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.

Happy Holidays!

The Roundtable will not publish its weekly e-newsletter next week. Our next edition will be sent on January 2, 2008.

NEW! Congress Scrambles to Finish Bills that Fund Social Services

As the clock runs down to the end of the year, Congress this week has been scrambling to pass a series of major
bills that President George W. Bush has repeatedly vetoed or threatened to veto in a faceoff with lawmakers over
government spending. Among the bills is a bundle of 11 spending measures to keep government programs running,
an extension of children’s health insurance that was poised to expire, reauthorization of a five-year farm bill, and a
foreign aid bill with proposals for family planning and HIV/AIDS reduction programs.

Religious organizations have taken an active role this year in lobbying Congress on all of these bills, which change
funding amounts for programs that provide social services to the poor or carry out a moral purpose such as teaching
sexual abstinence or preventing abortions.

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

New! White House Relies on Help of Religious Groups in Fighting AIDS

Almost a fourth of the grant partners in the five-year-old President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
are religious organizations -- twice the number from two years ago. One reason for the increase is the creation in
2005 of a New Partners Initiative (NPI) within PEPFAR to help faith-based and community organizations increase
their capacity to receive government grants and provide services. Half of the 36 NPI partners are religious organizations,
according to Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. A second round of three-year grants worth $35 million was
awarded on World AIDS Day, December 1, to 14 new partners under the NPI.

President George W. Bush highlighted the work of these religious groups in a November 30 speech commemorating
World AIDS Day at Calvary United Methodist Church in Mount Airy, Maryland. He called for doubling American dollars
to fight HIV/AIDS and emphasized a continued reliance on religious organizations to provide care, treatment
and prevention.

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

NEW! An Interview with Rob Keithan of the Unitarian Universalist Association
of Congregations

Rob Keithan is director of the Washington Office for Advocacy of the Unitarian Universalist Association of
Congregations. The office’s mission is to influence public policy decisions on issues of concern to the
Unitarian Universalist Association, and also to provide support and resources to Unitarian Universalist
congregations seeking to influence decisions made at the state and local level. During his nine-year tenure,
Keithan has focused on a variety of issues, including: bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender rights;
campaign finance reform; civil liberties; issues of war and peace; religion-state separation; reproductive
freedom; sex education; and voter participation. He also trains facilitators to lead junior high and high school
classes in a comprehensive sex-education curriculum developed jointly by the Unitarian Universalist
Association (UUA) and the United Church of Christ. He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity degree
at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

Keithan spoke with the Roundtable about UUA’s concerns regarding the way the federal government supports
the work of organizations providing programs to combat HIV/AIDS abroad.

Click here to read the interview.

NEW! Sponsor of Christian Prison Program, Found Illegal, Seeks Full-Court Review

An evangelical Christian prison program and Iowa officials have asked a federal appeals court for a full-court
review of a three-judge panel’s ruling that the program was unconstitutional. The InnerChange Freedom Initiative
and its operator, Prison Fellowship, argue in a petition filed December 17 that the three-judge panel of the 8th
Circuit Court of Appeals was wrong in upholding part of a lower court decision in two respects: It determined that
the program did not qualify as one of indirect (as opposed to direct) government aid, which would allow the program
to retain its religious character. And it determined that taxpayers (not just prisoners themselves) had the right to
challenge the program in court.

The case has been watched by supporters and opponents of faith-based prison programs, as well as by the
Roundtable, since Americans United for Separation of Church and State initially brought the lawsuit in 2003.
The Roundtable’s legal experts have recently offered an in-depth analysis of the Dec. 3 ruling of the 8th Circuit’s
three-judge panel, saying the court’s interpretation of the legal issues involved will likely serve as the guidepost
for future decisions regarding faith-based prison programs.

Click here for the defendants’ petition for a review of the case by the full appeals court.

Click here for the decision by the appeals court's three-judge panel.

Click here to read the legal analysis by Law Professors Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle.

Click here for the Roundtable’s Resource Page on Faith-Based Prison Programs, which includes previous legal
analyses, articles and interviews about the case.

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. Department of Health and Human Services.

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

Click here for the digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Standing in for prison dads, moms
Christian Science Monitor

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7434

Dealing a blow to gang activity; State grand jury effective in staving gang violence
The State (Colombia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7435

New initiative aims to prevent teen suicides
St. Joseph News-Press (Missouri)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7454

USAID Hosts First International Faith and Community Based Initiatives Conference
US Newswire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7436

County Helps Start Faith Based Initiative
Jamestown Post Journal (New York)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7437

$100,000 A Year Will Go To Help Minority Youth;
County Joins National Study On Causes Of Youth Crime, Dropouts
Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7438

Muslim charities expand horizons;
Immigrant community is reaching out to help the poor of all religions, ethnicities
chicagotribune.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7442

Foundation helps find homes for needy families; Grants, support provide boost to Vision House
The Seattle Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7443

Hollygrove complex for elderly unveiled; City backs nonprofit on 30-unit project
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7444

Overcoming addiction: Many find turning to God during this time aids in recovery
Victoria Advocate (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7445

A New Emphasis for the Ministry: Management Skills
The New York Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7439

Rick Warren Says Church 'Here to Stay' on AIDS Issue
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7440

Petition fights same-sex marriage;
With enough signatures collected, voters could change the Florida Constitution
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7441

Bishop T.D. Jakes Urges National Leaders To 'Step Up' To Challenge of HIV/AIDS Global Crisis
Atlanta Daily World

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7446

Heart-disease prevention target of plan:
Health officers in city and Baltimore County seek comment on communitywide proposal
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7447

Caregivers find their own support in church programs: Many who tend to aging say they are stressed, lonely
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7448

Anti-violence rally held at high school
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7449

Market Puts Crimp In Habitat Restore
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7450

Tennessee Department Of Mental Health And Developmental Disabilities Awarded Access To Recovery Grant
US States News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7457

Blagojevich Administration Announces New Program To Help Stop Youth Violence
US States News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7458

No church tax, but lawmakers fretting anyway; Panel ponders amendment to guard exemption
The Journal Gazette (Indianapolis)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7459

Religious leaders back nurses ARH strikers supported by faith
The Lexington Herald Ledger

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7460

Activist plans halfway house for women
The Myrtle Beach Sun-News (South Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7461

Three Religious Organizations Join Forces to Promote Holiday Contributions
The Chronicle of Philanthropy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7451

Dedicated helpers Jewish service group aids those in need
Patriot News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7452

York churches want to help the homeless
The York Dispatch (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7453

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 12/18/2007
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_12_18_07.cfm