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! America’s Stress on Abstinence Hampers AIDS Prevention,
Report Says

A funding mandate for abstinence education within America’s international HIV/AIDS program is
hampering efforts to reach prevention goals and limiting the ability of individual countries to implement
comprehensive programs that suit specific needs, according to a report released March 31. The
congressionally mandated report, issued by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, is
the second released in the last year that scrutinizes abstinence-until-marriage programs that by law receive
one-third of the U.S. money spent on HIV-AIDS prevention in 15 countries. Faith-based organizations play
an important role in providing HIV/AIDS prevention programs, the IOM report stated, but regulations that
exempt faith-based abstinence programs from mentioning contraception could contribute to a lack of
comprehensive services and integration with other programs.

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

New! An Interview with John Bridgeland, CEO of Malaria No More and
Civic Enterprises

John Bridgeland is the chief executive officer of Malaria No More, a new nonprofit organization to
mobilize individuals and private institutions in a comprehensive approach to controlling malaria. Malaria
No More was launched in December 2006 at the White House Summit on Malaria in Washington, D.C.
Bridgeland is also president & CEO of Civic Enterprises, LLC, a public policy firm that helps corporations,
nonprofits, foundations, universities and governments develop policies that aid communities.

Bridgeland has served as assistant to President George W. Bush and was the first director of the USA
Freedom Corps. In that role, he coordinated more than $1 billion in domestic and international service
initiatives and worked with nonprofits, corporations and schools. Prior to that, Bridgeland served as deputy
assistant to the President and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House.

Click here to read the interview.

New! Pennsylvania County Settles Lawsuit Challenging Faith-Based
Prison Program

A Pennsylvania county has agreed not to support religious activities with public funds, in order to end a
lawsuit charging that its contract with a faith-based prison ministry was unconstitutional. The lawsuit,
brought two years ago by Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil
Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, charged that a government-sponsored prison ministry known as the Firm
Foundation employed only Christian staff and pressured inmates at the Bradford County Correctional
Facility to pray. It operated the jail’s only vocational training program.

The settlement agreement sets forth rules that Bradford County will follow when funding religious
organizations in the future. It details specific “religious activities” that the county must not support, and
provides specific steps the county must take to ensure that faith-based groups that receive government
money use the funds for secular purposes only. Of three defendants involved in the lawsuit, only Bradford
County has agreed to a settlement. The consent order was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle
District of Pennsylvania on April 3.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

Click here to read the consent order.

Click here for more information through our Resource Page on Faith-Based Prison Programs.

New Resource! Guidance to Faith-Based Organizations Partnering
with Government

The Bradford County settlement agreement discussed in the article above provides more adequate guidance
about the limits on funding religious activities than existing federal regulations do, according to the
Roundtable’s legal experts. Government partnerships with faith-based organizations in prisons and
elsewhere have come under the scrutiny of watchdog groups, as the Bush administration advances its Faith-
Based and Community Initiative. At the heart of many of the legal challenges aimed at these contracts is
the question of just what religious activities the government may fund without violating First Amendment
limits on government endorsement of religion.

The Roundtable’s co-directors of legal research, Professors Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle, have written
and discussed the issue of guidance in reports and at Roundtable conferences. The Roundtable has also
produced news stories covering these topics for readers interested in a more general overview. These are
now accessible from our new Resource Page.

Click here for the Roundtable’s Resource Page.

Feminist Group Charges Federal Fatherhood Program with Discrimination

A federal government initiative to increase low-income fathers’ involvement with their children has come
under fire, as the National Organization for Women last week charged that it discriminates against women.
NOW and its affiliate, Legal Momentum, filed complaints last week with the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, alleging sex discrimination in the Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. The
effort was launched in 2006 with a five-year, $250 million appropriation from Congress. About 100
organizations, including faith-based groups, are currently receiving funding through it. HHS has said that
NOW is mistaken in its claim, and that programs that encourage better fathering will benefit mothers
and children, too.

Click here for a Washington Post story on the issue.

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 Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
the U.S. Department of Justice, 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

Mid-Michigan Church Wants to Build Homes
WILX-TV (Michigan)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6258

Kids at Inner-City event find 'way too much to do'
The Enquirer (Michigan)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6259

Developing an AIDS Action Plan
National Public Radio (NPR), News & Notes

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6260

As Catholic Charities' budget increases, so does public need
Courier News (Bridgewater, New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6261

Victims left at FEMA's mercy
Daytona Beach News-Journal (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6262

Food bank adds free clinic, job help, tutoring to menu
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6263

We all must do more to fill pockets of poverty with hope
The Dallas Morning News (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6264

'Garden' is state effort to strengthen marriages
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6265

Experts: No-Sex Rule Hurts Aids Fight
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6254

Prison Ministry Helps To Reverse The Effects Of Mom’s Mistakes
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6255

"Pacific Garden Mission"
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (PBS)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6251

Bill To Expand Religious Freedom at Work Worries Liberals, Splits Jewish Groups
Jewish Daily Forward

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6252

Divine Political Agenda
CNN

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6256

Obama's Community Roots
The Nation

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6257

NOW Demands Access to Program Geared to Fathers
Washington Post (Washington, DC)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6241

Outreach group believes in mission:
Catholic group helps distribute food and other necessities to those in need.
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6245

Habitat provides 61 more new homes
Marco Island Sun Times (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6246

Shelter efforts may be merged
The Daily Times-Call (Colorado)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6247

Lunch groups feed women's minds, spirits; Food for Thought and its sister program,
Lunch Encounters, present thoughtful programs that fit in with busy lives.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6248

Helping moms, saving babies; In a new effort to reduce infant mortality
among blacks, the March of Dimes turns to the church
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6249

Dobson Offers Insight on 2008 Republican Hopefuls
U.S. News and World Report

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6242

'Full-scale' conservative believes he'll sway voters by race's end
Des Moines Register (Iowa)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6243

Bishop Calls for Charity in Politics
North Jersey Record (New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6244

The help guy; One determined man's publication guides the needy.
Fresno Bee (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6250

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 4/3/2007
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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