Privatization And Prayer

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The “Charitable Choice” provisions of 1996 welfare reform legislation inaugurated a policy debate that continues with President George W. Bush’s “faith-based initiative.” Proponents of greater religious involvement in social service provision argue that faith-based organizations have untapped resources, have encountered unnecessary barriers to participation, and are more effective than are government or secular contractors. Opponents note the absence of evidence of greater efficacy, the historic involvement of religious providers such as Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, and the Salvation Army, and the absence of additional funding, and charge that the new rules are merely an effort to erode the constitutional separation of church and state. Public administrators are left with a number of thorny questions: how to identify and recruit the faith-based organizations targeted by these initiatives, how to evaluate and augment their capacity to deliver services, and how to encourage their increased participation while adhering to constitutional principles.