E-Newsletter for May 13, 2008

In this issue:

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! Lawmakers Pass Housing Bills, Face Opposition

The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed two major housing bills in response to a national mortgage crisis in which a record number of American families are losing their homes. The Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008 would establish a $15 billion loan and grant program to help states purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes and prevent neighborhoods, particularly those in low- and moderate-income urban areas, from declining. The program would provide grants to states, counties, cities, and nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations, for administration, buying foreclosed properties, and rehabilitation and demolition.

The second bill, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, is a combination of several major housing bills that would establish a $300 billion fund for mortgage insurance to about half a million borrowers threatened with foreclosure, who are fighting to hold onto their homes.

Several nonprofit groups that provide services to low-income families, including the faith-based Catholic Charities and Habitat for Humanity, endorsed the Neighborhood Stabilization Act. White House officials said President George W. Bush intended to veto both bills because they are “bailouts” for lenders and would incite more foreclosures by lenders rather than attempting to work out a solution with homeowners.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondents Anne Farris and Claire Hughes.

New! Public and Private Partners Feed Hungry New Mexicans

As soaring costs for food and fuel push the price of a meal out of the reach of some Americans, perhaps nowhere is the urgency of the situation felt more than in New Mexico. In a state where 32 of 33 counties are rural, and there is one food store every 486 square miles, a trip for groceries can place more burden on a home budget than many families can bear. Even before $4-a-gallon prices for milk and gasoline were imaginable, a higher percentage of New Mexicans were likely to go hungry than residents of any other state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which listed the state No. 1 in what the federal government calls “food insecurity.” That meant one in four New Mexican children didn’t know if they would have anything to eat at their next meal.

A public-private partnership to address the problem, spearheaded by the state Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, was launched more than a year ago, drawing the attention of other states looking for innovative ways to combine resources and get around bureaucratic red tape to feed their hungry residents, according to officials in New Mexico and Washington, D.C. As the program’s initial key feature – a program to keep children fed during the summer – is set to expand from a three-site pilot program to 35 sites, the problem of hunger is more pressing than ever.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

New! Congress Slated to Vote on Farm Bill

Food aid and nutrition programs are one component of the $280 billion, five-year Farm Bill that lawmakers have been wrangling over since last year. With the global food crisis and greater demands for humanitarian aid exerting pressure on them to reauthorize the existing 2002 version of the law, legislators may be ready to vote on the measure as early as Wednesday. President Bush, however, continues to threaten to veto the bill, which he has said spends too much and maintains subsidies to farmers that are too high at a time of record prices for crops. He proposed extending the current Farm Bill another year.

Some nonprofit organizations that provide food to poor people are pushing for passage of the bill, which increases spending on nutrition programs. Others, while supportive of those increases, have been concerned about maintaining subsidies to farmers. The secular Oxfam America, which had worked last year with a faith- based coalition called the Religious Working Group on the Farm bill for reforms to the legislation, now opposes the bill.

Click here for a previous Roundtable story on the legislation and faith-based organizations’ position.

Click here for an interview with World Vision's Robert Zachritz, currently posted on the Roundtable homepage.

Click here for a July 17, 2007 interview with Jim French of Oxfam America.

Event: African American Healthy Marriage Conference, June 17-19

HHS' Administration for Children and Families will host its annual African American Healthy Marriage Initiative Conference on June 17-19 at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. This year's theme is “Building Strong and Healthy Families: Connecting Marriage Research to Practice.” HHS describes the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative as an outreach effort to promote and strengthen marriages within the black community. ACF has partnered with national, civic, faith-based and community organizations to offer marriage education services to Americans who may not have such opportunities in their neighborhoods.

The Healthy Marriage Initiative, in all its components, is not without controversy. Supporters of the initiative say the benefits of marriage include more stabile families, greater wealth, and a healthier atmosphere for the well-being of children. Opponents fear that some women will become trapped in abusive or submissive relationships, while others say marriage is an intensely private matter that should not involve the government.

Click here for more information on the conference.

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 Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice, and by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise, or experience in particular foreign countries.

Click here for the grants digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Macon officials, feds to talk about grant allegations today
The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8268

N.O. clinic's reins shift to Charity Hospital system
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8271

Lutheran World Relief Pledges Initial $50,000 to Myanmar (Burma) Aid Efforts
Christian Newswire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8275

Jobs for Life aims to teach crucial life skills
Aiken Standard (South Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8272

Muslim clinics fill health care needs; More facilities popping up to aid the underserved
The Houston Chronicle

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8273

Nutrition groups fighting for farm bill
Politico

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8269

Pastor says Brooks' project will boost community
Daily Press (Newport, Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8270

Feds Turn to Churches to Help Welcome Immigrants
EthicsDaily

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8244

REV.'S WIFE: LET'S TALK SEX. Just preaching 'say no' not the answer, she sez
Daily News (New York)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8245

Stafford delays vote on addiction-recovery center: Addiction-recovery program still needs county approval
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8246

Mother keeps her baby while dealing with addiction and after doing prison time
Lowell Sun (Massachusetts)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8247

Idle hands craft goods for giver and receiver
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8248

Two cities to get anti-gang money; Durham and Raleigh will get their splits of a $2.5 million grant in hand next week
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8250

Group feeding needy sues state parks agency; Doheny State Beach ranger had threatened volunteers with arrest.
Los Angeles Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8251

Church 'adopts' Vallejo Middle School
Vallejo Times Herald (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8249

Evangelicals press to fight global warming
STLtoday.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8255

Two foster homes merge; Our House takes The Carpenter's Way Ranch in
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8256

Blessed beginning Low-cost clinic serves about 50 a day since opening
Corpus Christi Caller-Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8257

Groups that received money from the Safe Schools Initiative
The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8263

Family First fuels church-state debate
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8265

Lehmans, golf world lend help to center
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8258

Community builders: Couple work to give West Central Neighborhood a brighter future
Spokesman-Review (Washington)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8259

Samaritan Center seeking volunteers; Puzzle ministry starts in Mandeville
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8260

Former gang member teams up with partner in Pasco to teach kids self-defense, keep them out of gangs
Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Washington)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8261

Panel backs poverty fight *** Lawmaker: Issue affects everyone
The Advocate (Louisiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8252

Allentown seeks help to cut gang activity; It has money to spend on programs to occupy youths' time.
Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8253

Backlash rises against revealing clothes for girls
Chicago Tribune

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8262

Administrators had reservations about faith-based grant
The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8266

Youth agencies make the grade
The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8264

An End to Payday Loans?
The American Prospect

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8254

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 5/13/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_5_13_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:
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