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.

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Federally Funded Marriage Program

In what may be the first legal challenge of a federal initiative to bolster marriage, a federal judge last week
dismissed a lawsuit against a Vancouver, Washington marriage education program and ruled that federal
grants to the program did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state. The lawsuit, known
as Christianson v. Leavitt, was filed in September by Americans United for Separation of Church and State
on behalf of 13 Washington taxpayers who argued that the religious nature of Northwest Marriage Institute
(NMI) should exclude it from receiving government money as dictated under the First Amendment's
Establishment Clause. That’s the phrase that prohibits the government from actively promoting religious belief.

The lawsuit was significant because in addition to targeting federal money for religious marriage programs,
it took aim at the government’s practice of making grants to help small religious and community
organizations grow through the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), a program established under President
George W. Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The court said it did not find evidence to support
claims that NMI used federal money to offer marriage programs with religious content or that CCF
capacity-building money was used to promote religion.

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

Click here to read the court order dismissing the case.

New! Legal Analysis of Court Dismissal of Case Against Marriage Educator

The U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington dismissed the case against the Northwest
Marriage Institute largely because the marriage educator chose to change the content of its programming,
from religious to secular, in order to receive government grants. So the larger questions raised in the
lawsuit were not answered, write the Roundtable’s legal experts. Among them was the question that had
made the case most interesting to observers of constitutional law: whether government can provide direct
financial support to religious groups to improve its ability to deliver services – when those services may
ultimately include some religious content.

Click here to read the legal analysis by Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle, Co-Directors of Legal Research.

New! Prison Bureau Requires Religious Providers to Offer Secular Program, Too

The federal government has announced plans for a new pilot program that would rely on private operators
to provide training to prisoners, aimed at helping them reintegrate into communities when their sentences
are up. In its notice to potential operators of such programs, released March 20, the Bureau of Prisons
specifically invites proposals that provide such training from a "faith-based or religious perspective."

The "presolicitation notice" is distinctly different, however, from a plan the Bureau announced one year
ago, to recruit operators for a pilot program that would provide such training according to a single faith.
That proposal became the target of attacks from groups advocating church-state separation, even before
private operators submitted their bids. This year’s announcement requires organizations that propose
religiously based training to also provide a separate program track that is strictly secular. Operators may
also propose secular programming on its own, with no religious parallel.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

New! White House Touts Pilot Program for Ex-Prisoners

The White House last week held the third in a series of presentations that showcase the successes of its
six-year-old Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The two-hour "Compassion in Action" session at the
White House featured lots of numbers and testimonials touting the success of a government- and private
foundation-funded pilot project called Ready4Work. The project relied on small grassroots organizations to
help reintegrate ex-felons back into the community, with mentoring, job training, housing and
case management.

The three-year, $25 million national demonstration in 11 cities ended in September, but Ready4Work
lessons have been applied to the current Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (PRI), another employment-based
reentry program led by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and announced by President George W. Bush
in his 2004 State of the Union Address. In November, DOL awarded 30 PRI grants to faith-based and
community organizations to provide a link for ex-prisoners to the community.

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

New! Feds Seek State Applicants for Substance Abuse Voucher Program

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is seeking applications from states
interested in implementing the Access to Recovery program. Access to Recovery allows people seeking
treatment for substance abuse to use government vouchers to purchase services. States determine the
qualified providers, which may include both those with a purely medical perspective and faith-based
organizations that consider spiritual growth to be part of addiction treatment.

SAMHSA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, expects to make up to $96 million
available, to be distributed in grants ranging from $1 million to $7 million. Applications are due by June 7.

Access to Recovery has been a hallmark of the Bush Administration’s Faith-Based and Community
Initiative, which seeks to encourage religious groups to increase their social service work. President Bush
first announced the idea in his 2003 State of the Union address. Wisconsin became the first state to launch
the program, in late 2004.

The program relies on a voucher method of financing, which allows the beneficiary to make a choice of
secular and faith-based providers. Courts have recently found such financing schemes to be constitutional
in other programs under certain conditions.

Click here for the Access to Recovery grant announcement.

Click here for the Roundtable’s Resource Page on Vouchers and Indirect Financing.

Click here for a 2005 Roundtable story about implementation of Access to Recovery.

Click here for a 2006 Roundtable story about a congressional move to eliminate the program.

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 Agriculture, the U.S. Department of 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 with particular foreign countries.

Click here for the grant digest, compiled by Roundtable Correspondent Allison Sarnoff with Lisa Montiel.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Funds running out for New Life agency
New Haven Register (Connecticut)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6231

Church sex education program preaches more than abstinence;
Our Whole Lives takes broader approach than other faith-based classes
Contra Costa Times (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6232

Hard-core for Christ: Churches cater to 'gutter punks' across U.S.
KHOU-TV Dallas (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6233

I've helped a lot of people due to my religious "delusion"
Home News Tribune (East Brunswick, New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6234

To foes, pregnancy sites blur the abortion picture;
Crisis pregnancy centers offer alternatives to abortion, but critics say they are misleading
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6235

Rescue ministry tackles substance abuse head-on
Chico Enterprise-Record (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6236

Sunday, black churches focus on marriage
The Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6237

EDITORIAL: State grants are OK as is
Anchorage Daily News (Alaska)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6229

Ohio administration cuts contract with faith group, investigates office
Associated Baptist Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6230

One Voice raised for area youths; YMCA, two churches on mission to
strengthen faith, talent
Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6209

L.A. church offers migrants sanctuary: Our Lady Queen of Angels
joins a national effort to shield illegal immigrants and press for changes in the law.
Los Angeles Times (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6210

S.C. might allow religious displays in public spaces
The Post and Courier (South Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6211

School moment of silence; Illinois State Senate OKs bill allowing way around prayer ban
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6212

State cuts ties with We Care America: Ohio ended the $2.1 million
contract because the nonprofit didn't answer the state's questions.
The Western Star (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6213

Governor's budget would end abstinence-only dollars
Associate Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6214

Should Democrats Go After the Evangelical Vote?
Roll Call (Washington, DC)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6215

Zoners still uncertain about homeless shelter: They don't want regional facility
Asbury Park Press (New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6219

Halfway homes face obstacles in Albany:
Developers eye sites despite zoning issues, neighborhood resistance
Albany Times Union (New York)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6220

Nonprofit Receives Grant For Health Care In Haiti
The Georgia Bulletin

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6221

Community Of Faith: Northstar Addresses Special Needs Children
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6222

From Sacred to Civic
Time Magazine

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6208

'Chance to Change' could offer recovery
Tahlequah Daily Press (Oklahoma)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6223

Catholic, faith-based HIV-AIDS efforts in forefront of treatment, undervalued,
priest-expert says at Vatican
Catholic Online

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6224

Program gives young offenders a chance to correct mistakes
Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6225

IN A JIFF: Juvenile intervention org undergoes $3.5 million expansion of facility and services
Memphis Daily News (Tennessee)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6226

Mayor to clergy: Fight child prostitution
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6216

Mike Huckabee
National Public Radio (NPR) SHOW: Talk of the Nation

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6217

The Second Commandment Republicans
Time Magazine

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6218

Weekly Opinion Roundup -3/27/2007
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

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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