Events: Roundtable 2006 Annual Conference
Partnering with Faith
Assessing Government Alliances with Religious Groups in
Key Service Areas
Date: Dec 05, 2006
Location: Washington, D.C.
Program
News Coverage
Conference Transcripts
At its annual conference, held Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C., the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy looked at the status of some key government partnerships with religious groups. "Partnering with Faith: Assessing Government Alliances with Religious Groups in Key Service Areas" examined the work of religious charities in substance abuse treatment, abstinence education, job training, and supplemental educational services. The information supplements the Roundtable’s continuing efforts to provide the latest data on the performance of faith-based social service providers.
The conference kicked off with a perspective of such partnerships from Jay Hein, appointed Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in August. Hein said his office and centers within other federal agencies have created a fundamental change in government.
Then the Roundtable's nationally recognized constitutional law experts provided their annual update on the legal cases affecting relations between church and state. Prison programs, government chaplaincies, and capacity building grants were among the hot topics.
Then four separate sessions examined particular service areas. Each panel included top government officials, faith-based social service providers, researchers and skeptics. They discussed such topics as the important role that religious groups play in these fields, as well as the need for proper oversight and training to improve faith-based organizations’ performance.
Below you’ll find links to the conference program, stories on the sessions and session transcripts.
For more information on the comparative effectiveness of faith-based social services,
click here for the Roundtable’s resource page on that topic.
Conference Program:
Click here for a copy of the conference program schedule, including an overview of the sessions
(PDF document).
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Conference News Coverage:
Story:
New Faith-Based Director Sees Fundamental Change in Government
Six years after President George W. Bush called for an increased role for religious organizations in
providing government-funded services, the President's new director of that effort spoke last week in
Washington, D.C. about the past, present and future of the initiative and its role in civil society. "On
numerous objective measures one thing is abundantly clear - the federal government has been
fundamentally changed as a result of this initiative," said Jay Hein, director of the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, established by the President in 2001. In an
overview of the initiative, Hein described the "pioneering work" that departs from the historical
agendas of previous presidents both in scope and the larger role of religion in the public square.
Click here to read more by Roundtable Washington Correspondent Anne Farris.
Story:
Faith-Based Initiative Stirs Major Court Controversies in 2006
President George W. Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiative continues to face legal challenges
nearly six years after the program was instituted to increase the social service work provided by
religious groups in partnership with government. The most significant cases in 2006 were those
concerning prison programs, government chaplaincies, and capacity building grants to help faith-based organizations increase their ability to attract and manage funding through government
contracts and other sources, according to a report released last week by the Roundtable on Religion
and Social Welfare Policy. The annual "State of the Law" report was authored by the Roundtable's
co-directors of legal research, George Washington University law professors Ira C. Lupu and Robert
W. Tuttle, who presented the findings Dec. 5 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Anne Farris.
Click here to download the report.
Click here for the news release on the report.
Story:
Faith-Based Organizations Serve Important Role, But Need Guidance
Private religious charities can play a vital role in providing services to the needy - even when
taxpayers foot the bill - but they need guidance and supervision to ensure they operate with
competence and within the law. That was the conclusion that seemed to emerge from a Dec. 5
conference hosted by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy and focusing on
partnerships between government and religious charities. Even the "skeptics" of such alliances - or
at least those voicing caution - agreed that faith-based organizations should be eligible to receive
government money for providing social services. Religious groups, conference panelists said, often fill
a social service niche unmet by other providers, provide a supportive community environment, and
can support service recipients in a holistic way - expanding the need for employment, for instance, to
include personal supports. But, most panelists agreed, there also need to be limits on what faith-based organizations are allowed to do, as well as guidance about and enforcement of those
restrictions. When there was disagreement - in one instance, when sparks flew - it was over the
extent to which that guidance and oversight needs to be more rigorous.
Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondents Claire Hughes and Anne Farris.
Conference Transcripts:
Welcome, Opening Remarks & Opening Plenary Session:
"State of the Initiative, State of the Law"
Click here to download the transcript (PDF document).
Morning Plenary Session: "Saving them from Addiction?
Faith-Based Organizations and Substance Abuse Treatment"
Click here to download the transcript (PDF document).
Luncheon Program: "Pre-Wedding Vows to Say No:
Faith-Based Organizations and
Abstinence Education"
Click here to download the transcript (PDF document).
First Afternoon Plenary Session: "When Career Skills Alone Fail to do the Job:
Faith-Based Organizations
and Employment Services"
Click here to download the transcript (PDF document).
Second Afternoon Plenary Session: "Teaching with a Mission:
Faith-Based Organizations and Supplemental
Educational Services" and Closing Reflections
Click here to download the transcript (PDF document).
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