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 Ponders Spur to Giving as Feds Rely More on Charities

As Congress last week considered extending tax incentives for charitable giving, it received new
information that the federal government is increasingly relying on charities to deliver health care,
education and human services in America. That increase was reflected in more federal money to
nonprofit organizations and a growth in the number of public charities, according to a study by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress.

Researchers estimated that federal money to nonprofit organizations increased more than 230 percent
from 1980 to 2004, when adjusted for inflation. And the number of registered public charities has grown
more than 30 percent since 2000 from about 646,000 to 851,000.

The report said the growing number of charities was the result of a decades-long shift away from government
directly providing services, the elimination of large public care facilities in favor of smaller community-based
organizations, and a trend in programs like welfare away from federal control and toward more local autonomy.
Those changes resulted in a greater role and presence for nonprofit organizations delivering services traditionally
provided by the government.

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

For an analysis of the longer-term trend toward "nonprofitization” of social services, click here for an article
by Rockefeller Institute of Government Co-Director Richard P. Nathan.

New! An Interview with Candy S. Hill of Catholic Charities USA

As senior vice president for social policy for Catholic Charities USA, Candy S. Hill is responsible for
directing the organization’s federal advocacy efforts, representing Catholic Charities USA on Capitol
Hill and with the Bush administration, and serving as the organization’s spokesperson on social policy.
Catholic Charities agencies across the country provide a broad array of social services, including
emergency food supplies, housing assistance, counseling, addiction treatment, and health services.

Hill spoke with the Roundtable about the Public Good IRA Rollover Act, a proposal to extend and
expand a law that for the past year has allowed seniors to make tax-free charitable contributions
from their individual retirement accounts. The law, enacted on a temporary basis, is already due
to expire this year. The proposal is a vestige of the Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE)
Act, a package of measures supported by the Bush administration that included charitable-giving
incentives and programs to encourage government partnerships with faith-based organizations.
Most of the CARE Act failed to muster enough support in Congress to pass, even as the package
was stripped of one provision after another. But the provision allowing tax-free distributions from IRAs
to charities became part of the Pension Protection Act last year.

Click here to read the interview.

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 and the U.S.
Agency for International Development.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs may 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

Jewelry 4 God International is Launched to Fight Against Human Trafficking
The Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6839

Construction and insurance costs eating into rental repair aid
The Associated Press State & Local Wire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6840

No-sex lesson rules Florida: The state is second to Texas in federal money for
a wait-till-marriage message.
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6832

HIV/AIDS prevention program reaches out to Hispanics
Stamford Advocate (Connecticut)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6833

Pastor dreams of building to aid SB
San Bernardino County Sun (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6834

Churches hope new centers can help
Beaver County Times (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6835

Anti-crime office to open Monday; A coalition of government agencies and residents
seeking to curb youth gun violence will open a community resource center Monday.
The Miami Herald (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6836

Ky. Web site misleading, Christian ministry says
The Courier-Journal (Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6814

Congressmen Seek Chaplain Probe
Washington Post (Washington, DC)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6815

Labor, church groups join forces; To push for jobs, health care, schools
Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6817

Sheriff Won't End Hot Line on Migrants
Associated Press Online

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6818

Band of volunteers fixes up homes 'A blessin' sent from heaven,'
resident says of crew in LR for 2nd year
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Arkansas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6819

ELCA, Other Faith Groups Urge Farm Bill Reform to Help Farmers in Need 07-135-AL
ELCA News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6820

Religious group hungers for smaller subsidies
The Politico

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6821

Sheriff Urged to Close Immigrant Hotline
Associated Press Online

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6824

'You Can' Campaign Aims to Mobilize Anti-Poverty Movement
Christian Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6816

Supreme Court Ruling Upholds White House Office on Religious Charities
The Chronicle of Philanthropy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6828

Law on religion in school spurs fear
The San Antonio Express-News (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6829

Group works on new 'mission'
The Leader & State Register (Delaware)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6825

First Jewish charter school in U.S. approved
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6822

Youth center eyes expansion sites: Local facility could springboard Joplin group's national campaign
Suburban Journals (Missouri)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6826

Suit over children's home to advance: Former residents can be questioned
Louisville Courier-Journal (Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6830

Green House Nursing Homes
PBS, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6827

Does the Bible Support Sanctuary?
Time Magazine

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=6823

A sacred space for immigrant rights
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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