Policy Environment |
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Policy Environment for Faith-Based Social Services in the United States: What has Changed Since 2002? Results of a 50-State Study
This report, by Roundtable researchers Mark Ragan and David Wright, offers an update on the status of state government partnerships with faith-based social service providers throughout the nation. This report is a follow up to a similar 50-state survey released by the Roundtable two years ago.
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The State of the Law 2004: Partnerships Between Government and Faith-Based Organizations
Professors Lupu and Tuttle prepared this third annual update on developments affecting the legal environment surrounding government support of faith-based social service providers. The report includes review and analyses of new federal agency regulatory changes, and identifies several significant court cases that have continued to shape how and where public dollars can be used to support the activities of religious organizations.
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Funding Faith-Based Services in a Time of Fiscal Pressures
This study, by Roundtable researchers Courtney Burke, James Fossett and Thomas Gais finds that significant activity at federal and state levels to extend opportunities for partnerships between government and faith-based social service organizations (FBOs) comes at a time of challenging long-term trends. According to the report these trends include revenue pressures, shifting priorities, administrative barriers in health services, and increasing competition for social service contracts and grants.
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The Expanding Administrative Presidency: George W. Bush and the Faith-Based Initiative
The report examines the steps taken to promote and implement the Faith-Based Initiative since it was first introduced by President Bush in January 2001. The report also details changes in federal rules, bureaucracies, funding, and public outreach advanced by the Bush Administration to increase partnerships with faith-based groups to provide a vast array of human services.
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The State of the Law 2003: Developments in the Law Concerning Government Partnerships with Religious Organizations
A year after their initial State of the Law report, Professors Lupu and Tuttle re-examine the current state of the law regarding government partnerships with faith-based service providers. The report notes that in 2003, federal agencies adopted major rule changes that will have a significant impact on federal funding for houses of worship, the hiring autonomy of religious groups, and the participation of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in social service provision.
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Scanning the Policy Environment for Faith-Based Social Services in the United States: Results of a 50-State Study
This report, by Roundtable researchers David Wright, Lisa Montiel and Mark Ragan, draws from a field network study on the extent and character of faith-based social service contracting activity among the 50 states and selected counties.
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Government Partnerships with Faith-Based Service Providers: The State of the Law 2002
This report, by Roundtable legal researchers Ira "Chip" Lupu and Robert Tuttle, includes: an overview of federal and state constitutional and statutory provisions relevant to government aid to FBOs, both historical and contemporary; a study of past federal and state judicial decisions; and a discussion of legal disputes involving: - the constitutional implications and parameters of aid to FBOs which have a religious component as part of the social service provided;
- the constitutional status of voucher programs compared to direct grants to religious institutions;
- the legality of government aid to FBOs that hire only co-religionists;
- differences between the religion clauses of the U.S. and state constitutions, and the relevance of such differences in providing aid to FBOs.
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Narrative Case Study Reports
These reports provide a detailed narrative which will help readers better understand the particular circumstances in selected states and the changes resulting by both the federal legislation and other relevant state initiatives. The study states include: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.
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Effectiveness |
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Faith-Based vs. Secular: Using Administrative Data to Compare the Performance of Faith-Affiliated and Other Social Service Providers
One question that has drawn the attention of policymakers, program managers, and researchers, but remains largely unanswered, involves the relative effectiveness of services provided by faith-based organizations compared to services provided by secular organizations. Researcher Mark Ragan, a senior fellow of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, analyzed data collected by the federal government to determine if these quantitative measures could be used to compare performance of faith-based and other service organizations.
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The Effectiveness of Faith-Based Organizations in the Delivery of Social Service Programs (forthcoming)
The effectiveness of faith-based organizations in the provision of human social services is the focus of this review of existing research. The review by Roundtable researcher Joyce Keyes-Williams identifies current gaps in knowledge and discusses recommendations for future research.
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Marriage Promotion: Will It Work?
This publication, by Roundtable writer Claire Hughes, provides an overview of recent research and thinking on proposals to promote marriage and strengthen two-parent families, an effort that George W. Bush has suggested investing $1.5 billion in over the next five years. The paper also points out some of the issues that experts have raised regarding the role of faith-based institutions in marriage education and promotion.
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The Comparative Effects of Faith-Based Social Services (forthcoming)
This report draws from a series of comparative case studies that examine the ways in which the "faith factor" can be observed and measured between a matched set of faith-based and secular service organizations. The study covers matched organizations providing intermediate-term shelter and related case management services for homeless families; employment and training programs; residential treatment programs for substance abuse; and responsible parenting programs, among other services. In each, drawing from extensive field interviews and client focus groups, the role of faith is detailed, and compared, with respect to program activities, process effects, and client perceptions. The study also gathers and reports outcome measures used to examine the effectiveness of these services.
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Stepping Out On Faith: New York City's Charitable Choice Demonstration Program
This study, conducted by The Roper Group, reports on New York's Charitable Choice Demonstration, which engaged 16 faith-based organizations to provide short-term counseling and support for clients interested in lifting their sanction and returning to a government run welfare-to-work program. This evaluation study draws from in-depth interviews, focus groups, observations, and administrative records to report on three areas of the demonstration: the management of faith-based and government collaborations, program implementation, and the outcomes achieved.
