Public and Private Partnerships
In my final post on social ministry and the church I want to talk about public private partnerships in social work, specifically faith based agencies working in partnership with the government to help provide the safety net in our Country. For my previous posts on this issue see here, here, and here.
Before the mid 1990’s there was a real hesitancy among both the Christian community and the government to work together to help the poor and needy. Most concerns were over the so called issue of church/state separation. Unfortunately, this led to too many people falling through the cracks in the system. But things began to change, first with passage of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and then second, with the establishment of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives early in the Bush Administration. Much of the literature on public/private partnerships focus on these two important events.
Before the mid 1990’s there was a real hesitancy among both the Christian community and the government to work together to help the poor and needy. Most concerns were over the so called issue of church/state separation. Unfortunately, this led to too many people falling through the cracks in the system. But things began to change, first with passage of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and then second, with the establishment of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives early in the Bush Administration. Much of the literature on public/private partnerships focus on these two important events.
Charitable Choice. According to Donaldson and Carlson-Thies, welfare reform did three things. It shifted the focus of administrating welfare monies to state and local authorities. No longer would the Federal Government decide what the local welfare needs of a given area were, instead that would be up to those who were closer to the actual needs. Second, the welfare emphasis changed from writing checks to helping people become more self-supportive. Third, the government was encouraged to form partnerships with private charities and businesses. The section on private public partnerships became known as “Charitable Choice” (Donaldson & Carlson-Thies, 2003, 44-45).
Dr. Amy Sherman, one of the leading experts in the field of Charitable Choice testified before a congressional subcommittee in 2001 about the effects of this program. This is part of what she said:
Dr. Amy Sherman, one of the leading experts in the field of Charitable Choice testified before a congressional subcommittee in 2001 about the effects of this program. This is part of what she said:
Charitable Choice aims to create a level playing field between secular and religious service providers competing for public funding and was designed in part to facilitate increased government-faith collaboration without compromising the religious character of the service providers or abridging the civil liberties of clients. Based on my study of charitable choice implementation in the nine states, I concluded that charitable choice is accomplishing those aims:
First, it has made church-state collaboration plausible to public officials and religious leaders. Charitable choice has served as a "green light" to public officials who now feel more comfortable reaching out to the faith sector because "Washington has given its blessing" to such collaboration. Meanwhile, religious leaders who mistakenly believed that the principle of separation of church and state made financial collaboration improper have discovered within charitable choice a formal approval of such collaboration.
Second, interviews with faith and government representatives working collaboratively indicated that religious groups accepting government funding do not have to sell their souls, and clients' civil rights are being respected. The study uncovered almost no examples of faith-based organizations (FBOs) that felt their religious expression had been "squelched" in their collaborative relationship with government. Also, out of the thousands of service recipients engaged in programs offered by FBOs collaborating with government, interviewees reported only two complaints by clients who felt uncomfortable with the religious organization from which they received help. In both cases -- in accordance with the charitable choice guidelines -- the clients simply opted out of the faith-based program and enrolled in a similar program operated by a secular provider.
Third, Charitable Choice is stimulating new partnerships. Over half of the FBOs currently receiving government funding to underwrite new initiatives to serve the poor in the nine states I examined had no previous history of government contracting. Thus, the traditional social services network is being broadened with the inclusion of "new players." Moreover, and importantly, these new players are doing new things. That is, in their collaboration with government, churches and FBOs are offering low-income citizens services they had not previously offered. In most instances, these religious groups have shifted from merely providing commodities to the poor (e.g., used clothing or free groceries) to working with struggling individuals intensively, face-to-face, through mentoring and job training programs.
The bottom line, in terms of the news from the front lines of the implementation of charitable choice is simply this: so far, so good. (Sherman
The Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. While Charitable Choice opened the door to public / private cooperation in meeting the needs of the poor, the door did not open very wide. There was still a great deal of suspicion about religious groups on the part of government authorities and many were hesitant to actually give grants to private groups. According to Donaldson & Carlson-Thies, there was an unlevel playing field created by many agencies that required faith-based groups to jump through extra hoops. In fact, fifteen distinct barriers or obstacles were identified that prohibited many FBOs from getting federal help (Donaldson & Carlson-Thies, 2003, 66).
This is where the Faith-Based Initiative (FBI) comes in. President Bush created the FBI so that there could be a level playing field for faith-based groups. He has issued several executive orders that require the various governmental departments to support and enlist FBOs. Because of this opportunity, Donaldson and Carlson-Thies, challenge Christians to think of government as an ally and a partner in the area welfare and social services, because government cannot do it all. “While a church or a parachurch ministry may be able to provide some of the help needed, it is unlikely that any single organization can provide all the help that ought to be available" (Donaldson & Carlson-Thies, 2003, 25).
It has been my experience in the last three years working in the field of homelessness that both Charitable Choice and the Faith-Based Initiative have been major successes. In fact, we could not do what we do for the homeless in Kern County if it were not for this partnership.
Take for example, our recent Homeless Census. The census is something that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires of every jurisdiction receiving federal homeless funds. We could not have accomplished this very large undertaking without the help of private faith-based and secular organizations. For example, our headquarters this time was located at the Bakersfield Rescue Mission, a faith-based organization. Leaders and volunteers from the several other faith-based agencies and churches participated as well, including Catholic Charities, Nehemiah Ministries, the Salvation Army, and Flood Ministries to name a few.
In our local Continuum of Care (CoC), the HUD recognized network of organizations that participate in the planning and development of homeless housing and services, participation of faith-based agencies is critical. In fact, this year our Chair and Vice-chair are both from faith-based agencies. This would not have been the case a decade ago. Not only because they would not have been invited, but also because they would not have wanted to participate.
Over the last decade there is ample evidence that the government is willing to partner with churches and other faith-based organizations to help meet the needs of the poor. Through Charitable Choice and the Faith-Based Initiative, provisions have been made so that this partnership can be accomplished, and where it has been studied, this partnership has proven to be a success.
The question that remains is whether the Christian community will rise to the occasion and do their part to continue this partnership. I sincerely hope they do.
Take for example, our recent Homeless Census. The census is something that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires of every jurisdiction receiving federal homeless funds. We could not have accomplished this very large undertaking without the help of private faith-based and secular organizations. For example, our headquarters this time was located at the Bakersfield Rescue Mission, a faith-based organization. Leaders and volunteers from the several other faith-based agencies and churches participated as well, including Catholic Charities, Nehemiah Ministries, the Salvation Army, and Flood Ministries to name a few.
In our local Continuum of Care (CoC), the HUD recognized network of organizations that participate in the planning and development of homeless housing and services, participation of faith-based agencies is critical. In fact, this year our Chair and Vice-chair are both from faith-based agencies. This would not have been the case a decade ago. Not only because they would not have been invited, but also because they would not have wanted to participate.
Over the last decade there is ample evidence that the government is willing to partner with churches and other faith-based organizations to help meet the needs of the poor. Through Charitable Choice and the Faith-Based Initiative, provisions have been made so that this partnership can be accomplished, and where it has been studied, this partnership has proven to be a success.
The question that remains is whether the Christian community will rise to the occasion and do their part to continue this partnership. I sincerely hope they do.
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