U.S. Department of Labor

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U.S. Department of Labor

• COMPASSION AT WORK
• The Faith-Based and Community Initiative
• A Ten-Minute Overview
• Jedd Medefind, Director
• Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
• U.S. Department of Labor

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The Faith-Based and Community InitiativeA
Simple Conviction

• The Faith-Based and Community Initiative is
  built on a simple conviction America can do
  better for our neighbors in need when we enlist
  every willing partner.

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Faith-Based and Community Initiative History
Need

• Americas faith-based and community-based
  organizations (FBCOs) have a long history of
  serving those in need
• FBCOs include religious and nonreligious
  non-profit groups that
• provide social services
• vary greatly in size and resources
• identify themselves with various
• community initiatives
• religious or nonreligious traditions or
  philosophies

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Faith-Based and Community Initiative History
Need

• Small non-profits (including faith-based and
  non-faith-based groups) have for many years
  directed their unique strengths to address the
  same social problems as Federal programs
• Despite their similar goals, Federal programs and
  small FBCOs rarely worked together to help people
  in need

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Faith-Based and Community Initiative History
Need

• Charitable Choice provisions enacted in the
  mid-1990s were some of the first attempts to open
  Federal programs to non-traditional service
  providers, including faith-based groups
• These were followed in 2001 by President George
  W. Bushs Faith-Based and Community Initiative
  (FBCI)
• Days after taking office, President Bush
  established the White House Office of Faith-Based
  and Community Initiatives as well as Centers for
  Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in five
  Federal departments
• Since that time, Centers have been established in
  an addition six Federal agencies

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Faith-Based and Community Initiative History
Need

• Goals of the Centers are
• To expand ways in which FBCOs can assist the
  Government in meeting peoples needs
• To ensure the equal treatment of FBCOs in the
  administration and distribution of Federal
  financial assistance
• To protect the religious liberty of
• FBCOs that partner with the Federal government
• Participants in Federally supported social
  service programs
• To equip Federal agencies and other entities to
  work more effectively with FBCOs

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Faith-Based and Community Initiative History
Need

• Audits by Centers found that Federal agencies
  frequently imposed barriers to participation of
  faith-based groups in their programs, including
• Assuming that faith-based groups couldnt partner
  with government because of their religious
  identity
• Excluding faith-based groups from certain
  programs
• Conditioning assistance on a faith-based groups
  willingness to accept restrictions on its
  religious identity and activities that were not
  legally mandated

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Faith-Based and Community Initiative History
Need

• Barriers to small FBCOs (religious and
  non-religious) included
• On Federal agencies part
• Procurement and grantmaking processes designed in
  ways that benefited prior grantees
• Lack of awareness about FBCO services and
  capabilities
• Limited outreach to non-traditional partners
• Unnecessarily complex applications and reporting
• On the part of small FBCOs
• Lack of knowledge and information about or
  experience with Federal procurement and
  grantmaking

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DOL Before the FBCI

• Some monetary and non-monetary partnerships
  between DOL and large FBCOs existed
• Even the Welfare-to-Work program, which was
  governed by Charitable Choice, had minimal
  involvement of faith-based organizations
• only 2 of applicants were faith-based (34 of
  1,862)
• grants to faith-based organizations made up
• 3 of the awards (6 of 191)
• 2 of the overall funding (16.2 of 712
  million)

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FBCI In Action at DOL

• DOL has made grants more accessible by
• simplifying all SGAs (Solicitations for Grant
  Applications)
• creating small grants for grassroots FBCOs
• providing technical assistance for potential
  grant applicants
• utilizing the intermediary grant model to extend
  access to DOL assistance beyond the confines of
  direct grant programs via sub-grants
• publicizing grant and other partnership
  opportunities with FBCOs nationwide

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Common FBCI Myths
Myth 1 The Faith-Based and Community
Initiative means the government is favoring
faith-based groups
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Common FBCI Myths

• Reality
• The law requires neutral treatment of groups/
  individuals with regard to religion
• The Initiative is designed to
• remove barriers to participation by FBCOs in
  Federal programs
• ensure a level playing field for all groups and
  individuals, regardless of religious affiliation
  or lack of affiliation

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Common FBCI Myths
Myth 2 The Constitution strictly prohibits
the government from providing funding to or
partnering with any faith-based group
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Common FBCI Myths

• Reality
• The Supreme Court has consistently rejected
  . . . the argument that any program which in
  some manner aids an institution with a religious
  affiliation violates the Establishment Clause
  (Mueller v. Allen, 1983 case, citing cases as far
  back as 1899)
• Key issues the ways in which (1) the workforce
  system works with FBCOs and (2) Federal
  assistance is provided

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Common FBCI Myths
Myth 3 Faith-based groups that receive
government assistance must hide their religious
identity, limit their religious activities,
restrict governing board membership, and remove
religious signs, symbols and art from their
facilities
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Common FBCI Myths

• Reality
• The restrictions on faith-based groups listed on
  the previous slide (and others) are prohibited
  by
• various Federal statutes (e.g., 42 U.S.C.
  290kk-1(d)(2)(B), relating to programs of HHSs
  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
  Administration)
• regulations of several Federal agencies DOL,
  DOEd, HUD, HHS, DOJ, USDA, USAID, and VA

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Common FBCI Myths
Myth 4 Direct Federal funds are now paying
for religious activities.
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Common FBCI Myths

• Reality
• No direct Federal funding can be used for
  religious activities.
• When programs are directly funded by the
  government, privately-funded religious activities
  must be kept separate in time or location.
• Under indirect funding arrangements (i.e. when
  participants have a free and independent choice
  of the services they receive, such as vouchers)
  providers can incorporate religious elements.
• Organizations must serve all eligible
  participants regardless of the participants faith

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FBCI at DOL Ready4Work

• Ready4Work is a 3 year prisoner re-entry pilot
  project of the DOL and DOJ.
• Built upon partnerships with local faith-based
  and community organizations to help ex-offenders
  transition into work and life after prison.
• Operating at 11 adult sites and 6 juvenile sites
  until late 2006.
• Ready4Work preliminary 1 year recidivism data
  indicates a recidivism rate for participants
  30-50 lower than expected BJS averages.

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DOL and FBCI Resources
DOL Equal Treatment and Religion-Related
Regulations www.dol.gov/cfbci/legalguidance.htm D
OL Center for Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives www.dol.gov/cfbci DOL Civil Rights
Center www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/crcwelcome.h
tm White House Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives www.whitehouse.gov/governmen
t/fbci/guidance/index.html