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General |
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The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Social Welfare System
In the spring of 2003, the Independent Sector and the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy joined together to sponsor a spring research forum in Washington, DC. This report provides overviews of the issues and of what researchers are just beginning to understand about the role of faith-based organizations in social service delivery.
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Mapping The Road Ahead
This transcript of the Roundtable's initial research consultation conference reviews the current state of knowledge and priorities for future research concerning: the scope and scale of faith-based social service; trends in public funding of such services; and the effectiveness of faith-based social service programs.
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Holistic Faith-Based Development: Toward a Conceptual Framework
This study, by John Wallace, Ph.D., Valerie Myers, Ph.D., and Jim Holley, Ph.D., expands the knowledge about the active role that many faith-based organizations are taking in their communities. This "holistic" approach focuses on the role of the African American churches, discusses the theoretical framework implicit in much of the work and presents a paradigm faith-based organizations can use in future efforts. A case study of the Historic Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church is detailed.
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Legal Analysis |
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The State of the Law 2007: Legal Developments Affecting Government Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations
The latest legal update by Roundtable legal researchers Ira Lupu and Robert Tuttle on the state of the law regarding government partnerships with faith-based service providers for the year 2007.
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The State of the Law 2005: Legal Developments Affecting
Partnerships Between Government and Faith-Based Organizations
Professors Lupu and Tuttle’s fourth annual report focuses on the departure of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor from the Supreme Court bench and the demise of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the policies on emergency assistance and the role of FBOs, an in-depth discussion of the most significant legal decisions over the last twelve months, and an analysis of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiative Office’s efforts in encouraging state and local governments to take a more active role in facilitating the Initiative.
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New Federal Policies on Grants for Building Aid for Houses of Worship: A Legal Analysis
George Washington Law Professors and Rountable legal researchers Ira "Chip" Lupu and Robert Tuttle analyze the new federal policies allowing grants for building aid for houses of worship.
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Developments in the Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives: Comments on Notices of Proposed
Rulemaking and Guidance Document
Developments in the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: Comments on Notices of Proposed Rulemaking and Guidance Document: Roundtable legal researchers Ira C. Lupu and Robert Tuttle, Professors at George Washington Law School, analyze actions by the Bush Administration to enhance and expand government support of faith-based social service programs through the use of Executive Orders and proposed federal agency rule changes.
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Final Rules and Notices of Proposed Rulemaking Concerning the Faith-Based Initiative: A Legal Analysis
This report, by Rountable legal researchers Ira "Chip" Lupu and Robert Tuttle, analyzes the Bush administration’s final rules and notices of proposed rulemaking that cover social service programs. This legal analysis will provide helpful clarifications for several aspects of the Faith-Based Initiative, and explain the most important legal question: the extent to which government may directly finance religious activity - the rules perpetuate a fundamental misunderstanding of the law of the Establishment Clause.
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Scope and Scale |
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American Congregations and Social Service Programs: Results of a Survey
This study, by John Green, reports the findings from a national survey on the services provided by congregations and faith-based organizations, as well as on their leaders' awareness and interest in participating in public programs to support or extend such activities. Survey results include new findings on administrative practices and organizational characteristics among congregations and faith-based organizations, with regard to their readiness to receive and account for public funds in the form of government contracts or grants.
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Getting a Piece of the Pie: Federal Grants to Faith-Based Social Service Organizations
This report by Roundtable Researchers David Wright and Lisa Montiel adds to what is known about the extent and trend of federal support for faith-based organizations by examining the direct recipients of discretionary grant awards made by the federal agencies expressly part of the Bush Administration’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative.
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Medicaid and Faith Organizations Participation and Potential
High start up costs and daunting technical requirements will make it difficult to expand faith-based social services through the use of Medicaid resources, according to a new study by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy. The ten-state survey found that faith-based organizations -- especially at the congregational level -- typically do not have the organizational resources or management skills to meet these demands. However, the Roundtable's study noted there may be viable opportunities for faith-based organizations to provide Medicaid clients with support services which carry lower costs and are easier to administer.
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Exploring the Funding Relationships between Community Foundations and Faith-Based Social Service Providers
This study by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy finds that nearly 70 percent of the nation's community foundations funded faith-based social service programs within the past year. However, the majority say they do not allow their grants to fund religious activities.
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The Scope and Scale of Activities Carried Out By Faith-Based Organizations: A Review of the Literature - 2nd Edition
In this paper, Roundtable research staff member Jason Scott reviews the existing research addressing the scope and scale of faith-based organizations involved in social service delivery. This summary describes some of these activities, looks at the different types of FBOs engaged in this work, and reviews the research that has been used to assess the resources that these organizations contribute.
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Private Sector Contributions to Faith-Based Social Service: The Policies and Giving Patterns of Private Foundations
This report examines how private and community foundations support the social services provided by FBOs and also explores the policies that guide these funding decisions.
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