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! Report: Defunct Faith-Based Nonprofit Owes Ohio Money

While Ohio officials followed proper procedures - and not political directives - in awarding a sizeable
contract to a well-connected faith-based nonprofit, they failed to adequately review questionable
invoices from the organization and overpaid it for equipment and services. Those are the findings of
a report from the Ohio Office of Inspector General, regarding a contract between the Governor's Office
of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the now-defunct We Care America.

We Care America, which had a $2.1 million contract with Ohio to assist faith-based and community
organizations seeking to provide social services, owes the state at least $125,000 for overpayments,
un-refunded advances and video conferencing equipment that never operated correctly, the report found.

Following an internal audit by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), the report
also pointed to another $485,000 in questionable payments to We Care America that the Inspector
General's office recommended for further review, citing inadequate documentation and unclear
contract language.

The former director of the state's faith-based office, Krista Rush Sisterhen, said the report's findings
do not line up with her understanding of how the contract with We Care America was managed.
Sisterhen resigned from the office late last year.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

New! Legal Analysis of Dismissed Challenge to FBOs' Exclusion
from Job Placement Program

Late last month, a federal judge in Ohio dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of
rules that bar religious organizations from participating in a job placement program for military retirees.
Federal regulations exclude religious organizations from participation, if the religious organization
engages in specifically religious activities.

The court's decision is important for those interested in government support for religious social welfare
organizations, say the Roundtable's legal experts, because it illustrates that such support is a matter
of political discretion, rather than a constitutional entitlement of religious entities. Government may
include religious organizations as providers of social welfare, but is not constitutionally required to do
so. The decision also provides an example of a regulation that has thus far eluded the Bush
Administration's comprehensive revision of federal rules governing aid to faith-based organizations.

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

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 United
States 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

State debuts faith-based office: Meeting to link officials, providers
The Courier-Journal (Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7095

Support for teenage moms: Teen MOPS group starting in area
Times Mail (Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7096

Community Organization Breaks Ground for Affordable Housing
WRBL News (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7097

Sanctuary Protest Turns Violent At Church: Anti-Immigrant Group Sought Citizens Arrest
KTVU-TV (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7053

School would help neglected children: Learning would be faith-based and cater to special needs
Corpus Christi Caller Times (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7056

Guardian Angels program is helping children in foster care
The Bradenton Herald (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7057

Church in the middle of a high-crime area of Chicago started by local residents
PBS, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7058

Earl of the Parkway: Man living in Allentown park 25 years asks for nothing but gets much
The Morning Call (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7059

Ex-detainees base lawsuit on religion: 1993 law being used in Gitmo abuse case
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7062

Should taxes pay for prison ministries
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7054

Hawaii's rules lax on oversight of charities
Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7055

Study finds homelessness divides city
The Modesto Bee (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7060

Grant to help ex-drug offenders rehabilitate, re-enter society
Herald & Review (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7061

Charity helps keep hunger at bay for county residents
Camarillo Acorn (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7063

Helping homeless a rough road: Shelter for families in Manteca gets boost, but singles aid scarce
Stockton Record (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7064

Roselle church's flock of ages; Among innovative programs,
intergenerational day care offers benefits for young and old
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7065

Looking for a home
Georgetown News Graphic (Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7074

Habitat for Humanity homes going up in Glendale soon
The Glendale Star (Arizona)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7075

Parents of special children bolstered; Marrero couple shares hard-earned lessons
New Orleans Times-Picayune (Louisiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7076

Working to slow prison's revolving door
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7077

Faith-based program provides training for job-seekers
The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7078

Charitable Tradition in Transition: With Ramadan beginning,
many Muslims expand acts of kindness as a means of furthering interfaith understanding.
Washington Post (Washington, DC)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7067

Patriarch Bartholomew is leading an interfaith shipboard symposium down the coast
of Greenland to improve cooperation between religious and political leaders.
The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7068

Most think founders wanted Christian USA
USA Today

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7069

Pastors lay religious ground for campaign trail:
The Rev. Jonathan Falwell urges activism for a spiritual presence in upcoming elections.
Daily Press (Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7070

Restore Orlando Restores Hope, Pride To Kids
Central Florida News 13 (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7079

Ex-addict is founder of recovery ministry
Enterprise Ledger (Alabama)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7080

Faith-Based Program Helps Inmates From Becoming Repeat Offenders
WTOV-TV (West Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7081

County to keep paying for water stations to aid border crossers
The Associated Press State & Local Wire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7082

Christian School Sued for Upholding Faith-Based Policies
CitizenLink

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7083

Inspector General: State clean in faith-based org investigation
Business First Columbus (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7084

IRS Clears Dobson, Focus on the Family
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7085

Update: Judge Says Jesus Icon May Stay in La. Courthouse
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7086

Catholic Charities tackle poverty, racism: National group holds annual meeting in Cincinnati this week
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7066

Hebrew classes given OK to resume at charter school
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7087

School asks churches for help
The Free Press (North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7071

Offering sanctuary is duty in some churches
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7072

Muslims and Charity
PBS, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=7073

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 9/18/2007
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_9_18_07.cfm