith-based and community organization
leaders; and Harris Wofford, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and civil rights advocate who has
been at the forefront of the national service movement since helping to launch the Peace Corps in 1961.

Click here to read the Q&A.


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Register Now! Roundtable Experts to Assess Legal Outlook
for Faith-Based Initiatives

Due in part to the policies set and the rule changes advanced by the Bush Administration,
President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a different legal landscape in which to forward his own
proposed Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. At a Roundtable event next week,
Professors Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle, constitutional law experts who have closely watched
this federal effort, will offer their insights about the changes that have been wrought over the last eight
years and the key questions that remain going forward. They will also look at significant legal
developments of 2008, including those affecting taxpayers' rights to sue over church-state violations,
faith-based prison programs, and public support for structures where religious activities take place.
The event accompanies the release of their final "State of the Law" report, a publication that has
become a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the legal environment in which the Faith-
Based and Community Initiative has progressed.

Professors Lupu and Tuttle will present their findings at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C., on Tuesday, December 2 at 9 a.m. Attendance is free.

Click here to register for the event.


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Weekly Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community
Organization Eligibility

The grant opportunities this week for community and faith-based organizations are through programs
administered by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Labor, and Health and Human Services.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise.

Click here for the grants digest.



Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories
Charitable Services Groups See Spike In Requests
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9142


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Economy Keeps Some Habitat for Humanity Homes Empty
USA TODAY

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9168


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City Rule May Close 2 Island Faith-Based Homeless Shelters
silive.com (Staten Island, NY)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9169


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Pathway to Redemption
Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9143


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Men of God Set Sights On Gangs
The Fayette Observer (Fayetteville, North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9144


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Hard Times and Long Lines;
Thousands Turn Out For Offerings of Food in Montebello and Mortgage Help in Van Nuys
Los Angeles Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9145


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Are Faith-Based Programs Flawed?
news-record.com (North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9146


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NY Churches Ordered Not To Shelter Homeless
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9147


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Medefind Minds Bush's Faith-Based Store
Dissident Voice

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9148


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La. Aid to Food Banks Stays Flat; But Unmet Needs Rise During Hard Times
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9149


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Churches Prepare To Provide Thanksgiving
The Columbus Dispatch

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9150


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Charity Empowers Homeless, Single Moms
York Daily Record

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9151


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Orlando-Area Food Bank Begs Religious Leaders to Help Feed Hungry
The Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9152


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Study: 5,000 Living On San Gabriel Valley Streets
Pasadena Star-News (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9153


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Busy Nights on the Cold Front; Officials Predict More Demand for Reopened Shelter
The Washington Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9154


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City Council Still Undecided on Eve's House Zoning Matter
Hattiesburg American (Mississippi)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9155


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Pr. William Board Wants To Help Provide Loans; Focus Is On Entry-Level County Workers
The Washington Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9156


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Churches Step Up To Help the Needy
Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9157


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Activists Join For Prayers In D.C.; Putting 'A Face On The Abstract' Of Foreclosure Crisis
Modesto Bee

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9158


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Faith-Based Homeless Shelter Network Adds 8th Church
Middletown Journal

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9159


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A Family-Style Feast
San Marcos Daily Record (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9160


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Group Plans For Help In Face Of Need
The Union-Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9161


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Clergy Rally In D.C. For Homeowner Protections
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9162


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Churches Learn To Be Prepared For Disaster
KHQA

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9163


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More Charitable Giving In Forecast; Higher Tax Rate Equals Bigger Break for Donors
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=9164


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Weekly Opinion Roundup - 11/25/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_11_25_08.cfm




The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy promotes informed debate on the issue of publicly funded faith-based social service. Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Roundtable provides independent, non-partisan research on the scope and scale of faith-based social services, their effectiveness, how public resources are being used in providing such services, and the legal and regulatory issues involved. The Roundtable's comprehensive web site makes this research and related information easily available. It can be accessed by clicking here:

The Roundtable
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