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! Federal Fund Provides "Compassion Capital" to Nonprofits for Sixth Year

For the sixth year in a row, the federal government has awarded millions of dollars in grants to
increase the capacity of faith-based and community organizations to deliver social services.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families
(ACF) announced last week that $57.8 million in grants have been awarded to 387 faith-based
and community organizations. These organizations provide services for homeless persons, at-
risk youth and rural communities and undertake initiatives to empower youth and promote
healthy marriages.

The grants were awarded under the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), a cornerstone of President
George W. Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, that is specifically designed to help
religious and local organizations partner with government to deliver privately and publicly funded
services. Since its inception in 2002, CCF has awarded $636 million to more than 4,500 organizations.
Until this year, the amount of funding under CCF had steadily increased since Congress initially
appropriated $30 million for the program in fiscal year 2002. In fiscal year 2003, CCF awarded grants
totaling $32 million. In 2004, the total was $43 million and in 2005, $49 million. Last year, CCF awarded
 grants totaling $58 million, almost $200,000 more than this year.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Anne Farris.

New! An Interview with Rev. Glenn Palmberg of the Evangelical Covenant
Church on SCHIP

Rev. Glenn R. Palmberg is the president of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), a multi-ethnic
denomination of 800 churches in the United States and Canada with ministries in five continents. As
president since 1998, Rev. Palmberg believes a religious call to compassion and justice is inseparable
from the call to evangelism. Under his leadership, ECC, based in Chicago, has pursued racial
reconciliation and approved a new national Department of Compassion, Mercy, and Justice.

A native of Nebraska, Rev. Palmberg has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from North Park University
in Chicago, a Master of Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from
McCormick Theological Seminary. He is an ordained ECC minister and has served churches in Illinois,
Ohio, and Kansas. From 1976 to 1981 he served as dean of students at North Park Seminary. Beginning
in 1990 he served for eight years as superintendent of the ECC North Pacific Conference. Rev. Palmberg
is also active in Christian advocacy groups, including Bread for the World and Sojourners, as well as the
interfaith Alliance to End Hunger.

He spoke with the Roundtable about President Bush’s veto of a bill expanding the State Children’s Health
Insurance Program.

Click here to read the interview.

New! Louisiana Judge Blocks Legislative Earmarks to Churches

Blocking payment of state grants to two churches, a federal judge in Louisiana issued an order Oct. 5
stating that "these non-neutral, direct money grants of taxpayer funds to favored houses of worship are
clearly unconstitutional." The finding is a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union, which asked the
court in August to halt payments to the churches totaling $120,000, approved by the legislature as part
of a general appropriations bill. The ACLU charged that the legislative earmarks violated the First
Amendment’s Establishment Clause (which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion"). The grants were not subject to oversight or competitive bidding, the civil rights
group argued, and the appropriations bill offered no justification for them.

In ordering a preliminary injunction of the payments, U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance of the Eastern
District of Louisiana stated that the ACLU had proven it would likely win its case, which may still progress
to trial. The challenged grants lacked any specified secular purpose, as required by First Amendment
protections prohibiting the government from endorsing religion, Vance found. "Rather than choosing a
secular aim to be achieved by the State, and then implementing a program under which religious and
nonreligious organizations could apply to serve that goal ... Louisiana has singled out certain churches,
allocated funds to them directly, and identified no secular purpose for the money," she wrote. The
judge dismissed state officials’ claim that the ACLU lacked the right to bring a lawsuit on behalf of
its taxpayer members based on the Establishment Clause.

Watch future newsletters for an in-depth legal analysis of the decision by the Roundtable’s legal experts,
Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle of George Washington University Law School.

Click here to read the court order blocking payments and here to read the judge’s decision regarding the
ACLU’s standing to sue.

Click here to read a previous article about the lawsuit and legislative earmarks.

Click here to read the legal complaint filed in August.

Save the Date! The Roundtable's Conference and Legal Update, Dec. 5

It's been a year of considerable legal activity on issues affecting faith-based and community initiatives,
highlighted by the Supreme Court's June decision in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation. That
decision held that taxpayers may not mount legal challenges against the federal government over funding
to religious organizations unless Congress has specifically authorized the programs that provide the money,
and the ruling has numerous and complex implications for government partnerships with religious groups.
In addition, the courts this year have been the stage for arguments over government chaplaincies, legislative
earmarks to religious groups, and the use of tax money to renovate religious structures, along with a variety
of other issues.

Keeping up with this constantly shifting legal environment for faith-based social services can be daunting. At
the Roundtable's annual conference, our highly respected legal experts – Law Professors Ira C. Lupu and
Robert W. Tuttle of George Washington University – will give a thorough update on the year's most significant
legal events affecting government partnerships with religious charities. As close observers of the federal
Faith-Based and Community Initiative for the past six years, Lupu and Tuttle are able to provide context for the
latest developments and offer insights into what to watch for next.

Don't miss their legal update, at the Roundtable's annual conference, Wednesday, December 5, in
Washington D.C. The complete program will run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the National Press Club at 529
14th St. NW.

Watch for more information in future newsletters.

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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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

Click here for the grant digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Dallas offers prostitutes help instead of sentence
The Dallas Morning News (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7179

Program seeks federal funding;Grant would aid Georgetown project
The Myrtle Beach Sun-News (South Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7184

Substance-abuse program loses key grant
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7185

NSU receives grant for faith-based heart program
Daily Press (Newport, Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7186

State gets $14.5 million to support substance abuse treatment services for youth
Oroville Mercury Register (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7187

USAID Announces First Malaria Grants
Voice of America News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7188

Report says inmate rehabilitation changes needed to control costs
The Associated Press State & Local Wire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7180

Task force focuses on peace for youth
Home News Tribune (East Brunswick, New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7181

League lends guiding hand to inmates:
Faith-based group puts on summit in attempt to cut down on recidivism
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7182

A place to call home
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7183

Funding cuts take heavy toll on some abstinence programs
Austin American-Statesman (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7189

Nine new homes to bolster recovery;Lincolnshire benefits from partnership
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7192

Kaine Offers Plan to Boost Preschool;More Underprivileged Kids May Be Enrolled
The Washington Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7193

Bridgeport gets $1.5M for homeless
Connecticut Post (Bridgeport)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7194

How Bush Lost Sight of the Children
The New York Times (New York)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7191