E-Newsletter for October 14, 2008

In this issue:

• White House Calls For Increased Public Funding of Religious Schools
• Q&A: Guidance and Monitoring of Faith-Based Organizations Receiving Government Funds
• Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community Organization Eligibility
• Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

New! White House Calls For Increased Public Funding of Religious Schools

As President George W. Bush serves his final months in office, the White House has issued a report calling
for additional government funding to help reverse the decline of inner-city religious schools. The 164-page
report, “Preserving a Critical National Asset: America's Disadvantaged Students and the Crisis in Faith-Based
Urban Schools,” follows the President’s declaration in his January State of the Union address that faith-based
schools “are disappearing at an alarming rate in many of America’s inner cities,” and a White House summit in
April to study the problem. The report, issued by the White House Domestic Policy Council, details the
Washington, D.C. summit and proposes a number of new ways that the federal government can fund religious
schools. The report also identifies other options for public support of faith-based schools. The most novel and
relatively untried of these suggestions is to convert failing religious schools to public faith-based charter schools
as the city of Washington, D.C. did this fall when seven Catholic schools closed.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Washington Correspondent Anne Farris.

Click here for a Resource Page on Vouchers and Indirect Financing of Faith-Based Organizations.

New! Q&A: Guidance and Monitoring of Faith-Based Organizations Receiving
Government Funds

Among the most critical questions for faith-based organizations interested in accepting government money to
provide social services is this: Exactly what activities can government fund - and what activities must it not fund
- to be in compliance with the Constitution? When the government provides funds to religious organizations, it is
responsible for ensuring the money is not diverted to religious use. That standard, set down in a 2000 Supreme
Court case known as Mitchell v. Helms, includes the requirements that: the permissible and impermissible uses
of government aid be clearly explained to faith-based grantees; government must ensure that grantees agree to
comply with the restrictions; and government must monitor faith-based grantees’ conduct.

The Bush Administration says that religious charities must not use tax money to support "inherently religious
activities," including religious worship, instruction, or proselytization. Federal regulations recommend that religious
groups set up separate nonprofit arms to receive funds for providing social services, and that they separate religious
activities from secular ones, "in time or location." But that guidance has not proven to be sufficient to prevent
lawsuits, most of which question the permissibility of activities that have been funded with tax dollars.

The Roundtable has asked experts to address the issue of appropriate guidance and monitoring of faith-based
organizations that receive government funds. Responding are Jedd Medefind, acting director of the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and Chip Lupu and Bob Tuttle, who have closely followed the
regulations in this area for the last seven years.

Click here to read the Q&A.

Click here for a Resource Page on Guidance to Faith-Based Organizations.

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 Labor and Health and Human Services, and 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

Church Partners to Help Refugees Transition to U.S.
The Evangelical Covenant Church

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8952

Hundreds of Volunteers Extend Helping Hand Across Rhode Island
The Providence Journal (Rhode Island)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8953

Growing By Helping
Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8954

Coach Founds Center on Faith
The Brunswick News (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8955

Immigration Laws Untenable and Need Reform, Bishop Says
Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8956

Palin At Times Bonds Church, State; As Alaska Governor,
She's Cost Taxpayers Over $13k For 10 Religious Trips
Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8957

Violence at Home Topic of Seminar
San Angelo Standard-Times (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8958

Bush Sets High Bar For National Service Initiatives;
Candidates Plan To Renew Call to Action
The Washington Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8959

Charities Report Slowdown in Donations
courier-journal.com (Kentucky & Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8960

Taking a Gamble--Separate Religious Groups Use Similar Means to Oppose the Lottery Proposal
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8961

Filling a Need: Ministry Celebrates Second Anniversary
Eureka Times Standard (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8962

Christian Concert Used Taxes
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8963

Immokalee Rural Leadership Summit To Target Community Development Issues
naplesnews.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8964

Candidates Issue Calls For Greater Service to Meet Nation's Needs
Catholic News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8965

Here's Where to Go For Help with Repairs
The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News (Stuart, Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8966

Aging Services Expand Under Federal Funding
New Jersey Jewish News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8967

For 300 Local Teens, Abstinence Has a Ring to It; Promising To Just Say No
The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Massachusetts)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8968

Emotions Still Run High Over ID Card
New Haven Register (Connecticut)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8969

Mobile Mexican Consulate Helps Immigrants, Is Target of Protests
Catholic News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8970

Help for Affordable Housing?
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8971

Commission Votes Down Group Home on Davis Street
Ottumwa Courier (Iowa)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8972

Building For The Kingdom
The Daily Independent (Ashland, Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8973

Beacon Of Hope Hosts Domestic Violence Rally; Organization's President Shares Her Story
Hendricks County Flyer (Avon, Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8974

Senior-Living Complex 'A Fantastic Place To Be'
Battle Creek Enquirer (Michigan)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8975

Raritan Bay Medical Center Looks At Sale of Old Bridge Unit to Raise Cash to Improve Perth Amboy Hospital
Asbury Park Press (New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8976

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 10/14/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_10_14_08.cfm