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! Congress Debates No-Sex Education for Teens

Following a decade of funding sexual abstinence-only education to reduce unwanted pregnancies
and sexually transmitted diseases, Congress is debating whether to continue its support for the
programs. A host of witnesses appearing last week before the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform rejected abstinence-only education, instead advocating comprehensive programs
that teach both abstinence and use of contraceptives as ways to prevent unwanted pregnancy or
disease. That sent abstinence-only supporters railing against the Committee chairman, Rep. Henry
Waxman (D-CA). They accused him of “stacking the deck” and hosting a “one-sided” hearing because
only three of 11 witnesses supported abstinence-only or abstinence-centered programs.

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

New! School Vouchers Get Push in Washington and Tampa

The idea of using public funds for private - often religious - schools got a boost last week in the nation’s
capital and the state of Florida. At an April 24 White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-
Based Schools, President Bush urged for opening the way for school voucher programs throughout the
country. The President said his $300 million Pell Grants for Kids proposal, which would allow low-income
parents to transfer their children from underperforming public schools to private schools with public funds,
would also help "sustain the cash flow" of religious inner-city schools.

Click here for a roundup of news stories on the White House Summit.

Click here for a previous Roundtable story on the President’s State of the Union speech, in which he
announced Pell Grants for Kids and the White House Summit.

In Florida, a commission has recommended that voters consider changing a state constitutional provision
that had prevented public funding of private schools. The proposed amendment is different, however, than
a previous revision considered by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to the Constitution’s
so-called “education provision,” as reported by the Roundtable earlier this month. The earlier proposal would
have expressly authorized public funding for private providers of health care, education and other services.
The proposal approved last week addresses the public funding of education exclusively, and combines it with
a proposed requirement that 65 percent of school funding go to classroom instruction.

A separate measure to remove a Florida constitutional provision that prohibits taxpayers' money from going
to religious groups also remains slated for the ballot box this November. Voters’ approval of both measures
would open the door to a school voucher program for elementary schools, like the one promoted by then-
Gov. Jeb Bush and declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006.

Click here to read the Florida Tax & Budget Commission’s proposed amendment to the Constitution's
"education provision."

Click here to read a previous Roundtable story on the commission’s efforts to open the way
for school vouchers.

Click here for a Roundtable resource page on vouchers and other indirect financing of faith-
based social services.

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, Justice, and Labor, 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

Fact Sheet: 2008 Malaria Awareness Day: President's Malaria Initiative Is
Spreading Hope And Saving Lives Across Africa
States News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8184

Counseling center to focus on women, children
The Bradenton Herald (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8191

Playing for faith: 12-year-old Push the Rock sports camps look globally and beyond
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8197

Churches start drive to cover uninsured
The Detroit News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8174

Offering the homeless dignity
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8175

Faith-Based Health Care In For Exam
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8169

Barbershop offers a religious approach
Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8170

Ex-prostitute reaches out to girls still on streets
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8176

Life skills learned at school's 'Madonna U'
The new center helps students with special needs enter the job market.
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8177

Converging For Orphan Issues
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8178

School vouchers to get on ballot; If passed, tax panel's proposal would reinstate Jeb Bush program
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8183

Program for homeless families to open soon: Family Promise hires first director
Independent Tribune (Concord, North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8179

Can't afford groceries? Here's help
The Lebanon Daily News (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8180

Faith-based agency brings wide variety of services to Lode
The Record (Stockton, California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8181

Lacey says no outdoor tent city
The Olympian (Washington)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8171

Haggling over farm bill hurts those on food aid
chicagotribune.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8172

Some young religious voters focus on social justice
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8173

Medical groups rap abstinence-only sex education
boston.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8185

Crime Prevention; Faith Seeks Action
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8182

A decade from now
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8192

Utah justices rule against group's homeless-mission quest
Deseret News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8195

White House Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Conference on Disaster Relief and Preparedness
The White House

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8196

World Vision Cuts Back Food Aid, Sounds Alarm
Christian Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8186

House Passes Debt Relief Bill
Ethics Daily

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8187

Autry focuses on mental illness; Mayor seeks partnership to address issues involving teens after school tragedy.
Fresno Bee (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8188

Tucson police need help of community in gang fight
Tucson Citizen (Arizona)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8189

Survey: Are Churches Doing Enough to Help the Poor?
The Christian Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8190

Mayor hears drug rehab pressure; ICARE implores Peyton to expand sheriff's Matrix House program.
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8193

Youth Ministry To Open Location In Bowmansville
Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8194

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 4/29/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_4_29_08.cfm