Implementing the Federal Faith-Based Agenda

No. A-69 in Series, "New Federalism: Issues and Options for States"

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Efforts to increase the participation of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in federally funded social services are core components of President George W. Bush's domestic policies. But the last two Democratic candidates for president, Al Gore and John Kerry, also endorsed an expanded role for FBOs in federal programs, suggesting that policies to encourage FBO participation may continue under either party after President Bush leaves office.

We studied state and local contracting under three block grant programs with "Charitable Choice" provisions—Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT), and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)—and one discretionary program aimed specifically at engaging FBOs in public contracting, the Compassion Capital Fund. All four programs are administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Our findings draw on semistructured face-to-face interviews with public officials, program managers, and faith-based service providers in three cities—Birmingham, Boston, and Denver—selected for regional, religious, and demographic diversity. We conducted site visits between October 2004 and May 2005 and supplemented what we learned on site with follow-up telephone interviews and analysis of program and budget data.

The study offers an opportunity to compare FBO participation resulting from Charitable Choice legislation with FBO participation in initiatives that operate without legislative or regulatory guidance and without the involvement of state or local government. It also provides an in-depth look at the role of faith in publicly funded programs. Acompanion paper (Kramer et al. 2005) provides more extensive discussion of our findings.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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